Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-05-21
IS a DANGEROUS OCCUPATION
Nine Hundred Casualties Reported
Among Railway Mail Clerks During
the Past Year-ls Great Variety
of PeriIs.

time on will bestow an equivalent OF
pensions, small though it be, upon the
widows and children of class of I'm
Gle Sans employees which is exposed
to extraordinary perils. Indeed, there
are no other government servants
barring soldiers and sailors in war
lines, perhaps-whose occupation is
nearly SO dangerous.
There is no other occupation in the
world so perilous as that of our rail
way mail clerks. They number about
5000, and ordinarily they get some
thing like $1,000 a year, though their
pay varies somewhat with length of
service. 1t is not much. considering
the fact that they are constantly ex.
posed to chances of death.
During the last year, which broke
the record for casualties, they were
mixed up in 900 accidents on the rails.
Nine of them were killed, IS of them
were seriously injured, and 302 of
them were slightly injured. The rec
ord was nothing very extraordinary,
however. In 1901 mail clerks were
caught in 1875 accidents, in which
seven were killed, GO seriously and 229
slightly wounded.
The variety of perils to which these
brave men are exposed Is astonishing.
A short time ago, in northern Ohio,
train of postal cars was derailed and
two of them were thrown into San
dusky bay, with ten clerks shut up in
them. Their escape from drowning
was almost miraculous. On another
recent occasion, near Oswego, Kan,
train was blown from the track by a
tornado and the postoffice employees
were seriously injured. Another train
on the Denver & Fort Worth line ran
into washout. the mail car was tele.
scoped by the baggage car, the wreck
caught fire and the imprisoned clerk
was burned to death. In several re.
cent cases postal cars have been held
up by robbers and riddled with bullets
Fire, water. wind and the robbers
stol are all dangers to be encounter
ed by the railway mail clerk. mas
much as they spend their lives in
travelling, they are bound to be mixed
up in accidents occasionally, and
whether they suffer or not is a mere
matter of chance. Quite commonly
they do Ssuffer, partly because the
mail car is placed usually behind the
tender. where 1t is reasonably sure in
case Of collision, to be smashed to
kindling wood between the tender and
the baggage car Recently, however,
an effort has been made to alter this
arrangement, placing the baggage car
between the tender and the mail car.
and thus it is hoped that the number
of casualties will be lessened.
1t is very strange and interesting
fact that liability to accidents has
greatly increased on the railroads of
the United States, and is today greater
than ever before, Notwithstanding the
marked improvements i'll methods Of
operating railway lines. The reason
is simply that lines have multiplied,
gridironing the country in every direc-
ton, while the trains run faster and
more frequently. So, in spite of super
ior construction of roadbed, improved
collision-proof cars and the protection
afforded by the admirable block sys-
tenn, the number of accidents per mile
of railroad has actually increased.
OF this striking fact, the record OF
casualties in the railway mail ser
vice affords proof, the percentage OF
Killed and injured among the travelling
postel clerks having steadily risen
Il
i the record with total of 800 killed
and wounded, or just about per cent
of the entire personnel At that rate
it would appear that railway postal
clerk in twenty-five years of service
is practically certain to be injured
Mt least once in an accident on the
rail- while his chance of being killed
during that period is about one ir
forty
Hence the Importance of providing
some equivalent of pension for the
families of clerks who lose their lives
This law now provides that $1,000
shall be paid to the widow or children
of any such employe killed in the line
of duty, or who dies within one veal
after an accident lin which he has suf
fered disabling injury. Surprising tina
to die, he receives full pay for twelve
months after the date of the injury.
Few railway mail clerks last longe
than twenty years in the service, thei
work being done under such high ter
sion that, even if they escape death o
disabling injury, they are soon worl
out. At all times they are expected t
defend the mails with their lives, al
tackS upon pOSIdl caiS pein6 Hot IL
frequent.
If the clerk refuses to open the doc
of his car, in response to deman
made by highwaymen, he must be pre-
pared for an immediate fusilade c
bullets, followed, perhaps, by an explt
sion of dynamite. OF course it is a
ways the registered mai! that the roll
Ssers want particularly.
Mail cars today are very differen
vehicles from what they were fiftee
years ago-much more commodius an
built to resist collisions as far as pc:
sible. They are not proof against d.
Mantle, but in many instances the
have been able to withstand determii
ed attacks by highwaymen. For th
transportation of the mail the govern
ment pays so much per 100 pound
plus $25 to $50 per day per car, accort
Ing to the length of the vehicle. TIL
appropriation for this purpose for til
current years is $5,104960.
Trains consisting OF mail cars onl
are now run between important point,
The New York and Chicago fast ma