Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-08-08
SAFEGUARDING HUMAN LIFE oN
RAIL ROADS.

AmoEfca through railroad dCCluS
is made all the more appalling oy
comparing it with that of the other
countries. It should be remarKeo
that in many European states the
railways are owned by the govern
ment ard in the remainder are unoer
rigid government control. GreaU
Britain belongs to the latter class.
That country has recently publisneo
a list of the railroad accidents 1or
1903. For comparison the cores
ponding figures for the United STATES
for the fiscal year ended June 80, l9O9'
are available. |
These figures are sum married. ana
compared by the Philadelphia P"otec5
Ledger. Great Britain has 22,ooo
miles of railway against 203, 1872 miles
for the United States. yet the former
carried last year nearly twice as many |
passengers as the latter. In the
United Kingdom there we're only 235
collisions and derailments. In the
United States there were 10,643. In
the United Kingdom one passenger
was killed for every A, 793, 800 carried
and one injured for every 1,540,74
carried. In the United States one
passenger out of every 1858, 673 was
killed and one out of every lac, 1898
was injured. The following figures
tell discreditahle STORY.
In the United States there were
pa ssengers killed in train accidents
1854, injured 4424; from other causes,
killed 157, injured 2549; employees
killed in train accidents 1919, injured
IS 245; total, killed 1854, injured 49,
977. In Great Britain there were
passengers killed in train accidents
25, injured 769; from other causes,
killed 1913, injured 1912; employees
killed in train accidents 9, injured 146;
from other causes, killed 446, injured
1863; other persons killed 556, injured
299; total, killed 1859, injured 6785.
Yet the foregoing does not tell the
whole story. The American statistics
give only the accidents to passengers
and employees. No entry is made
under "other persons" In Great
Britain these numbered E56 killed and
299 injured. One can imagine how
many "other persons" met death in
America last year by recalling the
frequency with which crossing or
walking on the track accidents alone
were recorded. 1t is only fair to
remember, though, that accidents of
this kind are frequently due to the
carelessness of the victims and not to
the railways, and that the public are
quite as much to blame as the railway
companies for. the existence of condi-
tions in the shape of grade crossings,
carelessness in walking on the tracks,
etc, which make such slaughter
possible.
The comparisons freque ntly point
cd out, is discreditadle to the U. S.
This country has almost ten times as
much mileage as Great Britain, yet
the latter, with vastly more congest-
ed traffic, had last year total of only
1859 passengers and employees killed
and injured as against As, 531 in the
United States. AS remarked be fore
if the American figures inclcded the
"other persons" reckoned in the Brit
ish report the comparison would be
still less to this country's credit. Il
is admitted in this country that il
spite of our boasted skill in applied
sciences we have much to learn from
Europe in respect to safeguarding
| the lives of the travelling public
Railway accidents in the United State
cost every year more lives than dl'
most of the worlds greatest battles.
> The gospel of greed is being preached
and practiced entirely too much
More consideration for human life an
less consideration for dividends ar
: in order.-Erchange