Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1905-07-12
THE PERILs THAT BESET US.

While it may be true that the destrue-
ton of twenty-one lives in the wreck of
the New York Central's flyer last
month was not attributable TO the
great speed of the train, the disaster
brings home to the mind how depend
ent each one of US is for the safety of
his person on the care,skin and san
1t and good will of other people. One
negligent. malevolent or crazy switch
man between San Francisco and New
York can destroy with a turn of his
wrist a great overland train, crowded
with human beings. The hundreds of
thousands of miles of track in the I'm
tied States are exposed to any mis-
ereant or mailman that might take it
into his head to lay a charge of dy-
Mantle on the rails. No matter what
mechanical contrivance there may be
to prevent accidents. every machine de-
ponds ultimately on a human brain
and human hands, Is it not a Won
der, therefore, considering that the
men who stand at the switches, walk
the tracks and build the block sys-
TENS and locomotives, are not paid as
large salaries as the presidents of the
companies for which they work, that
there are not more, instead of fewer,
disasters to trains?
1t is not only when travelling by rail
that ones life is in the hands of 9th
ers. If the mason on the top of a tall
building happened to drop a brick, if
the motorman on street car took
chances at a crossing, if the teamster
II crowded street neglected to look
ahead of his horses and kept his mind
alert, if the apothecary mistook car
boIic acid for lime water or arsenic for
carbonate of soda, if the elevator boy
started up or down too suddenly, if the
stable boy neglected to screw on tight
the nut of a wheel, if any of thou
sand of such things happened. lives
would be lost or limbs broken.
We are never out of danger. Each
successive hour sees US risk our lives
on the skill and prudence of some poor
Iy paid man who could destroy us by
nOdding; and yet many of us live to {
ripe age unscathed. We 90 through
SO many perils and escape that we be
come Injured, and think no more OF
them than the sailor thinks of the peril:
of the deep. There is, in one of the
school readers, a recitation in which {
cabin boy. tossing in his hammock dur
ing a storm at sea, felieitates himselt
on being safe aboard ship in mic
ocean. and shudders at thought of the
dangers that the tempest brings Il
townsfolk ashore lodging falling
ehimneys. 1t is an amusing and tru,
exposition of the attitude of the human
mind toward familiar and unfamilia
dangers. Peril to which one has be
come accustomed no longer afrights
We are all, like Alan Breek, in Stew
ensOn 5 tale, who was so reckless an'
trueulent in battle. but went all t.
pieces with fear when shipwreeked. II
was nto afraid of death at the sword
point, but he shuddered at the pros
peet of drowning. People from tn
Eastern States, staying in San Fran
cisco, are terrified by earthquakes tina
do not quicken the Californian pulse
while our Californians abroad are mad
very nervous by lightning which East
ern folk hardly notice. The vetera
soldier despises the bullets whie
make the scared recruit duck his hea'
In short, bravery is largely matte
of being accustomed to danger, and W
are all heroes in the presence of perl
to which long association has rendere
US insensible.