Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1906-10-27
CANDIDATE FOR CIRCUIT JUDGE WHOM CAN VOTE FOR with PRIDE
ASLEEP AT HIS POST.

Last winter . collision between the
last section OF an exprcss-train and
freight-train resulted In the death Of
several employees. Tho passengers
In the heavy Pullman were unharm.
ed. The cause of the wreck. given
to the public. was the violation OF
despatcher's orders by the freight
train crew. The real reason. says a
writer In the Outlook. is that the
crew had been on duty fifty-nine
consecutive hours. and were unable
TO stay awake and count the sections
OF the express-train that had passed
The writer. who was conductor of n
freight-train. tells OF an experience
Of fifty-two hours OF steady work.
After two consecutive runs of six
and twenty-seven hours respectively.
thirty-six In all. the freight was on
a siding hfty miles from Chicago. at
three I'm the morning.
Two meat trims. q night express
and special were due to pass. The
rear brakemn was asleep from ex-
haustion. The meat trains and the
night express thundered by. but no
special. felt the caboose iurch for
ward and knew that the engineer had
forgotten the special. and was pulling
out OF the side-track into the laws
OF death.
II sped over the car roofs, giving
frantic signals to stop.
Don't get mad. neighbor.' said
the engineer. as I clambered into the
cab. I must ha' dozed of, and woke
up sudden with the idea that spe-
cial had passed. He reversed and
backed the train to safety.
Fifteen hours later we pulled I'm
to Chicago. to find string or refrig-
erator-cars waiting to 20 out. Heavy
traffic had sent all the crews East.
To delay the freight meant losing
the haul to another railroad; and
yet by the terms OF our wage sched-
ule We were entitled to eight hours
rest.
"One brakeman wanted to go back
because his home was Mt the other
end OF the line and his baby was
sick. agreed to go, too. stipulat-
ing for two hours sleep and a fresh
engine crew.
THAT return trip was a night
mare. We left at midnight. The two
hours cat-nap in the caboose only
served to intensity our stupor.
Thanks to good luck. to the char
acter of our freight. to fresh en-
gine crew, to a message sent to the
dispatcher. warning him OF our CON
dition. We were able to finish nifty
two hours OF service without acci-
dent and to stagger home to bed.
"Freight-train crews are often on
duty from twenty-four to thirty-six
hours without sleep. believe steps,
legislative II necessary, should be
taken to prevent engineers, firemen,
conductors and brakemen from re-
naming too long on duty. A man
should have from ten to twelve hours
rest between trips II he Is to be an
efficient servant of the railway and
a constant protector OF lives"
The Interstate Commerce Commits
sion says In n recent Accident BulIe-
tin that I'm the last quarter OF 1906
there were two thousand collisions
in this country, OF which about two
hundred and seventy affected passen-
ger trains. and in which a thousand
persons were killed and seventeen
thousand injured. The list OF casual
ties is larger than that OF the preced-
Ing quarter and the commission as
cribes one OF the causes of increase to
the fact that the employees are kept
on duty longer.