Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-12-09

way official who receives this information
q dozen or hundred will read in the
daily newspaper that the cause was an Inn
penetrable mystery, that the bridge and
signaling appliances we're as perfect as
they could possibly be made-witness tho
sworn testimony OF the engineering head Of
a great bridge company,
And with such knowledge Of the actual
circumstances as this our correspondent
says, no doubt truly. that this accident
was common subject for discussion among
railway officials. What does discussion
amount to In the absence OF knowledge OF
the actual circumstances? Is not such dis
cusslon as this among railway officials, with
that little knowledge OF facts which Is
proverbially dangerous, responsible for
many OF the crude ideas and preiudlces
which are so widespread?
Let W make the case still more definite;
The lessons OF the Atlantic City disaster,
written so large that any one could read,
were: % put inside guard rails on your
bridges; (2) make your drawbrdge inter
locking systems complete Those lessons
ought to be brought home with force and
conviction to every responsible railway
officer in the country; but how many such
officers does our correspondent think will
panys own investigation? Instead there
went out TO the newspapers OF the country
the testimony of an Oflclal that inside
guard rails we're dangerous!
Let us turn now to the fatal disaster on
the Southern railway in which one Of the
greatest Of American engineers, Samuel
Spencer lost his life The prominence Of
Mr., Spencer and Of the friends who died
with him rivets public attention upon this
accident The general circumstances have
already become known to most of our
readers, doubtless, through the daily press;
but we may briefly state here from the
information at present available that the
collision appears to have been primarily
due to an error Of block signal operator,
The collision occurred after the two trains
mo 50 and No, 81 followlng) passed the
signal tower at Rangoon and before they
reached the tower at Lawyers, four miles
farther south. The following relating to
the accident is taken from the New York
Tribune OF December 4:
An examination by an Associated Press
representative of the telegraph sheets kept
at the Rangoon and Lawyers block offices
shows that MattoaX, the operator at Ran
COON, allowed train No, 81 the Jackson
willie express. upon the block, the train
passing his station and getting a clear
track from him at sos o'clock
The operator at Lawyers, the next station
ahead claimed that Mattoax did not ask
him for a "clear track for No. 50, and he
therefore did not know this train had
passed Rangoon.
The block sheet at Lawyers bears out
this claim. The sheets at both offices show
that the operator at RRngoon asked Law,
yers for a clear track for 81, the Washing
ton & Southwestern vestibuled limited,
and the Lawyers operator, not knowing
No, 30 was In the block, gave No. 81 the
right-of-way at 614 o'clock, and No, 81
missed RanrOon at that time II MattOaN
had reported train No 8 on the block 20
Lawyers there would have been no acct
dent because the operator az l3wyers
at Rangoon until the Jacksonville train
had cleared the block at Lawyers,
It is we'll enough to inquire into the fail
ure of the signal operator to do his duty,
but It is Of far more importance, Cor tho
prevention of similar accidents, TO ask
what additional safeguards Of systems and