The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-03-01
Manu- Clerks in Service on Death
Roll.
CoRTELYOU REPORTS TO CONGRESS
SEVEN WE'RE KILLED OUTRIGHT
LAST YEAR, AND 60 SERIOUS
LY INJURED.

WASHINGTON, D. c., March lis
q sad story, one of deatI, and serious
injury to large numbers of men, which
is told by Postmaster General Cortel-
you in reply to re resolutions of in
ouiry regarding the casualties to rail
road mail clerks introduced by Senator
Tilman. Mr.. Tillman, in asking for
that he had been reading various nwes-
paper reports of railroad wrecks in
which mail clerks had been killed or
injured, and that he felt that congress
should have at its disposal all the in
formation available on the question,
with a view of enacting suitable legis-
lation for the protection of this class
of government employees, should such
action be advisable.
Mr.. Cortelyou reports that during the
year 1891 there were 1913 railway pos
tai clerks in the country, and that dur
ing that year there We're S25 railway
accidents to trains hauling postal cars
Seven clerks were killed outright, six
ty-three seriously injured, and 299
slightly injured.
The Death Roll.
The figures for succeeding years do
not give any idea of the total number
of accidents Only those in which
clerks were injured were reported.
In 1902, nine clerks were killed, So
We're seriously injured and 3O2 slightly
injured In 1908, % were killed rs
We're seriously injured and 1893 slightly
injured In 1904 q were killed, 80 were
seriously injured and 34S slightly injur-
ed. In 1905, u We're killed, 125 serious
ly injured and $50 slightly injured. Or.
in five years, GA clerks have been kill
ed, "a have been seriously injured and
1868 slightly injured.
The Tillman resolution was directed
especially to the character of construc-
ton of railway postal cars. He wanted
to find out to what extent this loss of
life and injury were due to poorly
built cars In late years it has been
the policy of the government to demand
that mail cars be built in part of steel,
and Mr. Tillman wanted to know how
such cars had withstoOd the shock of
accidents as compared with the old
wooden cars. The report of the post
master general gives all this informa-
ton.
The Mail Cars.
The old wooden cars cost from $4,000
to $4,000 to construct, and the steel
cars cost from $1,000 to $4,000. The
former weigh about $4,000 pounds and
the latter from 100000 to 125,O0O
pounds, according to the quality of
steel used
At the close Of the last fiscal year, |
there We're 1173 postal cars on all the |
roads of the United States, 1876 of which
We're built since 1898, when the specif- |
cations of the postoffice department, !
demanding stronger cars began to APP
uly. In May, 1904, these specifications
We're revised with a view to additional
safety for postal clerks. and to meet |
the demands of the fast mail service. |
One hundred and eighteen postal cars
have been built since the revised plans
went into effect, to say nothing of forty
old cars which have been rebuilt to
meet the specifications.
One all-steel car. built by the Erie /
road several years ago. has not yet
been in a wreck Two all-steel cars are
now being built for the New York. New
Haven & Hartford railway. The Penn |
sylvania is also to build a steel car. |
The Santa Fe has contracted for thirty !
nine mail cars, eight of which have
been delivered, to be constructed with
an understanding of pressed steel. and
the flooring of the same metal. over
the steel floor a layer of cement will
be laid, and on top of that a laver
of felt, with a strong wooden flooring
over all.
Steel as a Protection.
The statistics submitted by Mr.. Cor
telyou show that when the mail cars
built after the government specifica-
tions have been in wrecks, they have
escaped with slight injury as compar
ed with that done the baggage cars,
the engines and fhe smoking cars Tho