Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-01-24

AM lV
Of loss OF life on passenger trains II
one OF the great problems OF D &C.
said John A. Aller, who has been
Superintendent Of Equipment on sew
eral big western railroads. 10 q re-
preventative Of the World last week.
ITO eliminate to q mechanical Ger
tainty the danger OF collisions OF pas
senger trains such as occurred on the
Harlem 'viaduct Of The New YORK
Central railroad last week, when sew
eral lives were lost. arouses the deep
eft concern OF practical railroad men.
but AZ a rule not that OF the stock
holders.
New devices and equipment cost
money, and stockholders don't IKE
20 see their money spent.
Just how any apparatus could be
devised TO make all collisions impos-
sible is more than | a say. but al
comparatively small expense all 0
tracks could be equipped with a style
Of automatic arrangement such as ~
used ON the express tracks OF the SUD
way: much danger could be iliminat-
ed. but an inventor would have 4
hard time getting a board Of directors
20 vote to spend the money necessary
70 equip the cross tracks OF even the
smallest Of roads. and II a board OF
directors were asked TO equip a whole
line with q block system such as the
subway uses to avoid rear-end col
lisions and the vagrant accidents Of
obscure switches they would probably
ask for an examination as to the san
fly OF the man who made II.
Some day, after enpugh people
have been killed. We shall have q
congress with nerve enough to pass
. national Law making railroads equip
a. nearly a. possible every danger.
point with the devices that are a.
ready In existence. cost or no cost
A. to whether there ID any prac'
tical method now In existence Of
equippipg engines IN such way ~ "a
make collisions impossible many prac'
tical railroad men were asked fol
their opinion and experience.
H. 3. Hayward. superintendent 81
motive power Of the Pennsylvania
railroad, said:
III there were q practical mechan
teal system Of avoiding collisions thu
Pennsylvania would have II. An in
telligent board Of directors will con
slider the expense entailed by loss o
life every time an invention or a new
plan Ii suggested, and when It a b.
shown that. ever at great cost. q new
plan will save life they are likely 4
be in favor OF 1t az an econom.
against the large aggregate expens'
Of one big accident.
80 far. however. l have not hear
OF anything that would make sue
accidents a. We speak OF a mechan
teal impossibilitv. Il II fair to stat
that you can't make inanimate thing
think. and al automatic track-stol
acting on air-brakes would cost NOR
than q new railroad. II. a. SEEM
probable, when all the transportation
syatems Of the country are "elec
trified." and the work OF re-equippinl
roads goes on In q way satisfactor!
to the financial heads, It may be tina
automatic systems will follow at tn
same time. and danger OF collision
viii be reduced to q minimum: but
and here the gray veteran Of loco
motives sighed. and looked at q pho
tograph Of a freight wreck on an oh
ecure part Of the system--"I'm afrai'
that's : long way off.
Speaking from my experience.
would say that the book OF rule
beats any device that could ever b
constructed. A man who has just in
telligence enough to follow the bool
Of rules will eve play a part in a
accident except the kinds that ar
called unforeseen.
THE books OF rules Ia the outcom
of the life work OF many great raj
road men. and no engineer who fo'
lows his book OF rules ever has a,
accident made by himself.
1.-THE infallibility Of man can neve
be overcome by mechanical device
no matter how ingenious It may b.
"A conductor I know was q sobe
and STRENGTHENING man: he had bee