Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-09-30
WHAT CARELESSNESS COSTS
Disasters and Death Which Care Might
Have Prevented.
FEVER FROM Hvt-ctST BLANKETS


Enormous sums.
Sometimes the most insignificant piece Of
carelsssness has produced results which !
have shaken continents. The misplace |
uient Of a period was the cause, II Is said. |
~ the Jameson raid and therefore indi- |
rstMiy the cause.
When there seemed a prospect Of a con- |
Mct between the Boer government and the
uitlander population a letter was sent TO
Dr. Jameson from johannesburg, signed by
Colonel Cecil Rhodes and others.
According 10 the Grand magazine the
original contained the following sentence:
I'VE feel we are justified in taking steps
70 prevent the shedding of blood and to
insure the protection OF our rights. 1t is
under these circumstances that we feel
constrained to call upon you to come to our
aid should disturbance arise here. Circum-
stances are SO extreme that we cannot
avoid this step. ETC., etc"
In the message DR.. Jameson received the
full stop was placed after the word laid"
instead OF after there" Thus the qualify
Ing clause was cut on and became a part
Of the next sentence. The Rhodesians came
instantly gaiioping across the frontier on
their Inflated mission.
Carelessness pure and simple was the
ceuse OF a shocking catastrophe near ST.
Petersburg during the army naneuvers
four years ago. A sham fight was in prog
ress. and an officer in command of cav
airy regiment was ordered to. move around
the flank OF an opposing lorce. Instead OF
throwing out scouts and proceeding eau
tiousiy ne calmy trotted on In the direction
Indicated. and when the regiment reached
point where some OF the opposing force
were supposed TO be awaiting them, ordered
one squadron to charge.
The troops put spurs to, their horses and
gaioped furiously forward. The result was
appalling. The supposed enemy's trenches
turned out 20 be a narrow but deep, swift
running river into which the whole squad
ron rode at full speed. Men and horses
crashed over the almost vertical bank in a
living torrent. OF more than ninety
dragons barely forty reached the opposite
bank alive.
Peaceful Bombsrdment.
One sumr err morning in July, 1903. the
peaceful little village OF Collonges was
startled by huge object descending ap-
parently from the skies with a terrific thud
in the center OF the main street. A moment
after, with shrieking whistle, came an
other OF these alarming visitants, which
struck the church roof. knocking a hole In
IT.
The terrified inhabitants fed for their
lives, pursued by shell after shell. Many
houses were struck but by q miracle no
one was killed. Afterward II turned out
that this perilous bombardment was the
result OF trial of some new long-range
guns at the savatan forts. The officer in
--eRRarge had apparently never taken the
Trouble to inquire the range of the new
weapons. and had been firing with n reck-
less disregard Of consequences.
IN May 1903 eleven boys on board the
training ship Cornwall. lying on Purfieet.
were suddenly struck down by typhoid
fever, and inquiry proved that the out
break was the result OF their sleeping be-
tween fever~infected blankets brought
from South Africa In nat contraventfon
or army regulations no fewer than 100000
blankets returned from service had been
sold TO two dealers at the Cape at s cents
each. and OF these 1900 dozen were shipped
back TO London. those that were tainted
being Unfortunately mixed with those
free from suspicion. Carelessness of this
sort Is In very truth a crime of the deep
est dye.
While on the subject Of infection. the
American town OF st. Paul. Mimi, got an
unpleasant scare two years ago. An Eng
lish doctor was travelling across from San
Francisco to New York when. at St. Paul.
negro porter in charge Of the travellers
bag careiessly mislsid It.
Imagine the feelings Of the railway ON
cials when they heard that among the con-
tents OF the lest piece OF luggage were sew.
eral tubes If living plague bacilii the doc
tor hat brought from Indiai For some day.
the whole surrounding country was IN 9
state OF semi-panic but eventually the
missing bag was recovered with the tube,
intact
aCRrelessness introduced the Gypsy moth
into New England and allowed 1t to estab.
fish itself there at a cost of millions OF
dollars to the people OF that section.
Carelessness, too introduced the sweet.
briar into Tasmania covering great area,
Of fine grazing land with impenetrabls
thickets; carelessness spread the blackberry
over~sas districts In Australia: careless.
ness has damned the New Zealand streams
with tangled masses OF giant watercress
and the Florida rivers with RATS OF blu,
lowered water hyacinth.
Worse than all IN It's financial effect.
upon great industry was the carelessnesl
which introduced the so-called Bathurs
burr into Australia. Wherever this plan
has spread sleeps fieeces are thick will
the clinging burrs. These splny seed pods
dificuit beyond measure to get rid Of re
duoe the wool that Is full OF them to-
fraction OF its value.
The results OF carelessness all too Otter
are beyond the power OF man 10 remedy
An instance in point was the collapse o
the Campanile at Venice. For twelve lon,
years before Its fnal collapse signor Ven
draseo, an architect In municipal employ
had been urging and imploring the tow
and government to repair the tower befor