The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-28
HOW TO AVOID ACCIDENT.
An Expert Says a Book of Rules Beats
ANY DeNice.

ANY Device.
Discussing the question as to whether
or not there is any practical method now
in existence of equippng engines or
tracks ia sues a way as TO make collis-
ions impossible II. 5. howard, superin-
tcudent ii leOuVe poMer of the Pennsyl-
Vtnia railroad said recently:
IF there were a practical mechanical
system of avoiding collisions the Penn
syiVania would have it. An intelligent
board of directors viii consider the eX-
pense entailed by loss of life every time
and when it can be shown that, even at
great cost, IL new plan viii save life they
are likely to be in favor of it as an
economy against the large aggregate eN-
pense of one big accident.
SO far. however. L have not heard
of anything that would make such acct
dents as we speak of q mechanical inn
possibility. 1t is fair to state that you
can't make inanmate things think, and
brakes would cost more than a new rail-
road. If. as seems probable, when all
the transportation systems of the country
are @electrlned. ana the work OF re-
equipping roads goes on in a way salts
factory to the financial heads, it may be
that automatic systems viii follow at
fbe same time and danger of collisions
viii be reduced to q minimum. but
and here the gray veteran of locomotives
sighed and looked at i photograph of
freight wreck ON an obscure part of the
sVstem-"Im afraid that's a long way
Speaking from my experience, ] would
say that the book of rules beats any
device that could ever be constructed A
man who has just intelligence enough
to follow the book OF rules viii never
play a part in an accident except the
kinds that are called unforeseen.
The books of rules is the outcome
of the life work of many great rail-
road men, and no engineer who follows
his book of rules ever has an accident
made by himself.
.The infanibIity of man can never be
overcome by mechanical device, no mat
ter how ingenious it may be
"A conductor I know was a sober and
STRENGTHENING man; he had been run
For year he had a standing order to
go in upon a certain side track when
he was on time, and wait for passen-
ger train to go past them in the same
direction. One night he got his order
from the last station to go on, and when
he got to the sidetrack the nagman
ahead opened switch and the freight
moved in When his cabOOse passed over
slipped the hook of the lock through the
eyes of the switch handle. but did not
snap the lock, because the freight had
to back out upon the main track when
the passenger train had gone by. He got
back in the cabOOse and sat down to
wait for the other train. What state his
mind got into is hard to explain, for
when he heard the whistle of the pas
senger train he suddenly thought he had
rot thrown the switch jumped out of
the CabOOse and threw the switch over
just in time to let the passenger train
crash into the freight and XIII several
people He turned white that night and
quit railrOading.
1T would be well to have mechanical
devices to avoid such accidents as that,
but how can YOU imagine that even such
a device would not suffer from people
who don follow rules2 If he had snapped
the lock on that switch as the rules plain
ly directed. he wouldn't have had time
to unlock it and let the passenger train
in on the freieht.'