Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1907-04-29
MOST ACCIDENTS
DUE TO EMPLOYEES
RAILROADS IN A POSITION OF
PRACTICAL HELPLEssNEss.
MEN:.FAlL IN THEIRDUTIES
Public However, Place the Odiun
squareIy Upon the Companies,
Overlooking the Lapse of Tra' =
men and SignaImen-FuIler Pub
Iicity Advocated.

Chicago, April 24-Publicity is rec
commended in a striking editorial in
today's issue of the Railway Age as
cure for railroad accidents. The age
says:
The publicity which is given to
railway accidents by the press and by
the interstate commerce commission
is the cause of much bitter arraign-
ment of railway arrangements, but IS
of little benefit to the public, to the
railway managers or to the railway
employees Might not different kind
of publicity MAKE for the great bene-
fit of all of these parties? AS 1t IS
now, the principal facts which reach
the public are that SO many persons
were killed and so many were injured
in certain period. The attention +
the public is not directed to the per-
sons who are primarily responsible Tor
these fatalities and injuries, and it's
resentment is visited upon the man
agement, even when every precaution
that human foresight could devise his
been taken.
Take, for example. a recent acct
dent wherein at least 20 persons were
killed and nearly 100 were more or
less injured. Hero, on a piece of
straight, level track, in broad day
light, the engineer of the wreck ID
train ran into an open switch when OBJ
Iservation of the target would have
shown him that the switch was SCI
against mis- train. Moreover, the IL
gineer was running at high speed
through a yard, in violation of the
general rules and also of a special
bulletin recently issued. The switch
itself was left open by switching
crew, in violation of the general rule
that all main line switches must be
kept closed. On this line surprise
checking as a means of educating
train men in the observance of sig
mails has been practiced for over five
years.
The most discouraging fact con-
fronting the management in cases like
these is that such negligence is found
among the men who by their training
and experience, should be the most
reliable of the company's employees.
The railway management under such
circumstances, is helpless to prevent
the accident, yet it is the manage
ment which has TO bear the odium Of
the unnecessary killing and manning
of its patrons Could the censure OF
the public be directed to the employe
Instead of the manager, and could
there be aroused public feeling
which would enforce the existing laws
to punish criminal negligence, there
could not but result an improvement
in the discipline of the railway serv-
ice
The question arises as to whether
the railways could not themselves ac-
complish all the good results to be
expected of a government board to L
vestigate accidents, were they to pur-
sue systematically the policy Of Civ
ing to the press at regular intervals
the results of their own Investigations
into the causes of accidents. Probaiy
the railways could with advantage go
further and report to the public serl-
Gus acts of negligence on the part OF
employees, even though no accident re
suited
Reference to recently published
statitics from various sources shows:
| ID That in the five years that the
railways have made reports Of acct
- AAr tra%n %ofn
commission over 20 per cent of the
serious collisions on American rail
ways have been due to the negligence
of trainmen and engine men. (2)
That where serious collisions have
occurred on lines protected by block
signals. "a per cent of these have
been due to negligence of trainmen
and signal men.
"Such facts as these cannot be ig-
nored, and the point it is desired to
make is that good discipline and a
high moral among railway employees
are essential, if such appalling acct
dents as those fresh in the minds of
all our readers are to be prevented.
Discipline is dimcult to enforce in q
republic, and in fact cannot be en-
forced unless the authority admins
tering it has the sympathy and sup
port of the public Without the sup
port of public opinion any statute will
soon become a dead letter.
How often in America is railway
employee punished for criminal negli-
gence, even though his act may have
caused the deaths of scores of per-
sops9 Scarcely an instance can be
cited The public, as it's opinion is
expressed by the actions of iuries,
sympathizes with the culprit and visits
Its censure upon his employer when
civil suits for damages are brought
against the company.
I'm general. the railways say as lit