Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-03-28
OUTSIDE POINT OF VIEW

In view of the appalling increase of
railroad accidents in this country, the
record for 1906 averaged 26 persons
MANNED every twenty-four hours,
something must be done. Our iegisla-
lures are now In session all over the
country. Every one of them should
pass some remedial laws before adj
journment. One thing should be done
by the Iowa legislature this year. Pass
a law compelling every railroad in
Iowa to install block system and en-
force such a law. That will lessen
the number of head-end collisions.
Pending such, the installment of the
block system. allow no trains to exceed
twenty mines an hour This will les
sen the number OF rear-end collisions.
for these generally occur from in
ability of the approaching train to stop
before the crash, while travelling at
forty or fifty miles an hour This
remedy Will not suit a large number
of the travelling public, that evidently
prefer the chances Of being killed, to
travelling on slower train. And
again in the case of any railroad wreck
IlINOiNlliS Tic iCsYs, VI liuHIIQiI AliSs ASssc'
investigation must be made, and If the
blame can be placed on employees, or
officials or directors Of the railroad,
let the penalty be imprisonment. This
seems "a hard doctrine, but we must
come to it. The writer was recently
in head-end collision. caused by an
engineer deliberately taking his en-
CINE and four cars fror. the side
track and getting on the main line, at
the time a passenger train was due.
Five dead and eighteen wounded was
the result Should not such an engi-
neer be sentenced a term of years in
the penitentiary?
That none of these suggestions are
unnecessary can be understood where
the story of a recent railroad accident
in Minnesota in told. A freight was
stalled. A. passenger train behind it
caught up with it and was helping to
push it along Another freight train
running some say forty miles am hour,
came up behind, struck the sleeping
cars, pushed them literally thru the
cars In front, making kindling wood of
every car between the sleeping cars
and the engine. Any one of the laws
proposed would have prevented this
accident The block system woulde
have kept both of the rear trains a.
the preceding station. At twenty miles
an hour, the freight trains could prob
ably have been stopped before the coll
lision. With a term in the penitentiary
as the result of such work this engin-
eer in the cab of the rear train would
have been more careful.
~
But this is not ALL Here is what
an engineer on one of our big trunk
lines relates. He says that all trains
must be equipped with a certain per-
centage of "air cars" That he is ev-
cry day ordered by the train dispatch
err to pick UP certain cars at the sta
or frequently collects train containing
only small percentage of air brake
cars. If he refuses to pick up such
cars he will be fired If he obeys
orders then he is liable. To imprison
such an engineer seems unjust, to pun
ish train dispatcher for such orders
seems wrong, but how would it do to
send few directors to Jail for thirty
days for failure to equip their cars
with air brakes.
There is a tendency just now all over
the country to legislate against the|
railroads. Many think. such legislation
is too radical To many two cent
rate is not nearly SO necessary or i'm
portant matter as to make passen-
ger travel less dangerous. 1t took pub
lie sentiment long time to reach the
present acute stage of demanding lower
passenger and freight rates. Perhaps
when the daily deaths in this country
from railroad accidents average fifty,
seventy-f1ve or one hundred a day,
something will be done to lessen the
figures.
Mgs0h1z9