The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-12-31
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 81, 1907
'eYou are responsible for bad Legisla

OoscrnOI-elecJ or, VINO spoke at a recent |
dinner, and who is further reported to
have said: IF you have bad men in your |
Legislatures you deserve all that you get. |
If men do not exercise their independence |
they do not do their duty. That may be |
political heresy but am standing for
that kind of heresy, and / believe in 1t.
Nobody will deny the truth of these re-
marks and it is to be hoped that the day ]
is not far distant when the ideas intended |
to be conveyed by them will be carried
out The day of political conventions
governed by delegates selected by political
bosses and manipulators has gone by.
Under the new law the people will have
the chance to speak at the primaries and
make their choice Of candidates directly |
and not through agents who consider po-
litical pull in preference to public good. |
Burlington county, In common with other |
sections of the state, has had representa- |
tives at Trenton who were placed on the
ticket by dictation, the nomination In
many instances being equivalent to cleo
ton. The result has been misrepresenta-
ton. Under the new system If the people |
do not avail themselves of the opportun |
itY to select the very best men to serve |
them that will be a fault for which til e |
voters will alone be responsible Govern |
or Fort also said: "Our people are loyal |
people. and if you bring a question be-
fore them, moral or just, they will meet |
it." So there is hope for better things in |
the future.
BURLINGTON county was plunged into |
grief just at time when the heart |
should have been glad and sadness should |
have been banished. The accident on the |
railroad at Camden was one that was ap-
palling to the entire community but es-
pecially 80 to those on the line of the |
road between Pemberton and Camden |
who had personal daily acquaintance with |
those who were victims of the wreck |
The accounts vary as to the cause of the |
accident. the speed of the train which |
collided with one just ahead, and other |
incidents of the sad affair, but the general |
opinion seems to be that there was care |
lessness somewhere. There was a heavy
fog, yet the man at the throttle of the |
engine that carried death and destruction |
in its path, says he was only running |
eight miles an hour. Whether this is a |
iusti6able defence may well be questioned |
If the fog was as heavy as he said-"the |
worst he ever experienced" he |
MI hou hno 20 k, u
ii he had reduced speed to four miles an |
hour That he ran past signals seems to |
be undesirable, whether from inability to
see them or from carelessness in looking |
has not yet been made public. The fact |
that he did run past with fearful results, |
leaving grief In many homes, is beyond |
question. There may be criticism to be |
put upon the managers of the railroad |
company who allowed two trains to run |
into the same station on the same track |
within such a short period of time as has |
been the case for some time. There is a |
serious fault somewhere and somebody |
should be held responsible. Of course |
there will be suits for damages, or there
will be settlements satisfactory to those
who have reason to claim compensation,
but that will not help the travelling public
or ensure the safety of the passengers on |
other trains An arrest or two for man
slaughter might have good effect.
The Philadelphia Press says: "But one
thing this investigation should make clear |
How did No. 347, the Pemberton. Camden
local, run by the block signal2 If it was
foggy and the signal closing the block
and all accounts agree 1t was at danger
could not be seen, 1t was the business of |
the engineer, under the rules, to,stop. If |
the signal cannot be seen this Is a block
in itself. If the signal could be seen, how
did the engineer come to run past it and
into the rear of No. 256, the Atlantic City
expressf Are block signals taken as per-
missivef Are engineers allowed to get in
to the habit of feeling their wayf This
charge is constantly made and by the tech
nical railroad journals If this is the
case, If block system is allowed to be per-
missive, it instantly becomes serious
source of peril. Fortunately. the Penn.
sylvania not long ago tuned up its block
system, by setting danger signals as test
aud dealing summarily with engineers that
disregarded them. On many lines nothing
OF the kind is done. The increase of col
lisions even on roads provided with block
signals has disfused the impression that on
American lines the block system is not
rigid. An engineer is tacitly allowed dis
erection, and is sharply held up only when
accident comes. The investigation on the
Camden accident ought to make it perfect
ly clear that this is not the case on the line
involved"
Theatres.
cd nd |