Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-01
Some Questions.

Regardless of the facts as to the Terra
Gotta collision adduced by the coroner's
inquest, certain questions may be asked
In the interest of public safety-it would
almost seem that they were addressed to
the point of railroad management sanity.
FIRST of all, why should "dead-head"
train of empty coaches be run down
stretch of occupied track at a speed of
mile a minute? There can have been
on thls occasion no such urgent neces-
sity for the arrival of those cars in
Washington or Baltimore as to warrant
an engineer in crowding a local passen-
ger train, especially on a foggy night
Has this been the practice heretofore?
what Roadway is allowed the fast ex-
presses that, it is known, come dashing
down this heavy grade from Cumberland
several times a day?
why should the feeble rays of a red
signal lantern be alone relied upon to
give warning to an approaching train
that the track ahead is occupied? Why
not place on the rear of each train a
hght strong enough to pierce fog
Tor al least quarter of a mile? Why
cling, in these days of improvements. to
an antiquated device, often proved in
adequate?
signal that denotes a closed block with
torpedo that cannot be mistaken what
ever the weather? If the signal has
blown out. or if it is obscured by fog.
the torpedo sounds a warning that the
engineer cannot possibly misunderstood.
II he ignores it the noise will attest to
his fault. There will be witnesses then
In plenty to fasten the responsibility.
But nnally the case reverts to the in
qulry, so often propounded in these DAYS
or railroad disasters, Why not adopt,
even as supplementary safeguard one
or the automatic cutoff systems that
stop locomotive when it enters an
already occupied block? 1t NAV be that
those now devised are imperfect and sub
Ject to arrangement. But is the present
system any more perfect Or less subject
to error? 1t may be doubted whether
any of the devices now in evidence at
railroad expositions is more open to criti-
cism than the wretched excuse for or
ganzation that is causing an annual
sacrifice of thousands of lives in tbe
United States Why not try them? Tbev
might work Certainly there is a slender
chance that they would fail simultane-
ously with the present methods. And
furthermore, the trial of auch machines
III PRACTICAL rallrOadlng, perhaps under
FEDERAL prescription, would tend to de-
velop them to a more perfect stage.
One OF the worst faults of our American
railroad system today is its peculiar blend
of conservatism and progress. The roads
are being developed rapidly along certain
lines, in the increase of power, in the con-
struction of cars, in the perfection of road
beds, in the Strengthening of tracks. But
in the adoption of new devices thew are
slow. The average inventor has a hard
time getting a hearing. Go and perfect
your machine" he is often told, land then
We may talk business" If the railroad
management was as cautious about crowd
ing schedules and working the equipment
as it is about listening to men with schemes
to save lives the death roll would doubt
less be much smaller
The inquest into this 10 al horror NAV not
develop along the lines of uItimac. cause
it being the function of the coroner's inv
only to fasten the blame for this particular
instance of mismanagement. But It is so
thoroughly characteristic of the t.udencv
on many lines toward rushing the rolling
stock to squeeze the last dollar of dividends
out of the gross earnings that it may wei
proht the interstate commerce Commission
to observe it closely and formulate upon
the findings a measure of recommend ation
to Congress looking to a broad sweaninc
inquiry into the whole matter of SAFEGUARDS
and dangers in our railroad traffic to he
followed by drastic legislation