Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1907-04-26
There is perhaps no stronger argr

There is perhaps no stronger argu-
ment gagainst the robber protective
tariff than the exemplification fur
nfshed us by the steel rail monopoly
built up by the tariff. The monopoly
has for years been and is still preylng
upon the public IN Almost shameful
manner. 1t seems to be, high time to
remove the fostering care of the gov
eminent from any industry when IL
forms itself into monopoly which
charges the home consumers nearly
twice as much al its factory as 1t does
it's foreign customers after paying
freight to and from the seaports be-
sides ocean freight. This is bad enough
but it is notialllthe lniquity OF the steel
rail trust. In recent years it has re-
duced the quality of the rails in such
manner as to jeoparidize human life
and add greatly to the expense to the
railroads in maintaining their roads,
The Scientific American, non-par-
tisan scientifc.J ournal ofintsrnatlonal
acceptabilty has the following to say
on the subject
1t is significant; fact that side by
side the alarming growth in the mum
her of railroad accidents which has
been mott ceable during the past WIN
ter, there has been an increasing fire
quency IN tie breakage of the steel
rails, upon which, after all, the securi-
ty of railroad travel Immediately de-
Ponds. There is evidence that not a few
of the disasters have been caused di-
rectly by these broken rails; and can
be little doubt than many of the I'M
explained accidents have been due to
similar cause. according to one of our
technical contemporaries, an engineer
who was present at a recent railroad
wreck stated that, within a distance of
one'mile sinsthe vicinity of the wreck,
he co united nineteen broken rails
which had been removed from thetrack
during the winter.
The writer Twas recently given an op-
port unity to examine au official re-
pore, made to the president of a certain
trunk line, on sthe subject of broken
rails; and.h was dumfounded to learn
that, during two months of the pres
ent winter, there had occurred on this
road over 600 eases of troken rails.
When we remember that every such
break puts the train in immediate peril
o derailment,s. weiare filled with Won
derment, not that there are so many,
but that there are so few, disastrous ac-
cidents.
Time was when American rails
bou ght in the open market and rolled
to the specifications of the engineers of
the railroads, and by them held strict
ly to these specifications, were equal to
any in the world Today the rails that
are received from the one colossal con-
Germ which can furnish them, ARE of the
very poorest quality constant and
positively fearful menace to every pas
senger that rides over them.
The deprecis ton, rapid depreciation,
in the quality of rails is due to the in
troduct.on by the makers of cheaper
ami quicker methods of manufacture.
These methods have been adopted
with single eye, rot to the improve
ment of quality, but to the increase of
profits on the output.
That the broken rail is a growing
peril will be realized, when we state
that, DURING the past few years, the
rails supplied to the railroads by the
concern which has the monopoly OF
their manufacture, have become SO pool
In quality, that breakages have gone
up several hundred per cent.
And every broken rail is an invita-
lion to railroad disasterl
The blame for the present alarming
conditions lies at the door of the man
ufacturers. This fact will be fully APP
preciated, when we have made thu
American put lie familiar with certain
astounding facts in the recent history
O the relations between the railroad:
and the cneIconcern upon which they
are dependent for rails.s