Arizona republican., 1907-06-20

| per cent of the people killed on rail ! roads in this country are trespassers. Every claim agent of any experience will say that generally the injuries are of a serious nature, and result in 1 the injured persons becoming a charge ! either on his friends, or on the public. ] In many instances unfortunately. these l tresspapssers are children.
 On the Chicago. Rock Island x Pa cific in 1906, 13i trespassers were killed and 243 injured. Most of the ! trespassers were killed and injured while on the tracks. General Mana 1 ger F. E. Hartman of the Illinois Cen ! tral killed 124 persons and injured 90 persons while they were walking on
 the tracks or lettering Along the IT, ! linois Central county and municipal authorities almost invariably refuse to care for the injured and crippled. un- ! less the same be resident of the i county or municipality. number of ' suits have been successfully prosecut- ed against the Illinois Central by tres i passers who claim to have been pushed or kicked off trains while in motion. The direct cost to railroads is in ! stopping trains when vagrants are in- | jured conveying them to the nearest ! hospital. where hospital expenses are 1 frequently paid by the railroads be- cause of the unwillngness of the towns | to meet the bills. and burial expenses when necessary. The Chicago X North Western spends several thousand dol | lars a year in this manner. The Great Northern kills and injures a large number of trespassers annually. In ! Southern has killed 593 tresspas sers.
 and injured 1880. On the other Land ] the Wisconsin Central kills only 10 or ] 15 trespassers annually, of whom half are vagrants.
 1 The cost to society of injured vag-
 rants is in the end enormous. because vagrants frequently are rendered in- ] capable of doing any further work.
 and in consequence go to tramping or begging. spending their time between the road. almshouse and the jail. Every charitable society knows of many instances of persons permanent ! ly maimed by railroads. who until the end of their lives will be largely de- ! pendent upon the public either ! through individuals or institutions for | the support of the indigent. Few rail- roads maintain a system of railroad I policing. The Pennsylvania is proba-
 bly as well policed as any American road, but nevertheless. is able to ar rest only small number of ,he tres passers that at all times are illegally [ using the Pennsylvania tracks. The | Chicago. Burlington X Quincy has no ar ii xaA rta Q |, | Western maintains special officers and watchmen in large cities and at ter minals.
 The Chicago. Rock Island X Pacific I has a regular police force and special officers and watchmen at the larger | stations. One special agent does all | the police work on the road for the | Wisconsin Central. on the Lake Shore i railroad it is found impossible to even
 undertake to regulate trespassing. The railroads make varied sugges- ! tions looking to the reduction of the 1 illegal use of railroads by vagrants. i General Manager F. O. Melcher of the Chicago. Rock Island & Pacific. be-
 lieves that "in general the laws are too ! lax regarding tresspassers- In some | European countries it is a criminal of- fense for d person to thespass either upon train or track. and trackmen and 1 trainmen are vested with police power. and it is made their duty to arrest such 1 persons and turn them over to the pro- per authorities for prosecution. In l some of our states the statutes really encourage the use of railroad tracks
 as footways. The record of the Chi
 cago. Rock Island X Pacific in killing ! and injrring passengers is only an average of the railroads of this coun- { try. President Hill of the Great Northern says the only penalty that
 can wipe out or sensibly reduce vag- rancy is enforced labor. as work is
 more dreaded than all the other ter
 TOTS of the law. If every tramp were ' sentenced, under penalty of a diet of
 bread and water. to work hard before
 he was passed along, the end would
 be in sight.
 General Manager F. R. Hartman of
 the Illinois Central recommends the
 prompt enforcement of statutes au-
 thorizing the arrest and punishment of
 vagrants and persons improperly upon trains. The railroads cannot compel the enforcement of laws without in
 
 tral believes that there is already am pie law regarding vagrancy and tres
 pass: but greater cooperation from country and municipal authorities in enforcing present laws would be of benefit to all concerned. The Chica- go & North Western believes that | trespass laws should be enforced for
 the benefit of corporations as strictly
 as for the benefit of individuals. The Delaware & Hudson makes the
 valuable suggestion that the cost of prosecution and maintenance of vag- | rants should be a state charge in | stead of town charge. Many of the
 railroads recommend that vagrants be
 put in chain gangs on the public roads,
 The Michigan Central believes there
 should be more adequate trespass laws
 The facts presented by MT. Lewis.
 which he has gathered by correspond
 ence from leading officials of the diff f9rant railroads