Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-04
Railroad Slaughter and Profits.

To the Editor of The Star:
1 notice that a brother of the former
president Of the Seaboard Air Line rail-
way says in published statement that
the recent slaughter by the wreck on the
Baltimore and Ohio at Terra Gotta, and
also others, lis plainly attributable to the
action of Congress and the legislation of
the various states in recent years, by oblig-
ing the railroads to reduce rates while
their taxes were increased" and that they
were obliged to employ cheap labor ETC.,
etc
The absurdty of this statement is shown
by the notorious fact that never in the
history of the country were the profits of
the railroads SO great as during the past
two years, and especially during the last
year, shown by c. M. Keys in the jan
uary number of the Worlds Work, in
which their total earnings In 1905 are given
as s2os2 100000, the percentage being I'd d.
gan, 20.36 per cent; Harrimans, 1146;
Vanderbilts', 1915; Pennsylvania, 1882;
Hills, 7S4; Goulds', 5S4, and the indie
trolling 74.7 per cent of the mileage and
the Independent roads 25.3 per cent.
1t is elsewhere shown that in 1877 the
average Wall street quotation for the
stock of the great railroads was $40
share, or two-fifths of par. Today the
average is more than $1,000 per cent
above par, or nearly four times what 1t
was thirty years ago. From this data it
been much injured by legislation of Con-
gress or of the states If there is any
fault to be found with the legislation re-
lating to railroads it is in the neglect of
Congress and the states to compel the
railroads to treat the public fairly, and
especially as to the prevention of the
wholesale slaughter with which the record
of the past year has been filled, and of
which this almost under the caves of the
national Capitol is but a fair illustration.
And late dispatches record still another, in
which thirty-five human beings were killed
and cremated and twenty-one more in
jured; and this, like the one here, and in
fact nearly all the others, was solely due
to carelessness and the want of proper
management on the part of the companies
and their employees.
In no nation on earth is railroading as
profitable and as untrammeled by legis-
lative control as in the United States. and
in none is there anywhere near the same
destruction of life and limb as with US,
and which increases from year to year.
1t is the height of absurdity for any one
to contend that this is due to legislative
restraint of the railroads. On the con-
trary, 1t is due to the lack of proper legis-
lation in regard to the management of the
running of trains and the adoption otSther
and better means to prevent accidents,
which in the great majority of cases are
due to recklessness and carelessness alone.
In the year ending June 80, 1905, the
number killed was 9,703 and the number
injured S600S For the eleven years
killed was S6,S05 and the number injured
was 613,S67, total of 7O0,672
AS stated by c. E. Russell in Everybody's
Magazine for February, 1906 we have more
| people killed by our railroads every week
! than there is on the entire German sys-
| tenn in a year; and the comparison is
equally true with nearly, If not quite, every
European nation.
The slaughter by the railroads is simply
| appalling as we'll inexcusable. and it
| is high time that steps were taken to
| stop it. Surely human beings are of more
| consequence than freight. and as Congress
| and the states have felt 1t their duty to
| legislate in regard to the latter, 1t is to be
| hoped they will now give some attention
| to the former not only for the peoples
! protection, but also for the benefit of the
| railroads, whose losses from these so-called
accidents amount to many millions per
| annum. 1t must be either that or govern
| ment ownership, for the people will not
| always submit to the present condition of
| affairs. and they ought not to.
W. c. DODGE.