Bisbee daily review., 1907-07-05
HARTMAN ID TELL
 PUBLIC 0F WRECKS
Inaugurates Entirely New Pol icy Regarding Accidents
 On His Line.


 NEW YORK, July 4.-Edward H. Hartman has inaugurated a new policy on the railroads he controls. Hereafter the greatest publicity will be given to railroad wrecks, and out side citizens will be invited to join the railroad boards of inquiry and help fix the responsibility for disas- ters.
 In a statement issued from the Har- riman executive office here today, Mir. Harriman's projecs is outlined, and a detailed recital of the plans of the Hartman roads is given. The of ficial statement Is as follows:
 MT. E. H. Hartman has issued orders that hereafter full reports shall be made promptly and given to the press concerning all accidents occur ring on the railroads of which he is the head. The action includes the Union Pacific and the Southern Paci- fie systems. as well as the Oregon lines.
 Tt has been the practice of these roads for some time past to have de tailed reports on all accidents made to the chairman of the executive committee. The management has regarded it as one of it's primary duties to avert accidents, having, since assuming charge of the Union and Southern Paeifics roads expend- ed some s12,000,000 in safety appli- ances for roadway and equipment. To this end, by the close of the cur rent year, the various lines of the Union and Southern Pacific railroads will have 47O0 miles of track protect ed by automatic block signals. The management has arranged that it's steel rails for delivery next year shall be made by the open hearth process. which it is expected will make the number of breakages very decidedly less.
 'The plan to make public full de tails regardless of consequences, con corning accidents on the company's s lines. follows suggestion made in public interview recently by Mir. J. Kruttschmidtt, director of mainten- ance and operation of the Oregon lines who said:
 Personal responsibility flor acci- dents, whether officers CT laborers, should be known to the public. We must bring about closer observance of rules and greater respect for dan ger signals than we now get from our employees. This can be done only by giving widest publicity to accidents
 Tt is believed that a policy consist ently and regularly followed of pub | fishing complete accounts of all ac- cidents will result in giving the pub | lie a more exact idea of the actual causes and so create public opinion | that will enable railroads to enforce 1 better discipline
 Reports of the Interstate Com meree commission emphasizes the necessity for this move According to 1 the reports more than 70 per cent (317 1 out of 44S) of the serious collisions on the American railroads in the | past five years were due to neglt | gence of trainmen and enginemen. On lines protected by block signals, | 94 per cent of the collisions are at | tributed to negligence of trainmen and signal operators.
 "As a further step in the direction of securing public cooperation in fix i ing the real cause of accidents, the Union Pacific railroad, which has | heretofore rigidly investigated all ac 1 cldenIs on us iihe Og pOdiu OL TIT l uuiry of it's own officers and employeS has decidede as an experiment, to in | yite outsiders of local reputation and ] standing to be present and to parti' cipate in the hearings of the com pany's board and to join in it's find. ings, either through assent or dissent 1 thereat. The company expects through this means to have the pub lie realize its sincerity in seeking to | ascertain the exact cause of the trouble, regardless of the responsi- bility.