The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1907-06-28

Wrecks on the Great Northern
have been so frequent in the past
six months that one or two disasters
more or less no longer causes COM
,ment.
1t is only when the long series Of
misfortunes are viewed as a whole
that the public really comprehends
the accumulated result of the catas-
trophes.
The following from the Spokes-
man-Review shows in condensed
form what has happened to G. n.
trains within the past few months.
Local postal clerks are calling at
tention to an official report of acci-
dents to railway mail trains appear
ing in the current issue of the Rail-
way Postoffice, the organ of the rail
way mail service. The article in
question urges the necessity of hav-
ing reports at regular intervals from
the railroads to the interstate COM
merce commission showing the num-
Der of accidents and lives lost or per-
sons injured from the time of the
filing of one report to another.
''Such a statement from the roads
sof the country, it is urged, could be
compared by the commission and the
lines guilty of negligence and con-
sequent wrecks and loss of life
would be revealed boldly among the
number and proper reforms demand
sed.
las an example the article cites a
report of wrecks occurring on the
Great Northern railroad between st.
Paul, Mimi, and Havre, Mont, from
November, 1896 to April, 1907, a
trackage OF 957 miles. introducing
the report with brief comment. as
follows: 1T will be understood that
this includes wrecks to mail trains
only, and we are properly Interested
in the resultant effect upon the
clerks employed thereon. The infor-
nation is compiled from data read
TO the St. Paul branch meeting of
railway mail clerks and its author
ity can easily be verified from Tenth
Division general orders and Is as
follows:
Accidents Of Six Months.
=. November II. 1905, collision.
no clerks injured. ..
=. November 19, 1906, derailment.
two clerks injured; OF six months.
November 20, 1906, collision,
two clerks injured; OF six months.
IN I'VE nber 81, 1906, derailmant,
ashree Clerks injured; still OF duty.
December %, 1906, derailment,
clerks uninjured.
January 1. 1907, derailment,
two clerks injured: one of two
months; one off yet.
January 2. 1907, collision. one
clerk injured; off one month.
January 6, 1907, derailmert!
clerk uninjured.
.'' March s, 1907, derailment, two
clerks injured; both off yet.
"'April Is, 1907. derailment, one
clerk killed, one clerk injured, for
probably six months.
april %. 1907, derailment, one
clerk injured; off about three
months
Commenting further the article
: continues:
In the derailment of April Is
$4,000 pounds of mail was burned
and it was only through the heroic
efforts of Clerk Fondes that the body
of his dead comrade was saved from
incineration.
The financial statement for the
. benefit fund covering the month oi
April, 1907, shows that $679.2S was
paid to members of the Grand Forks
branch and $4,000 to the wife of the
member of that branch killed in
wreck of April Is. In addition te
this $402.S6 was paid in the same
month to members of other branche:
of the Tenth.
BAD Record West of Spokane.
!" Other statements read to ths
meeting referred to were from a let
ter of December i. 1905, which de
clared that since the Camden disas
ter there had been IL. derailments