Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-09-14
Looker-On In Iona

NIFlnneli, sept. I1-lH NEW loi ~
state. what is known as the public SER
vice commission is an unqualified sue
cess. Its duties can be defined as at
tending, to what is everybodys bust
ness is nobody's business We need
such commission in Iowa. For in
stance. today in this state are easily
100 passenger cars running and being
used by the public, that in New York
the public service commission would at
orce order to the repair shop.
Such cars used by some railroads
are filthy in the extreme. The closets
are menace to the health of the
passengers and an outrage on decency.
On some of the branch lines the clos
cts are not cleaned for weeks at a time.
The seats are not cleaned for months
Only busted off at the end of the round
trip. The windows are dirty and not
half Of them will open. or those that
open will not stay so. In one of these
cars the writer once rode with tub
erculosis patient that freely expector-
atsd on the floor and that car was used
for eighteen hours afterward before
being cleaned in any way except
sweeping by an employee that only
swept up what he could hurriedly get
with his broom. The smoking car
furnished by these Iowa roads is
worse than anything else. The filthy
public, throws on the floor the refuse
of lunch baskets, orange skins half
eaten fruit. and newspapers. while to-
bacco chewers make this Uttered floor
cuspidor. Such smoking cars are
used in such condition for eighteen
hours before any attempt is made to
clean them
But this Is not all. These referred to
railroad companies neglect these cars
In Other respects that endanger the
life of their passengers. Passenger cars
are used for weeks at time with only
slight superficial examination. The
wheel Taper touches the wheel. looks
at the brass to see IL worn glances at
the rods under the cars and that is all.
Such cars are jerked around sharp
curves at forty to fifty miles an hour,
when the train is late. and such cars
are expected to clear the switches and
to hold together even when an excur-
SIGN at cheap rates loads them with
$4,000 pounds of perspring humanity.
Another bit of reckless railroading in
dnlged in by these companies, is the
daily and hourly failure to properly in
spact their. freight cars. Not long ago,
the writer was in a little Iowa town
waiting for a night train. A car re-
pairer was at work across from the
platform, trying to put back a brake
beam that had fallen down and only
discovered by accident by a brakeman
fixing the air" This car repairer said
that beam had been dragging
ten to twenty miles. at any time liable
to get loose and ditch the train. That
the company would only furnish two
at the division point and
that at least half of the trains went
thru without inspection Such trains
are running every hour with passen-
ger trains close behind them. When it
comes to engines, any engineer on one
of these roads is authority for the
statement that the company expects
him to keep his engine in repair as
long as she will turn a wheel, and the
policy of the road is to run her as long,
as hard, and as fast as possible,
and then sent her to the scrap
pile. This is pleasant reading for
the travelling public. And again
on such roads, many of the depots,
waiting rooms and outbuildings, should
receive the attention of the state board
of health. Some things cannot be de-
scribed in print.
All Of this bad condition of affairs
comes from a desire on the part of
these railroad companies to make a
good financial showing to directors,
and the public 1t is
cheaper to kill certain number Of
employees and passengers each year,
pay their heirs as little as possible,
than to employ men enough to lessen
such possible and probable accidents.
1t is much cheaper not to hire men
to keep their cars and depots in a
clean and decent condition.
THE writer has been unable to learn
just what powers our railroad COM
missioners possess. Two things are
self-evident: One. if they have power
to correct such evils they are not US
ing it: the other, if we have no such
authority vested anywhere, there is
good work ahead of the next legisla-
ture This reported condition of af-
fairs is not in the least exaggerated !
The railroad commissioners Of Iowa
will find upon investigation every word |
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