Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-04-16

Is not much larger
The most stringent precautions have
to be taken to keep the railroad sched-
res correct The other day was in
jewelers. store in this city. While |
stood by the counter young man
came in and said: How about that
watch of mine: Can it stand the rail
road test" What do you mean by
that?" | asked is the railroad mans
watch any different from any other
PERSONS watch:" Yes" the jewcler
answered Every railroad man must
own perfect watch. It must not vary
in its time n quarter of n second a
week. Each day the time Is sent over
the railroad lines And each railroad.
like the Santa Fe has an official called
the watch tester whose business Is to
do nothing but test watches. So i'm.
portant is his position that this official
is paid hy the Santa Fe railroad $1,000
per year. If it was not for the perfec-
ton of the watches there would he
thousands upon thousands of lives
sacrificed each year by collisions"
When you begin to realize that life
and death hang upon the revolving
wheels Of little watch as well as up
on the great driving wheels Of loco
! motive. do you wonder that we have
accidents? Then consider the perfec-
ton of machinery and the perfection
Of materials as well as the perfection
of the calculations Of time necessary
to safeguard the lives of the people
who travel. When | am a passenger
on steamboat ! spend hours down in
the hull watching the moving machin.
! cry When | am II passenger upon the
| railroad train ! try to sit upon the
| platform of the rear car and watch
the receding rails as the revolving
wheels carry us over them. ] never
go up into II high building but | al
ways think. This high structure is
erected story upon story" One bolt
Of that steamboat machinery out of
place. one rail of that track spreading
one girder of that building sagging
would mean death to scores. perhaps
hundreds. Of human lives.
The Danger From the Elements.
Then from studying the dangers
which surround US every where ant
rom which we are saved by human
care would have You turn your minds
to the dangers which threaten us from
earthquake and fire and lightning ant
tornado and tidal wave. All, we may
be able to guard against dangers arts
ing from human fraities. but who car
fight the elements when they begin t.
rear and plunge and to kick and t
snort? The hard surface of this cart
is only ms the shell of an egg is to thu
inside of the egg. The internal fires o
the earth may burst forth at any time
The tornadoes and cyclones are read!
to beat us down from above. Their,
needs but little shifting Of the earth
surface and great tidal waves woult
submerge our coast cities. Dangers
dangers, dangers, are everywhere
Thank God that he has cared for u
and protected us from physical de
struction or, what is worse, from phys
3 zeal mutllation and agony. Every da
I and hour OF our lives we have bee
! surrounded by peris from the force
D OF nature. We, like Paul and his fe
| low voyagers on the Alexandrlan cor
= ship, "have escaped safe to land"
, But there Is still another fact (
I which ! want to draw your attention |
: reference to this text | want you
, focus your eyes upon that little wor
9 "all." Luke does not here say. IAN
! Paul escaped safe to land" He doe
. not say. "And Paul and myself escape
? safe to land" But he does say, "An
: so 1t came to pass that they escaped II
[ safe to land" That meant that
+ there were families upon that ship tn
I father and mother rs well rs the brotl
4 crs and sisters or the children escapes
: All-yes. Jl-escaped safe to lam
r Have you ever stopped to think no
muck you are indebted morally an