davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12
RAILROAD WRECKS
DUE~TO EMPLOYEES.
NEGLECT, NOT LACK, cor
ORDERS FATAL. 4
Experienced Signalman VUeclares
Safety Deuices Futileff :
Di@egarded.

To those who have been startled &ly the ap-
palng number of deaths and acc .dents on
railroads in this country during the last year
the statement that the sacrifice of Il avellers is
due to the negligence of employees Will come
as- surprise The cry raised aftei every big
wreck has been for more and newer safety de-
vices, Inventors have been workr g on such
appliances since rairoadng begaII and all
sorts of hair-trigge ger signals have bee installed
but the accidents have increased wit h the traf-
fic, and last year exactly 5000 pc rsons were
killed and I6.2S6 injured on the railroads
OF the United States. according to the statis-
tics of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
One answer has now been made ro the ever
present question. Who is to be blasned?' The
reply is given in The Confessions Of a Rail
road Signalman.' written by ]. Q. Fagan,
man of experience in this department of rail-
road work. Although he does not spare the
signalmen. the fagmen and the engineers for
violating the rules. he points out that lack of
thorough supervision leaves them "a free hand
for continued violations Of rules-vsations that
pass unnoticed and unreported until there is a
ash.
The story of one accident is the story of
them all" writes Mr. Pagan in the current num-
Der of The Atlantic Monthly" After a loss of
life and property :he superintendent starts an
investigation IN secret, a decision is rendered
in secret, and the verdict and penalty are COM
municated privately to the accused, who keep
the unpleasant news to themselves Mr.. Pagan
touches the weak spot OF such proceedings
as follows:
But before long another employe, in utter
ignorance of the first mans blunder, commits
the same mistake. Both of these wrecks may
have been serious. perhaps with loss Of life
but that makes difference. Our traditions
and ancient habits have not been interfered
with and the bills have been paid. Such is
discipline in the dark. Great indeed is Sc
crecy!'
Mr. Pagan does not blame the superintendent
for he is ''beset on all sides with obstacles and
difficulties" Not the least Of these are the
rules by which the labor organizations protect
their members Formerly the offending en-
ploye could be discharged the spot, but to-
dav he claims a hearing, and brother member
of his union ali expert railroad law, acts
his counsel.
IN this way. railroad men figure II
out" writes Mr. Fagan. the laws delay puts
a curb on the insolence of office Thus the
initiative of a superintendent is held in re
straint and management by means Of schedules
and agreements takes the place of personal
direction, while over all hOvers the watchfui
eve of the grievance committee. Meanwhile we,
the employees look on. watching the game.
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12
DIsAGREEs WITH DR.. DARLINGTON.

Regarding the opinion OF the head Of the
Health Department as TO the danger lurking
IN sour milk. DR.. Pifard says that he has found
only one author q a similar belief. Dr.. Piffard
expresses his readiness 70 grant that certain
bacterial changes may occur in milk and that
poisonous elements may appear that sometimes
have led TO serious or fatal illness. but he as
serts that there Is absolutely no evidence con
Meeting the ordinary Iactacidigenous bacteria
with these detrimental changes"
To prove that sour mill, is Of great value he
quotes passages from the works OF such au-
thorities as Metchnikoff Conn and Jensen
From these it appears that the Tactic acid bac-
ieria prevent the growth in the milk Of germs
that might prove harmful These same little
Tactic acid creatures 'shOo" away the tiny
organisms that cause putrefaction. These wee
guardians, invisible except under & powerful
microscope are given their long deferred due
by MetchnIkof. who says: Among the useful
bacteria the place OF honor should be reserved
70 the Tactic baci" Thus are they defended
from the sings and arrows Of DR. Darlington
and the Hea, Department They are SO gentle
that they would not hurt a child. and DR.. Pif
fsrd refers 70 half dozen articles recently pub
Itshed IN medical journals here and abroad
advocating the use Of sour milk a. infant
diet
Since sour milk has such strong adherents. DIT
Piffsrd SET out 10 hunt the Tactic La.te~ia 10
their lair The chase was in the Iato-atories Of
DIR. z. J. Lederle, and he was assisted d. DR.
Anna Z. Young and DR.. o. T. Avery. He found
that, besides by yeast. fermentation Is produced
by two sorts Of milk ferments, "kenr' and
maadzoun,' 'yoghOurt,' the last two being
respectively the Armenian and Turkish names
fos the sour milk Of Southeastern Europe and
Asia Minor. The various well known soda foun-
tain drinks prepared under different trade names
trez, these sernnents were examined microscopi-
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12
RULES BROKEN DAILY.

He mentions many Of the simplest and plain
ast rules which are broken daily and outlines
his view of the situation follows
There is practically no out-on-the-road su-
per--ision on American railroads Railroad
managers depend upon the reports of employees
for information in regard to violations OF rules
But EMPLOYEES do not, and cannot be compelled
70 report their associates. consequently negh-
gence Of all kinds is practically unchecked
FINALLY unchecked negligence can be shown to
he the root and direct cause Of nearly all pre-
ventable accidents and loss OF life therefrom'
on American railroads"
on September II. 1907. twenty-five persons were
killed and forty injured the result OF a mis-
take IN the transmission OF ii train order This
could have been avoided II the operator had
obeved the simple rule which runs, In trans
nittfng messages write slowly and firmly De
spite this order the dispatchers, Mr.. Pagan
SAYS are in the habit OF transmitting at top
speed A revelation. far as the general pub
lie Is concerned is contained In Mr.. Fagan's ap-
neal To his fellow workers:
AS matters stand to-day between labor or
Plantations and railroad managers. it is very
doubtful if by any practical system of super
vision or discipline the rules for the safe and
efficient running OF trains can in all cases ana
a, sI times be adequately enforced Thus the
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12
HUNTING UP STATISTICS.

What does your father do TO earn his living?
asked New York principal OF & pupil VINO was
being ADM tied.
Please. ma am. he doesn't live with US; mamma
supports me
We'll then, how does your mother earn her
living?
piled the child artlessly.-Harper's Weekly.
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12

whole business resolves itself into personal
matter with conscientious railroad fnen.
singly and collectively. it is up to US to do the
square thing if necessary. in spite of the man
agement."
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12

aMv eDanr The Speaking voios. Musical Read
AM QUAN iDgs sundays ~ $50. 70 W. eeth s.
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12

.cally and cultures were made from them. In
one recently introduced brand that in its adver-
usements is represented as being prepared with
ou1 the use of yeast DR.. Piffard found yeast on
every inspection. This he attributes to the use
Of iruperfectly sterilized bottles
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12
CITES THE SCRIPTURES.

Still. Dr. Pifard cones'to the defence OF souf.
milk and goes back for precedent 10 the ODD
Testament era. when Abraham CGen. xviii. 50
placed "curdled milk and Ordinary milk" be-
fore the three men who brought him news that
Sarah was TO bear him son. Moses. also. in
upbraiding the Israelites. reminded them that
among the -bounties the Lord had showered on
them were ''curdled milk Of COWS and milk Of
goats" The age reached by these patrIarchs
is an indication. accopding TO DR. Piffard. that
it was not surprising sour milk was esteemed
as a diet in the East.
At aIl events" he: continues. "weyknoy. thar
for many centuries the peoples Of Eastern
Europe. OF Western and Middle Asia and OF
part OF Africa have looked on sour milk as an
essential portion Of their daily Diet for various
reasons preferring it TO fresh sweet milk"
DR.. Pirard writes that he has used butterrailk
for more than half a century. and for twenty
five years has directed his patients 10 use it
for both dietetic and directly remedial pur-
poses"
And after these many years OF faith in this
form Of dairy by-product, DR.. P1ffard camesupon
the following passage from a Circular tof In
formation" published over the name Of DR..
Darlington:
-ou-ishrnent from the milk and other substances
q lie transform what they take into their bodies
into useless poisonous products They thus both
rob the food Of its nutritious substances and add
others II which less poisonous
When bacteria grow in living things whether they
Be men animals plants, they excite changes IL
them which know disease The bacteria
which grow in dead things cause them 70 ferUent.
rot Of pltrefy. Thus milk becomes sour through
the change OF its milk sugar into aCid- produced by
bacteria
IN commenting on this warning, Dr.. Piffard
writes.
In OF the antiquity Of the,1Ise OF milk.
n Of its great prevalence in certain countries
and IN view Of the researches of MeJChrikOff 10
The extreme old age attained by nabltul users Of
sanitary officer OF the city is certainly astounding.
and especially that. holding these views. he
permits the present extensive sale OF milk
within the limits his jurisdiction allows
milk under various IS openly dispensed
from pint half-piut bottles nearly every drug
store. The large dairy concerns VIII serve II n
vou- residence quart and the smaller
three cents q glassful-
Sour milk Dr.. Piffard explains, rs milk or any
parts Of i in which Tactic acid fermentation
has heen brought about through the action Of
bacteria or otcer rnicro-organismE-' These sour
rlilks a~e raw whole milk. COOKED whole milk.
raw SKINNED milk and sterilized SKINNED milk
n this last named class living micro organisms
Of the Tactic acid group added by the manu-
fsc1urers 10 produce the proper souIing- In
very stale milk the physician has assumed the
presence Of butyric acid by the odor." Since
this is best known in its connection with ran
cid butter" il is likely that il made its presence
felt pretty strongly.
New-York tribune., 1908-01-12
A POLICY OF SILENCE.

After saving that employees and employers are
loath to talk explicitly to the public on this
matter of accidents, he continues:
"As for the public interests, they must shift
for themselves Consequently, in place of ear
nest cooperation in the interests Of efficiency
and improved service. there is something in the
nature Of a friendly deadlock between men and
management"
Mr. Fagan comes out squarelv and says that
the problem of safely and efficiently running
trains lies not in more safety devices, but IN
personal conduct and habits of thought OF
the employees. To readers of newspapers there
is certainly precedent for Mr.. Fagans conclu-
sion that When a man violates an unmistak-
able rule or runs a signal with disastrous re-
suits there Immediately arises a peremptory
demand for a different kind of rule i'm
proved signal Thus. he points out. attention
has been diverted from the personality Of the
men. and has been concentrated upon mechan-
icaI appliances and rules. The results OF TINS
attitude he finds in several accidents.
An example is the case when an express train
telescoped an accommodation train just as the
latter was pulling out of a station near Bos-
ton. not long ago. Mr.. Fagan says that the
evidence showed that the accommodation tram
was protected by four distinct cautionary rules
and signals all Of which had been violated or
passed by the express trains engineer. Inc
Railroad Commission. however, QecIueO llldt II
was not necessary to determine whether the
engineer exercised proper caution The COM
mission ruled that The significant fact
is that the discretion actually used led to
disastrous results. Under the conditions the
signal should have been red
Mr. Fagan SAYS that such a decision IS only
one of many that have cut personality out OF
such Inquiries since the question of what color
lights should be has nothing 10 do with the
case if the rules regarding them are consistently
violated The conduct Of the employees. IN
his opinion is the significant fact in such accI-
dents Cautionary rules, he says, are looked
1lDon by trainmen permissiye and not posi-
five The engineer of express train sees
signals meaning caution, but he also sees
mile or more of clear track, so he slows the
Information away in his mind and keeps on at
unslackened speed, trusting that. should 1t be
necessary to reduce his pace, he will see the
danger in time to DO Usually such proves
+o he the case. But now and then he loses IN
this little gamble with fate. and big wreck
occurs Mr. Fagan believes that some sys-
tenn of inspection should be provided whereby
these daily infractiOns of the rules could be
taken mn officially and the ViolatOrS punished.
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31

Belgian Grew Defeats
Cambridge Eight
United Kingdoms Chance of
Winning Rowing Regatta Is
Considered Very Slight

HENLEY. July 30.-The Cambridge
eight, on which the United Kingdom
depended to win the championship in
the eight cared conte2t, was defeated
in the international regatta here this
afternoon in the fourth heat by the
Belgian crew belonging to the Club
Nautique de Gand. This crew holds the
Henley grand challenge cup. which it
won two years ago, and which il was
not allowed to defend in this year $
regatta.
The light blues were the same crew.
stroked by Stuart, that defeated OK
ford in the spring. Subsequently they
pleaded the Olympic regatta as a rea-
son for declining TO meet the Harvard
crew this year.
The Belgians won by length and a
long. Their time was minutes and
% seconds. They led nearly all the
way.
Although the Belgians will have to
fight out the final with. Leander. the
British hopes for victory have almost
completely vanished.
The Leander crew beat the Canadian
Argonauts after a fine and hard race
by a length in the third heat of the
championship eights.
McCulloch, United Kingdom, defeated
Levitzsky. Hungary, in his heat of
the single sculls by six lengths
The Leanders beat the Dutch crew
last heat Of the single sculls Black
static, United Kingdom, defeated Won
Gaha, Germany. The finals will Be
rowed tomorrow
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
OWNERS OF AUTOS
SHOULD KNOW CARS
Lack of knowledge of the Mech
anism Tends to Large
Repair Bills
Thorough Understanding Neces-
sary Before Motors Can
Be Properly Operated
BY K. x. PHommedieu

A forcible example was seen yester-
day of the inability of the motor car
owner to cope with trouble in his We
hicle. An owner who had been paying
for repairs TO his car got very little
satisfaction. He was at loss to
know what the. trouble was, and was
on the verge of blaming the manu-
facturer for turning out an inferior
automobile. AS last resort he inter-
viewed Tony Nichols. the noted driver,
who. he knew, was familiar with the
make of car which he owned. Nichols
ran it around the block, stopped it.
grunted out carbon" and with wrench
and screwdriver soon had the exhaust
valves, where the trouble came from,
in view. The engine had been choked
up until 1t was a wonder that it would
work. Within 80 minutes Nichols re-
placed the valves, the engine was
started and it hummed merrily song
that was music to the owners ears
AS he drove away Nichols said We'll.
that job would have cost the owner
a least six hours time in a repair
shop, if not longer. 1t has already cost
him a good deal. and yet 1t had not
given him any relief. The trouble with
most of the repair shops is that those
who own them are not mechanics. and
therefore unable TO Judge of the ability
of their workmen, or whether their
working staff is doing honest labor. It
is this overcharge that has driven many
man from the game, who, under ordi-
nary circumstances, would be an en-
thusiastic motor car owner. The trouble
at present is that the dealers whole
object is selling cars, not making a
customer with the thought that he may
come back next year for a new ve-
hicle. The owner who has just left
ne in frrfr he
appear, will be able TO cope with the
situation. 1t is a certainty he will
know enough hereafter to keep his ex-
haust valves clean, but I presume, il
such a mode of procedure was followed
by the repair shops, there might not be
SO much profit, or after profit. for the
dealer who sold the car
This is in line with what The Call
has advocated ever since its automo-
bile department has been IN existence,
that every owner of motor car should
see that the engine is taken down and
reassembled before his eyes, so that he
could fully understand its mechanism.
and thereby be able to understand it
when trouble appears.
This knowledge will also greatly les
sen the repair bills, for the owner will
be able to discover an overcharge
which quite often happens. The dealer.
when such a request is made, will
acquiesce and set future date for the
demonstration, but IL in the meantime
the check for the car is passed this
demonstration seldom takes place A
motor car owner TO enjoy the pleasures
of motoring from a financial and per-
sonal standpoint. must thoroughly
know his car. Until he does he must
expect to experience the annoyances
both of the financial and personal end
Of 1t.
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
ADVISORY COACH REMAINS
flanagan Will Not Leave the
Stanford Team

STANFORD UNIVERSITY, July S0.-
There has been persistent rumor that
James f. flanagan was about to resign
his position as advisory coach of the
football team. When asked as to the
truth of this rumor flanagan said that
1t was the first time he had heard of
it and that it was not fact. He said
further that he had a written contract
with the student body and that he did
not intend to pull out on it.
Practice commences September for
the Rugby season. and the first game
will be played a week later.
Graduate Manager Stuart today an
nounced the schedule of games as fol-
lows:
September Is. Stanford VS.. Bar
barians; September 26. Stanford VIZ.
Olympics; October 8, Stanford VS.. Bar
barians; October 10. Stanford VS..
Olympics: October II, Stanford VS.
Barbarians; October "a, Stanford VS..
University of Nevada at Stanford; Oc-
tober 81, Stanford VS.. University OF
Nevada at Reno; November 4, Stanford
VS.. Vancouver at Stanford November
Z, Stanford VS.. Vancouver at Stanford
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
Christian Pitches Well
But Oaks Boot Ball
Angels Get Four Runs on Err
rOrS and Score Another
Soft Victory
By w. J. SIaffery

II Mr. Christian, the new Oakland
pitcher, is at all superstitious, he would
grab the first train back to Texas and
never listen TO the name Oakland
again. Surely the newest slabster to
join the transbay outfit is entitled TO
do all this after the way his team
mates acted behind him yesterday
afternoon in the game against the
Angels. Christian was showed UP every
time he started to 90 any good and
he lost ) to ! game that should have
been deadlock at the end of the
ninth.
The pitcher has all the motions and
earmarks of a live one. With good
speed, nice change of pace and an
abundance or puzzling benders, he
started of S though he were going to
give the Angels one fine breeze. But
the end was soon in sight, for the
Oaks commenced to boot the ball and
every body knew then that it would be
curtains Tor the Texas Lacquer.
balloon in the third by booting one
from the bat of Nagle. Oakes chased
Nagle around TO third with a swing
against the right field fence and they
started TO pull off double steal. This
time Truck threw the ball away at
second and Nagle sneaked in. Had
Eagan been on the job. the Angels
would have been shy a run.
More rough work helped boost an
other Angel on his way over the pan
In the fifth. Easterley opened up with
bingle and Nagle came through with a
nice sacrifice. Christian was unnerVed
for a moment and executed a wild
pitch. a ssecond later Miller threw
badly TO first on Cakes grounder and
Easterley was there with the second
run.
Oakland landed Its lone tally in the
same round with two down. Lewis got
hit and Christian waited for a pass.
Van tore a torrid one down to Ber-
nard, who could not pick up the ball
and field Ii in time to prevent Van
being safe at first and Lewis from
landing the run. However, there were
no more tallies. for Heine died easy
after Cook was hit in the Stats
Los Angeles proceeded TO break up
the game for fair in the sixth and
they were ably assisted by the erring
Oaks. Brashear copped out a hit for
himself and Ellis waited for the bad
ones. Delmas sent the only legitimate
Los Angeles run in by lining one
through second.
This hit seemed to put the links on
the entire Oakland inield. Ellis went
to third on the drive and a moment
later he and Delmas got away with
double steal DelmaS landing on third
when Altman failed to hold the ball.
Then Nagle was safe on Miilers third
miscue and before the Oaks could fig
ure out the combination another double
steal was pulled of. This made il FIVE
runs for Los Angeles-plenty to win
the game.
Nagle had his old spit ball working
right for him once again and none OF
the Commuters could slap 1T safely
with men on the bases. Most of the
Oaks fell for the high ones that re-
suited in easy pop flies which the in
helders and the outfelders took care
Of The entire Los Angeles team, with
the exception of Bernard. played classy
ball behind Nagle- The score:
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
NORTHWEST LEAGUE GAMES

At Seattle-Seattle s, Butte 1.
At Spokane-Spokane 8, Vancouver s
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
Polytechnic Business College

And school OF Mines and
Cal dne- stock $lo0. 0ool
Business Training School
equipme- In America
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31

I Engineering. Oakland.
l. CalIf0rnla's Greatest
l Finest building and
Write f0R eataln1IlA
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
BELMONT SCHOOL

FOR BOYS. BELMOAT, CAL.
Near San Francisco. Next term begins Aug. 10
1905 Send for catalogue and book Of views. W
T. Reid. A. ~ Harvard. Head Master. W. i.
Reid Jr-. A. ". Harvard. Asst Head Master.
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
sAI1IMA WINS A nANNEn

Sakima tribe No. 21O. Improved Order
its wigwam in Phelps hall "Wednesday
night TO receive from Great Sachem ].
S Godeau the $50 American silk flag
awarded to IL for having at the
recent adoption in the presence
OF Great Incohonee w. A. S. Bird
presented the greatest number OF
palefaces 20 be taught the mysteries
Of the order. This tribe, which was in
stituted about month ago, on the oc-
casion designated, had A palefaces to
adopt and was declared the winner of
the trophy offered After the presenta-
Great Chief Of Records Porter L Bliss.
Past Sachem Boehm and Sachem Aga
ton of Calumet tribe and Dr. c. NJ
Troppmann, the organizer of the baby
tribe
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
WILL Go FOR DAVIS CUP
Two Tennis Experts Prepare
for Trip to Australia
SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL

LoNGWORTH, Mass. July 30.-It is
learned that Beale c. Wright and F. B.
Alexander. who are playing here in the
tennis tourney, have decided to go TO
the Davis cup. Matters have reached
the stage where these two are playing
together in doubles for practice in an
ticipation of pairing together in Aus
tralia. They should work together
very well. as Wright is an excellent
double player, and has the advantage
of being able TO play on the same side
of the court as Hackett does when
playing with Alexander.
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
American League

DETROIT. July 3o-An Boston's errors were
mixed with Detroit's hits. Score: