The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-09-19
A WRECK ON THE ROAD.

II just dropped in to tell you that
the coroner's jury has exonerated you
from all blame for the wreck. They
are going to hold the block tower
man."
The old engineer turned his pain
drawn face toward me. A white cap
ped nurse gently brushed back the
wild hairs from his forehead.
"Thank you, miss" he said, land
you, too, sir, for the good news. /
knew they couldn't blame it on me,
because it was white at Mentor. Poor
Denny, he'd tell you so, too, If he
was alive. All whitep he shouted
when we came round the curve, and
I gave him the answer, All white I
and pulled her wide open. Then we
struck the empties on the siding and
well, you know the rest" He
wiped a trembling hand across his
eyes as iftrying TO blot ont some hor-
rible vision.
His eyes began to sparkle and bit
of color flushed into his pale cheeks.
81 suppose you fellows think Iopened
her up and went into those boxes just
for fun" A smile fitted over his
lips and then he grew serious. "Say,
did it ever come to your mind that an
engineer might be as anxious about
his own life as he is about the lives of
those who are riding behind him? My
wife and little one-don't you suppose
my life counts for something with
them?
"Did you ever stop to think what
collision like that at Mentor means to
the engineer? Just try to figure YOUR
self in his place. He rides in four
square feet of cab room, surrounded
by mass of levers, rods and the like.
Ahead OF him is about three miles of
boiler pipe, carrying 200 pounds of
steam pressure and enough hot water
to cook the meat off his bones in a
jiffy. Gathering at his back is 5000
gallons of water and rs, 900 pounds of
coal. Under him is 200, 900 pounds
of engine, and behind thereis 600, 900
pounds of train. Altogether he is
running along ahead of 100000
pounds of steel, hardwood and brass
held to an eighty-pound rail by three
quarters of an inch of wheel flange.
"Why, when one of those big Rus
sian battleships fred broadside at
the japanese the whole thing amount
ed only to "a, 900 pounds, so the pa
pers say. And that 1900 pounds
travelling eight miles a minute would
strike a japanese ship eight miles
away with an impact only one-tenth
of the force we hit the empties at
Mentor.
"Of course was the engineer and
they depended on me. There is al
ways lot of fine talk about engineers
having the lives of several hundred
passengers in their hands. That's all
very true, but you don't want to
overlook the fact that the engineerls
life ie rioht there along with the
others We all take chances, the
train crew as we'll as the passengers,
only our chances are simmer. I had
one chance in 500 of being killed, or
one in twenty-five of getting right
where I am now, but a passenger on
the train had one chance in about
5000, 900 of being killed and one in
I3o, 900 of being hurt.
ST see that a lot of people were
killed and whole lot more hurt. l
don't want to be a grumbler, but it
appears to me that you fellows have
kinder overlooked the fact that both
of my legs are gone. Of course that
might not mean much to you, but If
you realized, as I do, that for the rest
of my life it is going to be my job to
hobble out into the middle of some
country road and wave white flag as
every train goes by-if you could re-
alize what that means to an engineer
Ito hear the mocking toot of the
whistle as she comes up to the cross
ing and to see the sympathetic salute
of the engineer and fireman as they
go flying BY tell you, my boy,
there are some things worse than
physical pain"
His eyes filled with tears. The
nurse gently wiped them away and
softly stroked back the hair.
II wouldn't talk any more now,"
she said.
"All right, MISS" he replied, put
ting out his hand to me. II always