The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-06-04
Up IN ARMS OVER
FATAL CROSSINGS
IN THE ORANGES
Ohclals Get Busy and Renew
Agitation for Abolish.
ment.
TWO KILLINGS WITHIN
A WEEK AROUSE PUBLIC
Mayors and Others Say Tracks
Should Be Raised or
Depressed.

Aroused by the number of citizens
slaughtered at the deathtrap railroad
grade crossings, there being two fatali-
Ties within the last week, the people of
the Oranges, headed by their officials.
Will wage renewed war for the abolition
OF the terrible deathtraps.
Bernard Drury was killed with two
horses at the Sheridan street crossing
of the Erie Railroad in Orange, where
there are no gates or Waterman, and
East Orange is still s|huddering at the
terrible death of William Shaughnessey,
who was tossed in Che air by a train at
the East Orange station of the Lacka-
wanna Railroad In the presence of hun
dreds waiting for trains, the gates at
he Mum avenue crossing being up
and there being no warning bell ringing.
10 The list of those murdered-for it Is
regarded by the citizens practically as
murder-at the many deathtraps in
the Oranges mounts up to a terrible
gruesome total-ten inside of a year,
not counting the injured, the narrow
escapes and the animals killed.
Up to East Orange.
East Orange holds the key to the
situation, for nothing will be done in
Orange till the tracks have been ele-
waited or depressed in East Orange.
Nothing has been done in a year. Nego-
tiations had progressed favorably,
many conferences being held between
the East Orange and the Lackawanna
officials, but suddenly the matter was
dropped and has stood in tatus quo
ever since.
Last year the Common Council of
Orange passed a resolution to compel
the Erie to install gates and keep a
gateman at the Sheridan street cross
ing, but the resolution was never pre-
scented to Mayor Isaac Shoenthal for
his signature. When the railroads were
hailed into court the officials claimed
that the "t-dinance was not valid be-
cause it had not been signed by the
Mayor end Judge Bray was forced to
dismiss the case.
Monday night the Orange Council,
aroused by the death of Drury, passed
another resolution to have gates in
Stalled at the Sheridan avenue death
trap, and il was promptly signed by
Mayor Shoenthal
Children going to and from school
cross the dcathtraps three or four
times a day. imperiling their tender
little lives, Trolley cars cross the rail-
road at grade, inviting every trip the
recurrence Of the awful Clifton avenue
d~eathtrap horror of Newark, where a
score of high school pupils were
crushed and mangled in a a and "a
score more MANNED for life. This
brought about track elevation in New
ark and every day Orange is liable
to shock the world by another terrible
holocast Of blood.
Many Bad Crossings.
The Cone street crossing of the
Lackawanna is one of the worst in
the Oranges-a Embarrassing on one
of the main business thoroughfares
crossed by a trolley line. The Lin
coin avenue crossing of the same rail-
road Is another deadly peril, and the
Iackawanna crossing at Prince street
has collected its toll of human life.
The junction" crossing at Arlington
avenue, East Orange, where the Main
street trolley line crosses, is another
bad spot.
A bad accident was averted Tuesday
at the Burnet street crossing of the
Lackawanna Railroad in East Orange
by presence of mind. A man in an au-
tomobile started across the tracks when
the gates were put down and he was
stalled on the tracks while a wildcat
engine hove in sight. He was III a bad
fix. but finally shot his auto back, and.
skidding to one side, felt the hot
breath of steam as the engine rolled
by. This near accident has been called
to the attention of East Orange Off
Gals. The day before a pedestrian was
almost killed at the Harrison street
crossing, and this information has also
been reported.