The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1908-08-01
AFTER THE WRECK
CRIPPLED ENGINEER TALKS OF
RESPONSIBILITY.
Few Realize Fully What Accident
Means to the Man in the Cab
with Human Lives in
His Charge.

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
capped nurse gently brushed back the
wild hairs from his forehead.
THANK you, MISS" he said, "and
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 white!' he shouted when
we came round the curve, and 1 gave
him the answer, All white!' and
pulled her wide open. Then we struck
the empties on the siding, and-wen
you know the rest He wiped
trembling hand across his eyes as if
trying to blot out some horrible
vision.
His eyes began to sparkle, and a
bit of color flashed into his pale
cheeks. II suppose you fellows think
l opened her up and went into those
boxes just for fun A smile fitted
over his lips, and then he grew seri-
GUS. "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 rid
ing 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 a
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 $4,000 pounds of
coal. Under him is 100000 pounds of
engine, and behind there is 100000
pounds of train. Altogether, he is
running along ahead Of 100000 pounds
Of steel, hardwood, and brass, held to
an. S0-pound rail by three-quarters of
an inch of wheel hange.
(. "Of course, was the engineer, and
they. depended on me. There is al
ways a 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 over
look the fact that the engineers life
is right there along with the others.
We all take chances, the train crew
as well as the passengers, only our
chances are simmer. had one
chance in five hundred of being killed,
or one in twenty-five of getting right
where am now; but passenger on
the train had one chance in about
three million of being killed, and one
in a hundred and thirty thousand of
being hurt.
II see that lot of people were
killed and whole lot more hurt l
don't want to be 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 d. 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
realize what that means to an en-
gineer-to hear the hooking toot of
the whistle as She comes up to the
crossing, 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.
Cali right, MISS" he replied, putting
out his hand to me. II always obey
orders."-B. r. Winslow, in the Sun
day Magazine