The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-02-15
OVER SIX HUNDRED
/. PEOPLE NET DEATH
Report of Pennsylvania Rail-
road for the Past Year
Remarkable One.
TRESPASSERS THE VICTIMS
COMPANY DESIRES PUBLIC At.
TENTioN TO TRESPASSING
EVIL AND HOPES THAT IT WILL
BE ELIMINATED.
TRESPASSERS THE VICTIMS

Pittsburg, Pa, Feb. 15.-ReportS
just compiled at the general offices of
the Pennsylvania railroad show, that
during the year 1908, 657 trespassers
were killed and 791 injured on the
lines of the Pennsylvania system east
and west of Pittsburg. For 1907. re-
ports show S22 trespassers killed.
Thus during the past two years on
the Pennsylvania system alone, 1,479
persons have lost their lives in this
way.
These figures are pointed to as en-
phasizing the recommendation in the
recent annual reports Of the state
railroad commissions of Pennsylvania
and Indiana that laws should be en-
acted providing substantial punish
| ment for all persons who trespass
upon the private rights of way of any
steam or electric railway.
Source Of Expense.
These cases of trespass are not on
| ly source of expense and danger to
| the railroad and its patrons, but it is
| felt that common humanity should
prompt the most thorough measures
to eliminate this evil as rapidly as
possible. II these men frequent the
companys tracks and yards, they are
certain to be killed or injured no mat
ter haw careful the trainmen may be.
Yet trespassers have no business
whatever upon the right Of way of
railroad.
| Mr.. James McCrea, president Of the
Pennsylvania Railroad company. has
written a letter to Mr.. Orlando F.
Lewis, of the Charity Organization
society of New York, stating that this
company has been unable to develop
cooperation by the towns and cities
along its lines 'in prosecuting and
convicting trespassers and Migrants,
the number of arrests having increas-
ed to such an extent that many city
and town authorities are unable at
times to take care Of the trespassers
sentenced to their penal institutions
for confinement" Mr.. McCrea also
added:
The Vaqrancy Problem.
| 'If we are to be at all succe ssful
in our handling of the vagrancy prob
lem, it is essential that there be CO.
county authorities and the public or
private charitable organizations. One
OF the difficulties our railway police
force meets with is that county au-
| thOrities will assert that a vagrant be
permitted to move from one county to
another before being arrested and
the county in which the arrest is
made charged with the maintenance
OF the prisoner. County authorities
and their constituents object to the
expense entailed in the maintenance
of these people. When Migrants are
arrested and incarcerated In county
jails, it is seldom that any record is
taken Of them, and when they are
released and again incarcerated in the
Jail of another county, the latter coun-
ty has no record showing former in
generations. With cooperation, the
records of Migrants would be acces-
sible to all county authorities and
confirmed tramps could be singled out
and given adequate punishment"
Number Of Arrests.
| The extent of the trespassing abuse
is to be found not only in the figures
showing the number of persons killed
or injured while trespassing, but also
in the fact that during the year 1908,
according to the figures just compiled,
1889 persons were arrested for tres
passing, 442 for vagrancy and 10,457
for illegal train riding on the lines of
he,
year 1907 the arrests for these causes
numbered 5,5SS. 1t will thus be OBJ
served that the number of offenders
has vastly increased during the last
year. This may have been due par
TALLY to the fact that an increased
number of men were out of work, but
this fact did not relieve the railroad
company from the very serious re-
sponsibilities involved in this matter.
Wants Publio's Attention.
The management of the Pennsylva-
MIA Railroad company sincerely trusts
1 that the bringing to public attention
of the above unfortunate conditions
may serve to enlist still further sup
port for tn b.: railroad commissions and
the railroad companies, which are
seeking to bring this evil to an end.
In England, where there is a much
greater amount of unemployment than
in this country, and where the density
1 Of population is much greater, rail-
road trespassing is almost non-exis-
tent and that is brought about by the
stringent laws which are enforced to
prevent it.