Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-21
RAILWAY SURGEONS
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

the severed stumps. The feet were use
less and so the surgeon, taking out his
pOcketknife. cut off the encumbering
| members. The man recovered.
X
AS the element of human falibility is
more and more recognized as physical de-
ficiency rather than
More Rigid Tests criminal negligence,
the railroads are
efforts to secure the services of only such
men a are sound of limb. clear of eye and
mentally alert. A decade ago it was the
custom for the prospective engineer or
fireman to undergo his examination for
distinguishing colors in the railroad yards
under the supervision of the yardmaster.
If the candidate for promotion happened
to call green flag red a Yardmaster has
been known to remark: "Oh, Jim knows
better than that" Another Incompetent
would thus be placed in charge of an en-
CINE bearing it's human freight to death
the nrst time a confusion of cOlorS result
ed in collision.
Today the testing for color blindness
comes under the supervision of the chief
surgeon. He conducts a rigid examina
ton of every man who applies for ad-
mission to the service, or who comes up
Tor promotion to a position in which col
ors have any bearing on the safety of
passengers or employees. The old-fash
loned way OF testing the eyes was to have
the candidate select from a pile of assert
ed Worsted the cOlOrs which the eX-
amlner would name. But it was discover
ed by shrewd surgeons that some of the
candidates were furnished keys to the
Worsted skeins. These skeins had small
numbered tags on them for the conven-
lence OF the examiners classification and
the candidates We're furnished keys to
1h0~c 1lx-f yin ,I..i, .,
memorized the colors by numbers and not
by shades. 1t is needless to saw that in
all modern examiners Offices the num-
berS have disappeared.
In the most up-to-date surgeons Offices
there is found complete set of railway
signals, rugged up
Railway Signals exactly as used
Put Up in Office. Th vi l ne nn axo
installed in dark room, and the lenses
are so adjusted as to admit light of
varying strength. according to the dis
lance at which the eyes are being tested.
For 2JOO feet, the distance at which it
would be necessary to distinguish a dan
ger signal in order to bring a swiftly
moving locomotive to a standstilI the
CLEAN Of the lamp is scarcely more than
a pinhead of light The candidate must
be able to distinguish the red. green,
white and yellow lights and call them
instantly if he hopes to pass the exam
inatioa.
Not only are the eyes Of the employee
examined but new applicant has to
undergo a careful physical examination,
while every old employee has to submit to
denomination from time to time-as
OFTEN as once every three years on
some systems. Engineers, fremen and |
fagmen who wear glasses are required
to undergo REORGANIZATION frequently, in |
order to guard against their eyes growing |
suddenly weaker and incapacitating them
for service.
The services of railroad surgeons are |
of course, gratuitous as far as injured |
passengers are Concerned. 1t frequently |
happens that passengers gain the idea |
that inasmuch the surgeons are paid |
by the road they will not give the same |
careful attention to the injured as would |
disinterested surgeons The argument |
seems absurd, for it is naturally to the |
interest of the railroad that passengers |
should suffer the least possible tempo |
rary Inconvenience or permanent injuries |
as by minimizing the results of wreck |
the damage suits are neceSsa rily lighter |
Railway surgery holds a unique place |
in the medical world. 1t is essentially |
surgery Of |
Railway Surgery regency
uol1. r~;. nI. and surgery |
w dealing with
clean, new, wounds. For the latter
reason the suggestion now being debated |
as to the advisability Of establishing two
classes of surgeons. Familiarity known as
the clean and the ''unclean," finds
warm favor with many railway phys-
clans. The proposition is based on the
theory that a surgeon who handles an
infected wound never can be absolutely
certain that he has completely disinfect-
ed his hands, his clothing and each of his
Instruments Arguing this hypothesis |
it Is urged that 1t would be infinitely bet
ter If all infected wounds were carried
to surgeons who make a speciality of
that class of work. while the new, or
clean, wounds could be treated by sur
geons who keep their hands surgically
clean. The agitation has not assumed
very formidable proportions as yet, but
in the opinion of many men who keep a
little ahead of the times it is only a
question of few years when the idea
will obtain a strong hold upon the medi-
cal fraternity.
DIRECTORY BUSI-
NESS.