Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-05-05

OF the principle whereby a travelling
auditor drops into a station %unexpect-
edly and examines the agents ac-
counts. At some time the engineer
sees a signal set against him. An Of
f1cer of the road is watching him from
somewhere, but he does not know
that. If he brings his train Instantly
to a stop he is all right. If he doesn't,
he is hauled up and punished for dis
obedience Of orders.
There is a good deal Of opposition
to this new system in the railway
world. Those railroad men who are
more interested in being dignifed than
In preserving the lives of their pas
sengers call it "a Russian spy sys-
tem," and dirty work" There are
others, however. who think that if the
surprise test will reduce somewhat
the annual massacre OF it
doesn't much matter whether it Is
called a Russian spy system" or not.
In the past % years more than
1,334,900 persons were killed and in
jured on United States railroads. Dur
ing n fiscal year alone-that which
ended June 80, 1907-122,S sos persons
were killed and injured. This is much
more than double the number killed
and wounded at Waterloo, which was
53,42S. In the greatest battle of the
modern world, Mukden, 100, 900 are
estimated to have been killed and
wounded, or $4,000 less than were
killed and wounded on United States
railroads in the year named. Borodino
iS called the "bloodiest battle Of the
nineteenth century" but only between
10000 and $4,000 were killed and
wounded. Even the Messina earth
quake does lot much surpass the
United States railroad record for a
year, for the official estimate there is
1875. 600.
The Russian spy system" of the
surprise and efficiency test is intended
to reduce this slaughter.
After a trial Of half a century,"
said Frederick C.. syze, trainmaster
Of the Baltimore g. Ohio railroad, re,
Gently. with the train order system,
can we say it is n safer today than
at Its inception? Hedge the system
about with all the safeguards con
ceivable, there are still crevices in
Vulnerable in 1t where personal equa-
ton slips in and-the collision. Even
by conceding that the train dispatcher
is infallible. the figures clearly show
that the system breaks down after the
orders leave his hands; could he per-
.sonally control them to their fulfil.
ment the showing would be much bet
ter"
And he told how, when he was pro-
noted to train dispatcher, a veteran
said to him:
Young man, always figure on some
engineer, conductor or operator doing
some foolish thing with a train order
that he has no business to do"
1T is a sad commentary he added,
ION our methods hat we install ex-
pensive signals and issue rigid in
structions as to their operation, and
then have to stand behind a tree to
see whether the engineers pay any at
tention to them or not"
That, however, just about describes
the surprise and efficiency test. On
road the tests are made by the
and a signalman on an
average of once in three months. On
another the road foreman Of engines
and a signalman make them about
a month. On another the
period is something like once in six
and the tests are made by the
superintendent, division engineer,
and supervisor of signals.
On another the tests are made about
quarterly by several testing parties
arranged by the superintendent. The
tests have to be reported. which in
sures their being made. There are
regular blanks for their reports.-Mon-
treal Herald.