Evening journal., 1911-08-15
Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
Leads Way in Educating
Public Against Unnec-
essary Slaughter.

peace between n3t1onBs out tne NUM-
Der Of lives lost In wars today. with
Fighting continually going on in some
. corner of the world. is as nothing
compared with the annual record Of
fatalities due to trespassing on
American railroads.
Thousands of lives are sacrificed
every year as the result of trespassing
on railroad property. Ignorance or
carelessness on the part of the tres
passer is responsible for most of this
The railroads are bending every ef-
fort to cut down the awful toll Of
death by posting signs and maintain
ing police patrol, but they will never
be completely successful without the
cooperation OF the general public.
Every densely populated industrial
center near a railroad is a death cen
ter The working classes in crowd
ed districts, and tramps, furnish the
majority of victims. Railroads say
people must be taught 10 have more
respect for their lives and safety
With education of this kind in view,
the Pennsylvania Railroad is prepar-
ing pamphlets in eight or nine lang
uages. These will be distributed in
schools with instructions to the pupils
TO take them into their homes. The
Board OF Education OF Pennsylvania
has promised its aid, and similar
boards In other States will be asked to
lend their support in disseminating
this literature and having it read
aloud In classes.
The assistance Of clergymen has
mas been solicited, and from hundreds
of pulpits the danger of trespassing
has been preached. From the good
roads trains run by the Pennsylvania
Railroad through rural districts. and
in the farmers oranges the warning
has been sounded.
In 1905 1t was estimated that there
were 100000 tramps In the United
States and that their depredations
cost the railroads S25,000,O0O, an
nually. At that time the Pennsyl- |
vania Railroad instituted a vigorous
campaign against these marauding |
nomads that swarm over the coun-
try every Spring, pillaging. terrifying
housewives, lighting fires that wreak
untold damage. and sometimes COM
mitting murder when their right to
live as they please at the expense of
society is challenged. AS a result of
this, and the educational campaign,
the number of persons killed while
trespaseing on the railroads proper
ty in violation of the law. has been
gradually reduced from SS7 in 1905
to 585 in 1910, and the number of in
jured has fallen from 794 to $50 in
the same time To put these figures
in another way: in 1905 the railroad
was killing trespassers at the rate of
three day for FIVE months of the year |
and two a day for the remaining seven
months, while in 1910 the number sac
iridced had decreased to two a day for
seven months, and one a day for the
other fve The number of injured is
but slightly less
Death List Appalling.
This record shows that the Pennsyl- |
vanias efforts have produced results.
but the number Of trespassers killed
and injured each year is still appal-
ling Thus far the railroads have
done the most towards checking this |
useless waste of life. They are per-
haps the greatest sufferers from the
tramp evil and they are willing to do
all in their power to stamp it out
but this cannot be accomplished un-
til the citizen realizes the seriousness
OF the matter and taken his part In
the campaign.
The New York State Board OF Char
tiles estimates that tramps have cost
that State S2,000.000 annually for the
past two years. This is exclusive OF
damage done to private property, and
includes only the money spent In
almshouses and by charitable organi-
cations. and in prosecuting and keep
ing tramps IN penal institutions. The
question touches every citizen vitality,
- /. ri ft1d
taxes towards this S2,000,000 which
went to pay the tramp bill.
Writers who have studied the prob
lem agree that the tramp could not
exist without the railroads. They
AFFORD a means for ~beating his way"
from place to place that makes It pos
sible for him TO live. No one would
maintain however, that the railroads
are responsible for the tramp. They
do not create him. He is one Of the
excrescences, on the social body for
which society is responsible. Yet
thus far the railroads have done the
most towards Riding the country Of
this dangerous pest. Too often so
ciety takes the attitude expressed in
the following quotation from the news
columns Of a paper in small New
Jersey town.
After citing several instances Of
tramp violence the reporter says:
Yesterday the police Of both the
Third and Sixth Precincts were given
orders to boost all tramps and sus-
picious and unwashed characters out
Of their bailwicks."
No doubt the police obeyed orders.
The vagrants were driven to the next
town to continue their outrages un-
til once more forced 10 move on.
When they are are arrested they are
usually given a lighter or a suspend
ed sentence in order to avoid the cost
of keeping them.
Solving Tramp Problem.
From time to time the railroads have
succeeded in enlisting the cooperation
Of various communities IN Furnishing
tramps with very good results, but
Instances. Of this zeal on the part o
municipalities have been too sporadic
to accomplish any permanent good.
The vagrant problem has been solv
cd in other countries, notably II
Switzerland, by establishing labol
colonies-some for forced and SOM
for voluntary labor II the tramp i
a confirmed loafer who does not wan
to earn his livelihood, he is sent I,
one Of the former, while If he is hon
estly seeking employment withou
success, he is sent to one Of the latte
institutions where he is paid wage