New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-08-06
HUMAN LIFE OR DIVIDENDS?
A Question as to Their Relative Value
After the Railway Accident.

To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir: notice in 1.-THE Literary Digest
an extract from an article III your paper
on the recent railway accident on the
Lackawanna Railroad. You ASK: Is
there no such thing as an AUTOMATIC de-
vice to throw on the brakes OF Tram
that runs by danger signal ana 10 ho
such device possible"
There Is device that not only stops
train automatically but signals 10 'he
engineer in his cab II ne is approaching
danger IN tho form Of an open switch OF
a broken rail Furthermore, 1t tells the
dispat cher in his Office exactly where the
train IS. how fast or how slow 1t 10 NOV
ing, whether the engineer Is on time OF
late and II he Is observing his lnsttuc-
tons. The dispatcher, II he thinks the
engineer Is not attending strictly to busl-
ness. can stop the train by applying the
brakes from his office and call UP
the engineer by telephone. Any Interior
ence with the wires or apparatus sets
danger signal automatically, which Is
displayed In the engine cab and in the
dlspatchers Office at the same moment
All this and more does this system ac-
compIsh. You ask why IL Is not In gem
oral use If il IS so effective?
There arc several switch and slgnai
companies owned largely by railroads
and railroad men, whose interests would
suffer II the system referred TO mere
should come into general use. couple
OF years ago ono Of the largest railway
supply houses In New York made con-
tract with the inventor OF this system 10
put II on the market. and literature al
vertising II was sent abroad TO the rail-
way operating departments. soon came
warning to the supply company from the
principal signal company IN the uhneu
States that unless the uew-fangied Sig
nal SYSTEM were dropped It's business
Of supplying certai" big roads win raii-
,,ov material would be taken from H.
Though the inventor had contracts tha'
rro,ld have won out for him eventually
IN bsd M funds 10 prosecute an expen-
Give suit against millionaire corporations
and so let the matter drop. The device
was Installed and tried out with perfect
success IN California on hrancn Iife Vi
the Santa Re Railroad where IL was oper-
o,ed for about = year The same malign
Influences which operated against the IN
vsr,lon in New York prevented sue
cessful following-up OF the work mere
md through lack OF financial means the
installation (provided and operated az tnc
o,,e,se OF the inventory was eventually
abandoned.
Some three years ago tho inventor way
,ndu,ed 70 20 10 Toronto with his devices
apd there flrr he'd the Toronto YORK
Radlal Railway with the means TO prove
rho efficiency of his system. FOR three
v.ars the railroad named has been oper-
ated entirely with the simmon system OF
qiv,alIing and dispatching without SIN
clio accident or failure. An arrangement
has been entered into with CANADIAN
corporation 10 finance and promote tho
uso Of this system. and Indianapolis III
Indiana. has Just received the second IN
s,alla,icn. now running successfully on
AL interurhan system
I write this only H. answer your Ques-
tlon and 10 affirm that there Is device
,nat will make railway travel perfectly
saf, and that as soon az the selfish In
forests Of railway officials and others can
no overcome II Will 30 In universal use
,o, only IN this country but all over the
,.,rId X. c. HOCGHTON
san Francisco. July 81. 1912.