The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-11-29
EPIDEMIC Of
RAILWAY WRECK
aPoor Rails, Speed Craze and Human
Negligence" Have Taken Heavy
Toll In Human
Life.
THERE ARE REMEDIES 7
Safety First Campaign and Double
Check System Might Prevent
Some Of the Many
Tragedies.

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29.--'Poor
rails, speed craze and human negl-
gence,' have taken heavy toll in hui
man lives on the great railway sys-
TENS OF the country, according to In
terstate Commissioner Clark, and
because of. the fact that the commits
sion Is impotent and unable to COM
pei enforcement of its recommends
tions the epidemic Of railway wrecks
lis likely to continue.
What has been the cause OF the
recent epidemic of railroad wrecks,
and what can be done to avert such
catastrophes in the future?' Commits
sioner Clark was asked these two
questions today by a United Press
correspondent.
answered. "Most OF the wrecks can
be put in the class of poor rails, speed
craze and human negligence"
The commissioner explained that
the Interstate commerce commission
Is powerless to prescribe adequate
regulations to stop wrecks. He said
the commissions recommendations
have been generally observed, but
that they cannot be enforced. He In
timated that congress should give the
commission more power to compel
railroads to observe safety rules
/ which are deemed necessary from The
commission's many wreck lnpestiga-
/ tions.
Publicity of the causes of wrecks
is the greatest remedy, in my opinion,
to make travel more safe said Clark.
Another remedy is in the safety
first campaigns-so some begun by the
railroads themselves--to teach en-
ployes to put safety above every
thing, speed or revenue or anything
else. Another great remedy is the
double check systemic make two
men responsible for every order, hav-
ing one man to check up and be sure
\ that another performs his duty
steel rails with flaws are the most
frequent causes of wrecks. com
mittee of steel-makers and railroad
men is now investigating the manu-
4 facture of steel rails to prescribe
future specifications for safety
Demands for the public and the
railroads for high speed, are another
4 fruitful cause. At the present time
many trains are keyed up to theil
highest speed, with the maximum
strain upon rails, engines, equipment
and the men themselves. When ever
a slight defect in any of these
equations occur, something has go'
to snap. A terrible wreck is the re
suit
But the human equation is anoth
er cause of the wreck-lapses o.
memory of train employees. I dom
see how we can change this, as 1t has
always existed, unless we put two
men to insure obedience Of orders. tc
one man. A conductor eorgets al
order; an engineer runs by plainly
set signal brakeman forgets te
close switch. These are human
flaws. Some, because of gross negli
lgence, may be preventable, but Others
are simply inexplicable. except a.
human frailties-a defect in the hu
man machine.
1T may be that there are no NOR,
wrecks now than there have been il
the past, considering the number 0
trains run and traffic, but there il
more public attention given all raj
catastrophes. This publicity, be
Ilieve, is the best modern safeguard 0
travel