Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-12-17

Employees Mistakes 63 Per Cent.
The report says that 1.-The most dis
quieting and perplexing feature in the
problem of accident prevention Is the
large proportion of train accidents
caused by dereliction Of duty by the
employees involved. The commission
believes that as rule there are no
men that have a .keener appreciation
of their responsibilities than railroad
tranmen and enginemen,' and yet 1t
is pointed out that sixty-three per cent
of the whole number Of accidents In
vestigated were caused by mistakes
on the part of employees.
There is a disposition in some
quarters" continues the report, TO
charge these lamentable errors to
failure of discipline and to hold en-
ployes wholly responsible for such fail
ure This is a superficial view which
contains no promise of effective rem
| edy.
| Safety Rules Are Lax.
| "A remarkable increase In the speed
and weight of trains within recent
years. and the crowding of tracks and
terminals caused by the movement Of
an enormously enlarged volume Of
traffic, have greatly increased the
duties and responsibilities of train
service employees and multiplied the
chances of error on their part. Not
withstanding these added duties and
responsibilities which the conditions
of modern railroading have imposed
I upon employees, the methods Of dis
cipline and regulations calculated to
insure safety in train operation have
remained practically unchanged.
ITO prevent railroad collisions ade-
uuate measures must be taken, first,
to reduce the chances Of human error
to a minimum and second, to neutral
ize the effects of such error when 1t
occurs, The recommendations pre-
viously made by the commission for
| legislation requiring the standard1za-
ton of operating rules and the use or
the block system were designed to re-
duce the probability Of mistakes by
employees, and those recommendations
are once more presented for considera-
ton of the congress. Uniformity and
consistency in operating rules are
necessary to secure safety. and 1T Is
! not probable that a satisfactory code
which will meet the demands of mod
ern operating conditions can be Sc
cured without appropriate action by
the federal government
CensurcS Excessive Speed.
| The commission points out that ex-
cessiye speed has been an important
factor in many train accidents, and
that conditions Of safe operation are
often ignored in the effort to bring
fast trains in on time. This is a bad
practice, for which the travelling pub
! lie is largely responsible, and it should
be discontinued Adequate measures
should be taken to compel low speed
wherever conditions require 1t wheth-
er schedules are maintained or not
Casualties Reach 1923.
The total number Of casualties on
steam roads, during the year ended
June 80, was 1s0,123, Of which 1885
were persons killed and 169,53S In
jured. These figures indicate an In
crease over the previous year OF 189
killed and 1879 injured. or the
total number Of casualties, 400 rail-
way employees were killed and 92,363
! injured through industrial accidents
happenings incident to railroad bust
ness, but not due to the operation of
trains.
An analysis of the figures furnished
by the steam roads shows that of
the number of persons killed, BIB
were passengers, $685. employees, and
6,632 other persons, trespassing and
not trespassing, indicating an increase
of thirty-three in the total number of
employees killed, decrease Of thirty
eight in the total number Of passen-
gers killed, and an increase Of 1914 in
! the total number of persons killed
other than employees and passengers.
/ In the last class were many victims
of grade crossings.
! Elaborate details are given in the re-
port of the routine work Of the COM
mission during the year. Generally, it
shows a large increase. The number
of formal complaints filed was 755, a
decrease of 1876, as compared with the
previous year: 778 cases we're dispos-
ed of, an increase of 1926. The COM
mission conducted 1,154 hearings. as
compared with 943 the previous year
and took $4,000 pages Of testimony
Express Probe Important.
| The investigation of rates and prac-
tees of express companies, which, the
report says, lis probably the most i'm
portant single piece Of work ever done
by the commission" was practically
concluded during the year. LAS re-
suit" says the commission, 'it appear
ed that many of the practices of ex-
press companies were utterly mex
cusable, that their methods were ar
chaic and their rates discriminatory
and unreasonable The report of the
commission has worked revolution
and renovation in the methods and
rates Of express companies
Similar Investigations, it is indicat-
ed, are in progress of substitution Of
tonnage in transit, allowances to
terminal roads, weighing Of freight
issuing Of passes, bills of lauing, priv
ate cars. rates on anthracite coal and
other important transportation mat
| tiers.
Assess $344, 420 in Fines.
Through evidence furnished by the
division of inquiry, ninety-three in
idictments were returned for offenses
against the act to regulate commerce,
thirty-four. against carriers, fifty-four
against shippers or passengers, and