Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-12-19

avoidable II is quite true that man
I j. prone 10 error. and as long as abso-
I lutte reliance is placed upon the human
element in the operation of trains,
accidents are bound to occur. but un-
Ill il can be shown that all reasonable
and proper measures have been taken
iOr its prevention no accident can be
Classed as unavoidable.
An Of the mistakes noted above
are violations of simple rules, which
should have been easily understood
by men of sufficient intelligence 10 be
entrusted with the operation OF
trains. The evidence Is that ia the
main the rules are understood. but
they are habitualiy violated by en-
pIoyes Wiz are charged with respOn-
sibility FOR the safe movement OF
trains. The evidence also il that in
many cases operating of4Cers are
coenizant OF this habitual disregard
OF rules and no proper steps are taken
TO correct the evil. Many operating
officers seem t. proceed upon the
theory that their responsibility ends
with the PRONUNCIATION of rules, APP
pareutly overlooking the fact that no
matter how inherently good a rule
may be. il Is of no force unless IL is
obeyed. On very many railroads
there is little or no system Of inspec-
ton or supervision OF the work OF
train service employees so far as per
tains to those matters which vitality
affect safety. Employees are not eX-
auined or the operating rules except
al the time Of their promotion, and
only the most perfUnctory efforts are
made to determine their fitness TO
perform the duties assigned TO them
from time 10 time.
This lack of supervision and in
spection with respect TO matters al
fecting the safety OF trains is uneN-
plainable when the careful supervi-
sion of all matters directly affecting
the revenue OF the roads is consid- :
cred. The auditing and checking sys-
TENS used for detecting the dishOn-
esty of employees are marvels Of in /
genuity and careful attention TO de- /
tail. but means Of determining whether
trains are operated in accordance with
the requirements Of safety and in con
formity with the rules are almost en- !
tirely lacking
in previous reports the commission !
ing the Standard alton OF operating
rules. II is vital 20 the safe move F.
ment Of trains that rules should be
explicit and uniform in character. so 7
that they may be easily understood
and that there may be no doubt as to
their application. To this end fed I
crai legislation is necessary.
"Disobedience Of signal indications
on block-signalled railroads Is one OF
the most serious phases Of the acct .
dent situation. Such disobedience
often occurs in connection with the
movement OF important high-speed .
passenger trains. and when il results .
in a collision or derailment a most /
deplorable casualty list is its invari- I
able accompaniment. Fourteen of the .
accidents which have oc- I
CURED on block-signaIed roads since .
July l, 1911, were caused by engine .
men running by stop signals or fail .
irE 10 reduce speed "a directed by
caution signals. In these II acct .
dents lO5 persons were killed and 81 /,
were injured In seven of these &C 4
cidents the culpable enginemen them /
selves we're killed.
NO adequate reason can be offered .
for these serious lapses from duty By /
men who in many cases suffer death /,
as a consequence. Frequently il is ,
hsTd even TO suggest a plausible ex- I
PLANTATION for the disobedience of sig
nal indications. That they are dis I
obeyed. however. Is a fact. and the I
lives that are annually sacrificed from .
this cause call loudly for some means .
OF arrestiug its results. The most /
disastrous accidents OF this character
occur on roads equipped with modern T,
~ stems OF automatic block signals /
where elaborate precautions TO pre-
vent accidents tshort OF guarding I
against the consequences OF signal dis 4
obediencel have been taken. The 4
trains involved in these lamentabIe 4
disasters generally are operated by 4
trusted employees OF long experience I
BUT the record abundsntly proves that 4
even splendid signal equipment and 1
admirable discipline. coupled with I
long experience and high mora! char .
acter on the part OF employees. can not 4
prevent the occasional man failures 2
which produce such fatal results I
These facts are brought 10 the atten-