The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1913-10-23
NATION WIDE FIGHT
FOR Steel CARS is
STARTED In EARNEST
Interstate Commerce Commission and
Congress- Expected to Take Def
mite Action in Near
Future.
BY JOHN sNuRE.

Washington-Two striking facts
bonn UP in connection with the disas-
frous wreck recently or the New
Haven at Wallingford. One is that
the terrible loss of life was in great
measure due to the use of antiquated.
wooden cars n that in all the long
series of New Haven wrecks 1t Is the
wooden car and the passengers caught
therein, like rats in a trap. who have
suffered; the other Is that the exper-
lence Of other roads with the modern,
/ that such cars do prevent less loss OF
life and do contribute greatly to the
safety of passengers.
So far Is it true that the all-steel car
Is a great factor in the safety of rail-
road travel that, a high Pennsylvania
railroad official recently told the In
terstate Commerce commission the all
| steel equipment of tina road had moro
than paid for itself.
Interstate Commerce commission Of
ficials have gone over the long list of
| New Haven wrecks in the last two
years. They said that In all The pas
senger train wrecks on the New Haven
from 1911 to now, the cars which were
smashed UP and in which the passen-
gers were injured were wooden cars.
The Fairfield wreck Of juno s. 1911.
was a freight wreck. Then came the
VIVA VI ZIG a oh
Bridgeport, July IL, 1911. In that, IL
were killed and 100 injured. Here, the
cars which suffered chiefly were
wooden cars and the loss Of life was
largely due to their use. The crushed
to pieces like 30 many %eggshells. So
1t was in the case Of the Middletown.
Berlin Junction, Clinton, Steningham
Junction, Westport, Stamford and 9TH
er wrecks on the New Haven in the
calamitous years 1911, 1912 and 1913:
Striking data as to the prevalence OF
the use OF the wooden a on the New
Haven was given to h officials of the
Interstate Commerce commission at
the time Of the Stamford wreck by Mr..
Wildin, mechanical superintendent of
the New Haven. He said that out OF
a total Of 2,2SS cars of various types
comprising the passenger equipment OF
Stamford wreck, June IL, 1913, only 81
were Of all-steel construction, the
balance being constructed of wood. OF
the Pullman cars used on the road,
there were 236, of which "a were of
all-steel construction; 81 had steel
underframes and 1876 were wooden.
The Tyrene wreck was almost a du-
plicate of the wreck at Wallinford. 1t
was rear end. A high-speed train
smashed into another train which was
just leaving the station. The rear train
was going 40 miles an hour. Not a pas
sSHSST WdS h1llSu. 1Lo OAiy PS1SOl
killed was the engineer Of the rear
train. The cars used were, all Of them,
steel.
In the case of the Tyrene wreck. the
cars, instead OF being crushed to pieces
! had their vestibules crushed and the
ends more or less damaged. But the
| damage was not such as to break the
I cars to pieces or to cause telescoping
/ Thus, passengers escaped with theil
lives.
Similar lessons can be CLEANED by 60
ing through reports OF other wrecks
in which the steel car was used. II
the wreck at Corning, New York, or
the D. L. & W, July. 4, 1912, a wooder
car in the real of the train struck was
smashed to fragments but the stee
equipment stood up. Non was killed
in the steel equipment and the loss o!
life was confined to those in the wood.
en- "a In the rear-end collision a
Odessa, Mimi, December Is. 1911, while
a passengers were killed in steel cars
there is little question the loss Of lf,
had there been wooden cars wouit
have been much more severe.
Under such circumstances, the com
mission intends to keep hammering OF
the need for steel equipment and suci
data as this here given will great.
tend to influence Congress to insis
on all-steel equipment. The report O
The commission on the Stamford wrecl
on the New Haven showed that tn,
New Haven has been ~singularly back
ward about using all-steel equipnen
and Vice President Hern even said h
was doubtful of the d~esirahility o
steel cars compared with wooden cars