The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1913-01-17
THE SAFETY FIRST MOVEMENT.

OdlCIJ ITO lho SlllSALt " WIN
Montana division of the Oregon Short
Line was held at Pocatello the 9Th
of the month, and Blackfoot was rep,
resented by agent w. L. Young who
is the member of the committee rep
resenting the department of station
service.
For the information of readers who
have not heretofore read of the work,
we repeat that this movement has
been instituted on many of the lead
ing railway systems in America with
in the past year or two for the pur-
pose of determining the causes of
accidents and removing them, so the
public and employees may enjoy
greater safety, even at the sacrifice of
speed, or greater operating expenses
or whatever may be found necessary.
The committee meets ono a month
and suggestions are taken from any
and all employees of the road and it
is designed to interest the public and
to enlist the citizen in the study so
far as it is possible. Mr.. w. L..
Young, the agent at Blackfoot will be
glad to receive suggestions at any
time from anyone having something
to offer, and valuable aid may in
this way be given the work. Until
this movement was organized there
was no way to handle such matters
except at random and the public did
not ,sfeel free to offer, although much
good has been done by friendly sug-
gestiols. The writer takes a keen
interest in the study of railroad mat
tiers, and being brought in close
touch with it locally, has made some
suggestions that have been consider
ed and acted upon by the road, and
others have been responded to by the
citizens. One was the case of the
dangerous crossing half a mile above
Blackfoot where several teams were
struck by trains at short intervals.
We agitated for the removal of the
high embankment that concealed the
trains approaching from the north,
and the use of the earth so removed
to fill in the low ground about the
crossing and to the southwark. This
was done and no accidents have oc-
Cured since,
For some time we tried to show
the citizens the folly of people and
especially of. youth hab'tually meet
ing the passenger trains when they
had no business there, and the pub
lie responded with a most whole
some effect. ..a...
Our, own work at the depot, as
reporter, furnishes opportunity to
study station service from every
angle, and the two things that APP
pear to us to deserve first consider
alton are the following.
On. the part of the public there is
too much show of sentiment at rec
Giving friends and parting with them.
The sentiment is all right in it's
place, but it makes late trains and in
creases the difficulty of travel. To
illustrate; the Swat family receive
the Spingletons for a visit; they meet
the guests at the train and, in dem
onstration of their welcome, they
greet the visitors at the steps and
with all their handshaking and hug
ging and in%troductions, they mono
polite the space about the cars where
others are trying to get off or on. 1t
would be better for everybody else II
the Swats would stand a rod or two
away and signal the guests to them
for the greetings, and it would not
be making such an undue show of
themselves. The S~pingletons visit
for a week and are accompanied to
the train for departure, and instead
of saying all their goodbyes and
delivering all their final messages
and expressions of good will at the
home or at the station before the
train appears so they will be ready
to depart in a convenient and decor
ous manner, they wait until they are
assembled at the steps ready to get
on the cars, and then they delay
themselves and everybody else with
hurried adieus, and If the conductor
is premptory and demands that they
pass promptly, he is under the criti-
cism of not being courteous to the
patrons of the road. If the public
will study this question they can
come to but one conclusion, and that
will be that persons getting off the
trains must have room to pass un-
interrupted some distance from the
coaches. That persons getting on
the trains must pass uninterrupted
toward the caches and 60 aboard
without anything to prevent quick
entrainment. And in this they must