The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-11-11
FINLEY DEFENDS
RAILWAY TRAVEL
President of Southern Points to
Constantly Decreasing Ratio
Of Accidents.
IDEAS ARE EXAGGERATED
Not 50 Much Danger OH Rail
roads as in Other Branches
Of Travel.

1
Company. speaking to-day OF ra.w;,y
| accidents. said:
There has never been 4 time in the
| History Of railways when 50 much
attention has been given 10 the prcvcn-
! ton of accidents rs 1T present This
| is 4 matter to which railway managers
| in MI parts of the United States are
/ giving constant and Intelligent atten-
| ton. and the accident bulletins OF the
! Interstate Commerce Commission show
| that progress is being made and that
| the safety OF railway travel is being
! increased. Thus. i'll the fiscal year
| ended June 80. 1910. there were 3c5
I passengers killed on the railways Of
/ the United states, or one in every =,
l~59.957 passengers carried. and the
! ratio Of passengers killed 10 the mum
/ bcr OF miles travelled was one in ST.
/ S69,blo miles. In 1911. the number
( OF passengers killed was reduced to
/ 356. OF one in every 2.Sp1.7i3 passen-
gers carried and one in oS.26S.1SI
miles travelled by passengers. In 1917
| the number of passengers killed vas
! reduced TO sis. Complete statistics Of
passengers carried anu miles Travelled
in 1872 are not yet available but. as
there was u substantial increase in
passenger traffic over 1911 and the
number Of fatalities was less, tho ratio
To passengers carried and milcs tray.
cled was reduced.
Idcns Exaggerated.
There Is, ] believe, AN exaggerated
idea OF the danger % railway travel.
This is due, in my opinion. TO The wide
publication OF accounts OF those oc
ca sional accidents in which. unfortu
natciy Il number OF passengers arc
Killed and injured. and to the fact
mat while complete and accurate sta
| tistics rs to railway accidents arc
compiled by the Interstate Commerce
Commission. there are no complete and
rcliabIc statistics "a TO other accidents
for the United States Us whole. There
are a number of cities and some en-
tire states in which records OF the
causes of deaths are kept. These are
embraced in what is termed tho Regis
tration Area which includes twenty
two states and the larger cities in iit-
teen other states. The registration
area is estimated by the United States
Census Bureau 10 embrace s3.l per
cent OF the total population OF the
United states or somewhat more than
six-tenths Of the total population. For
the calendar year 1911. the Census
Bureau reported i2.33 cases Of acct
dental death. exclusive or railway &C
cidents, in the registration area. As
bearing on the comparative safety Of
! Inherent ways Of travel, il rnny be
deaths Of passengers from railway ac-
I cidents in the entire United states,
7 there were, In the registration area,
/ $50 deaths from street car accidents.
! .2al from automobile accidents and
a.o31 from accidents in connection with
! other vehicles.
"rhe comparison is the more stlik-
ing when it is considered in Gomez
ton with tho conditions under which
q railway must operate, with Its trains
moving day and night IN nil conditions
OF weather over IA right Of way which,
! III the nature 81 things, cannot have
the same degree Of protection as the
streets and highways over winch
4, street cars automobiles and other We
I hicles arc operated.
The total number Of deaths III tho
registration area from accidents in
: connection with street cars. automo-
bilcs, and othsr vehicles In the culcn-
( dar year of 1911. was 6.+i1. or more
i than tho total number OF passengers,
/ railway employees, and All other per
I sons. eXcepting trespassers. killed IN
/ railway accidents Of all kinds In the
/ twelve months ended June 30. l9l2, IN
cluding accidents III railway shops.
Railway STATISTICS Complete.
4, AS | have pointed OUT, statistics as
I 10 no othe" class or accidents are SO
I complete and reliable as those relat-
/ ing To railway accidents but COMPARE
I sons with such fragmentary statistics
! as me available from other sources,
| bear out those which tho Census
! Bureau reports rs to the registration
area. Thus. the United states Bureau
I u Labor has collected statistics which
| SHOW that In the year ended June 30,
! 1911, there were 2oG fatal accidents In
the various branches OF tho govern
ment service, and but nine or these
ware In the railway mail service. INC
reports Of tho Superintendent OF Life
Saving Service give the number OF
\ deaths each year from disasters tn
vessels under the American nag COW
cring only those cases in which vessels
we're totally lost or materially dam
aged. For the last ten years these
have averaged fSG per year.
1T is q noteworthy fact that of
the total number Of those who are
killed on tho railways of the United
States, moro than one-half are tres
passars. II is largely within the
power Of the States to prevent these
fatalities By regulations respecting
trespassing oil railway property II T.
mistake 10 believe that trespassers
who lose their lives on railway prop
crty arc almost invariably trampa oi