Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-05
Railroad Wreck Side Issues.

/ Holding the engineer of the rear train
and the fiagman of the forward train that
figured in the wreck on the New Haven
road criminally responsible for the
disaster. the coroner at New Haven fol-
lows the usual custom of placing the
blame upon the operatives Immediately in
troll. That the fiagman did not go back
far enough to give sufficient warning to
the approaching express is to be assumed
to have been established by the testimony
given at the secret inquest. That the
engineer failed to see or. seeing, failed to
heed the warning signals is obvious from
the facts. That each of these men is cul-
pably guilty of neglect of duty may be
taken for granted without dissent.
But back of these men is the manage
ment that has maintained system of
train operation which depends for success
upon hard-worked, fallible human agents.
epeatedly-on the New Haven of late
months more frequently than on any
other American railroad lines-it has been
proved that engineers will run past Sig
nails. either because they cannot see them
or seeing do not respect them. GRAND this
is matter that demands the most search
ing inquiry-because they know that the
taking of chances in the interest of NOV
ing the traffic is considered smart railroad
ing by those in authority.
The traveller, whose life is intrusted to-
the railway management, has no knowf-
edge of the number of hours the man in
the engine cab has worked, or how fit he
is in physical condition, or how capable
he is in point of judgment. He takes the
whole railroad management on trust. The
management takes chance with a sys-
well nigh criminal to continue it longer.
A favorite argument of the defenders of
the present mode of railroad operation is
that the percentage of accidents is very
small. Taking the total number of pas
sengers carried, and dividing that number
into the total number of persons killed,
the result is a seemingly trifling ratio.
But the smallest ratio is needless. The
wife of the one man killed out of 10000
carried sees this as an overwhelming pro-
portion. The orphaned children of the
man and woman slain out of 100000 can
not take comfort from the fact that the
death Of their parents has been a neg
ligible percentage Of fatalities.
Strike at the root Of this evil. Commits
sioner McChord, now beginning the fed
eral inquiry! This is not question of
wooden or steel cars. or tired engineers,
or lazy flagmen. but of obstinate, profit
scraping management avoiding as long
as possible the installation of the safety
devices that will absolutely prevent col
lisions. Attempts to correct conditions
by ordering the abandonment of wooden
coaches or by instituting changes in the
system of rotating engineers or by length
ening the blocks or by putting heavy fines
on enginemen who enter occupied spaces
of track will be mere palliatives. not a
cure Nobody is safe on a railroad on
which it is physically possible to run
train into a block on which a train is
standing. That fact, proved over and
over again by bitter experience. should
be the starting point Of the reform which.
it is most urgently to be hoped. will re-
suit from this latest sacrifice Of life on
the New Haven.