Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-12-19


ana only the most perfunctouary Of
forts are made TO determine their fit
ness 10 perform the duties assigned
tu tho from tme o. time
"Tuie brk ot supervision and In
spcctlun Uitl respect 10 matter affect
ug me afry uf train is moNplain
able when thc DaI ful supervision OF
an matters directly affecting the rev
cnuc Il the roads Is concerned. The
auditing and checking systems used
. lur detecting the dishonesty Of en-
. pluyc3 are murels az ingenuity, and
. careful attention 10 detail, bui means
/ n determining whether trains are op-
Grated In accordance with the rrquir,
ueuts Of at,y and I'm conformity
/ with the rules are almost entirely
lacking
IN previous reports The commis-
/ sion has recommended legislation re
| quTuR the standardization OF oporat-
/ ing rules It is vital TO the safe move
ment of trains that rules should be eN-
! plicit and uniform In character, so
( that they may be easily understood,
ana that there may be no doubt as to
/ their applicatlon. To this end federal
/ legislation is necessary,
"Dsobcdience Of signal indications
/ on block -siguallcd railroads Is one of
/ the most serious phases Of the accl-
dent situation such dlsobediencc
ften occurs In connection with tho
movement Of important high-spee
| passenger trains. and when II results
| in n collision or derailment, a most
deplorable casualty list is its invari-
able acconpanlment Fourteen Of the
investigated accidents which have oc-
CURED ON block -signalled roads since
mly / 1911 were caused by engine
men running by stop signals or fail
mg to reduce speed ag directed hy
caution signals In these fourteen az
cidents. 1O5 persons were killed and
I3l1 were injured In seven Of thesa
accidents the culpable cnginemcn
themselves we're killed.
mo ADEQUATE reason can be Of
fered for these serious lapses from
duty hy men who in many cases suf-
fer death as a consequence. FREQUENT
Ilv If is hard even to suggest a
plausible EXPLANATION for the disobe-
dience of signal Indications. That
they are dlsobeyed. however. is n fact
and the lives that are annually sacri-
feed from this cause call loudly for
some means of arreTing its results.
The most disastrous accidents Of this
character occur on roads equipped
with modern systems Of automatic
block signals, where elaborate pre-
cautions to prevent accidents (short
Of guarding against the consequences
& signal disohedicuke) have been
taken. The tr. MS involved in these
lamentable disasters generally are
operated by trusted employees Of long
experience But the record abundantly
proves that even splendid signal
equipment and admirable discipline,
coupled with long experience and
high moral character on the part Of
employees can not prevent the occa-
sonal man failures which produce
such fatal results These facts are
brought to the attention Of the con
gress with the suggestion that these
man failures indicate the ssity for
the development and perfection of
some system of automatic train con-
troll to be used in connection with eX-
isting signal systems.
"IIieh speed was an important con-
tributing cause Of several serious ac-
cidents during the mast wear. on
many roads there is no limit To the
sueed ot which Messenger trains are
allowed TO run. Enginemcn are thus
encouraeed ia run their trains at ex-
ccssive speed I'm an effort TO make up
fine lost on schedules that are I'm
many cases already sufficiently fast
for safety Sucb high sneed is es-
peciaIlv dangerous I'm times Of for or
storm when signals can be seen but
n comparativelv short distance The
maximum allowable speed of trains on
all roads should be established at
safe limit, and it should not be left
entirely to the judgment Of engine