Evening times-Republican., 1913-12-19
INrERsTATE COMMERCE CON-
MISSION sLAMEs EMPLOYEES
FOR MANY MIsHAPs.
OLD AND TRUSTED MEN
PRONE TO TAKE CHANCES
Investigations Of Wrecks Of Past Year
indicate Many FataI Accidents Could
Have Been Avoidod-lmportant Leg.
jsjasion Reeommsndsd With View Of
Lssssning Dangers.

washington. Dec. 1s.-Emphasizing
the necessity for further action by the
federal government to provide greater
safety for travellers and employees upon
American railroads. the Interstate
commerce commission. In Its annual
report, submitted to congres today
makes vigorous recommendations for
additional powers over the physical
construction and operations Of the
roads. The commission also recon-
mends that It be given authority to su-
,pervise the issue Of railroad securities
and some measure Of control over the
capitalization.
Accidents Due to careIsssness.
Conditions disclosed by the commits
sions investigation Of railroad acci-
dents during the year present q stu
alton which. the commission believes,
ought to be the subject OF immediate
legislation. Seventy-six accidents in
vestigated comprised fifty-one collis-.
ions and twenty-five derai;ments. and
CauSeU Inc OcdeAl VA SoS e1AA SAAS AAAJNAS
OF 1880 persons. Commenting upon
these facts, the report says:
1.-THE commission again Is compelled
to note the exceedingly large proper
tion OF train accidents due to derclic-
ton OF duty on the part Of employees.
Fifty-six Of the accidents investigated
during the year. or nearly "a per cent
of the whole number, were directly
Z. {,xo l. - o,>I~
mistakes were Of the same nature as
last anoual report, namely, disregard
OF fixed signals; improper tagging;
failure to obey train orders; improper
standing OF orders; occupying main
track on time Of superior train; block
operates allowed train to enter occu-
pied block: dispatcher gave lap order
or used improper form of order; op-
orator made mistake in copying order;
switch left open In face Of approaching
train; excessive speed; failure to idenS
tify train that was met.
Only Two Causes.
These errors are exactly the ones
which figure in the causes Of train ac-
cfdents year after year. Their persist-
44bGc, lSdO4u0. 01Way . W l4AS S&AIIlS xlAFs
Towing results. points inevitably to the.
truth Of one or the other OF the fol-
lowing alternatives: Either a great
majority Of these deplorable railroad
disasters are unavoidable or there ex-
lists a widespread lack OF intelligent
and well-ddrected effort to minimize
the mistakes Of employees In the oper-
alton Of trains. 1t is not believed that
81 $~
by the mistakes Of employees are un-
avoidable. It Is quite true that man is
prone to error. and as long as absolute
reliance is placed upon the human ele-
ment in the operation Of trains acci-
dents are bound to occur. but until It
can be shown that all reasonable and
proper measures have been taken for,
its prevention no accident can be
classed A. unavoidable.
Rules Habituaiy vioIated.
"All Of the mistakes noted above are
violations Of simple rules, which should
have been easily understood by men
Of sufficient intelligence to be en-
trusted with the operation Of trains.
The evidence Is that in the main the
rules are understood, but they are
habitually violated by employees who
are charged with responsibility for the
safe movement Of trains. The evidence
also il that in many cases operating
OFFICERS are .cognizant Of this habitual
disregard Of rules and no proper steps
are taken TO correct The evil Many
operating officers seem to proceed up
on the theory that their responsibility
ends with the PRONUNCIATION Or rides,
apparently overlooking the fact that no
matter how inherently good q Trule
may be, 1t IL Of no force unless It is
0beyed. On very many railroads there
is little or no system Of inspection or
supervision Of the work Of train-ser-
vice employees, 50 far as pertains to
those matter1x which vitality Aaftect
safety. Employees are not examined on
the operating rules except at Tho time
Of their promotion. and only the most
perfunctory efforts are made to deter
mine their fitness to perform the duties
assigned to them from time to time.
I'm previous reports the commission
has recommended legislation requiring
tiisa s.saiaT ao::zs::.o2 ee operating rules.
It 10 vital to the safe movement Of
trains that rules should be explicit and
uniform In character, go that they may
be easily understood and that there
may be no doubt as to their applica-
lion. To this end federal legislation IL
necessary.
Ignoring Of Block Signals.
'Disobed1ence Of signal Indications
on block-s1gnalled railroads il one OF
the most serious phases Of the acci-
dent situation. Such disobedience often
occurs in connection with the move
menf OF important high speed passen-