Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1913-12-19
Much abused EmplOye
Is Again Made the Goat


ton Of rules apparently overiooAng
the fact that no matter how inher-
entity good rule may be. n Is %
no force unless Il Is obeyod. on very
many railroads there is little or no
system ~ inspection or supervision
II tho work Of traln-service em-
pioyees 80 FAR AZ pertains to those
matters which vitality affect safety
Employees arc not examined on the
operating rules except az the time
Of their promotion. and only the most
perfuuctory efforts are made TO de-
termlne their fitness 20 perform thu
duties assigned to them from time
70 time.
This lack Of supervision and In
spection with respect to matters af-
fectinR the safety OF trains Il unex-
piainable when the careful supervis-
Ion Of al matters directly affecting
the revenue OF the roads r. consid-
cred The auditing and checSlng
systems used for detecting the dis
honesty Il employees are maryels of
ingenuity and careful attention to
detail, but means Of determining
whether trains are operated in ac-
cordnnce with the requirements or
safety and ia conformity with thd
rules are almost entirely lacking.
"In previous reports the commits
sion has recommended legislation re-
qulfinE the Standardization of opcrat-
ing rules II Is vital 10 the safe
movement OF trains that rules should
be explicit and uniform IN character.
SO that they may be easily understood
and that there may be no doubt al
20 their application. To This end
! federal legislation IL necessary,
'Dlsobedienoo OF signal indications
on block signalled railroads Is one OF
the most serious phases of the acci-
dent situation such disobedience
{ often occurs In connection with tho
movement Of important high-speeG
I passenger trains and when II results
\ In collision or deraiment "a most
deploraDie casualty list rs Us invarl-
able accompaniment. Fourteen of the
Investigated accidents which have oc-
CURED on -siguailed roads since
July D. 1871, were caused by engine
men running hy stop signals or fail~
ing 10 reduce speed az directed BY
caution signals. Ia these "a accidents
Y 1875 persons were killed ana ali
were injured. In seven Of these ac-
/ cidents the culpabie englnemen
themselves were killed
"No adequate reason can De offered
for these serieus lapses from duty
by mon who in many cases suffer
death as consequence. Frequently
10 Is hard even 90 suggest . plausi-
bic explanation for the disobedieuc,
% signal indications That they are
disoheyed however d. fact. and the
lives that are annually sacrificed
from this cause calf leudly fof som,
means ~ 1rrestng rs results. The
most disastrous accidents OF thl
character occur on roads equipped
with modern systems Of automatic
block signals. whoi2 elaborate pre-
cautions 90 prevent accidents (shor
Z J of guarding against the consequence
81 signal dis0bedionco) have beet
tnacn. Tho trains involved in thcs'
: iamoniaale disasters generally are
operated 1y trusted employees o
long experience. nut the rcC0r'
abundantly proves that even splondi'
signal equipment and admirable dis
J
and hign moral character on tho par
: of employees can not prevent the oc
oaslonni muln failures which pro
duce such fatal results These fact
! arc brought 10 the attention OF thl
; congress. with the suggestion tina
: those main failures indicate The neces
Z sty for the development ana poriec
ton OF some system Of automnti
train control 90 be used in connection
! with existing signal Hyftems
High speed was an Emporium
contributing cause ~ several acct
dents during the past year. On man
roads there 81 no limit 90 tho spee'
! ai which passenger trains are allowe'
Co run Engnemen are thus on
Fl couraRed 10 run their trains at cxcer
! Elye speed In an effort % make u
time lost on schedules that are q
many cases already sufficiently fas
FOR safety. Such high specd Is es
peeihlly dangerous in time OF fog o
Storm. when signals can be- seen bu
? comparatively snort oisance. TN
maximum allowable speed of train
on ail roads should be- established "A
a sais limit. and Il should not be lof