The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-04-20
RAILWAYS SAFER
THAN STREETS
MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE
PEOPLE IN PROPORTION TO
POPULATION, KILLED ON
STREETS OF CHICAGO THAN ON
RAILWAYS OF COUNTRY,

More than three times as many eo-
pie in proportion to population were
killed on the streets Of Chicago in the
every day course Of traffic during 1918
than were killed by all the railways
Of the United States, including pass
engers, employees, trespassers and
others, in all classes Of accidents
Such a showing of comparative liza
bility to fatalities as between railway
trafic il the United States and the
ordinary traffic of the streets Of the
annual accident statistics of the inter-
state commission for the
twelve months ending June 80, 1913,
with records of the ]coroner's office
showing fatalities on Chicago streets
in 1913.
In a population of approximately
100, 900, 900 there were KILLED in all
classes of accidents on the ESQ, 900
miles Of railway in the United States
1850 persons, OF whom 1858 were
trespassers and only 759 OF the re-
mainder were killed in accidents to
trains.
Records Of the coroner's Office show
for the twelve months a total of S02
| persons killed on the streets during
the twelve months of 1913. With a
population only approximately one
~ "S SN~~St ca q
killed one-thirteenth as great, or in
other words, S21 fatalities per 1,O00,-
900 Inhabitants occurred on the streets
Of Chicago against only 105 per 1,000,-
600 inhabitants, due to railway opera
ton, more than one-half Of which
were Of tr~espassers.
During the yea there were 1876 per-
| sons killed on Chicago streets by auto.
mobiles alone. This comes within five
of equalling the total number Of pas
sengers killed by all the railways of
the United States during the year in
accidents of passenger trains, reported
by the commerce commission as 141,
in the gigantic task Of accomplishing
| "a, 500, 600, 900 passenger miles of trav-
ell. Added to fatalities on Chicago
streets due to automobiles were 81 at
| tributable to vehicles, making a total
from these two causes alone of 218
killed, or 20 per cent more than all
passengers and others carried under
agreement. such as porters n mail
employees, killed in accidents to pas
senger trains, reported by the COM
merce commission as 1S1.
In other accidents on the streets
there were killed 5S4 persons, the
causes being such as bicycles, elevated
railways, street and steam railways
the railways killed in other accidents,
such as falling from cars, getting on
or off cars, being struck at stations or
in yards, etc, numbered 222, making
a total Of all passengers and others
carried under agreement" in all acct
dents Of 400, against 500 on the streets
Of Chicago.
How .rerious the question of auto
mobile accidents alone has become is
shown by the fact that there was an
increase o" fatalities from this cause
] from SO in 1912 to 1876 in 1913, or 3S.S
per cent. In New York there was a
simultaneous increase from 226 to 3O2,
or 1876 per cent, in deaths due to auto
mobiles.
During the fiscal year 1913 the rail-
ways carried 245, 000, 900 passengers
one mile for n killed in a train acct
dent. Were the same proportion Of
immunity to prevail on Chicago
streets, with S02 persons killed, every
man, woman and child would have
travelled $4,000 miles on the streets in
the year, or 218- miles per day.