The Washington herald., 1915-08-28

ly sell the lie OF mOlner UT "iier
son or brother for money; on the other
hand, the collection of damages out
of railroad revenues, as punishment
for an avoidable accident, when there
can be no real compensation, is an
economic waste: it Furnishes the pub
lie more than it Furnishes the stock
holders, as it deprives the public by
exactly the amount of the damages
of the ability of the railroad to pro-
vide additional permanent facilities
for the use or convenience and safety
of the public. Given the progressive
policy of Southern Railway Company
to make such improvements to the
extent of its ability, it is of interest
to note that, in the last year divi-
dend was paid by the company 80
lected from the public went in pay
ment of damages of all kinds. prac-
tically the same amount, 3.SS cents,
went to the stockholders. while only
thirteen -hundredths of one cent of
each dollar of revenue could be ap-
plltu OI improvements.
such other improvements as were
made were necessarily charged to new
capital. thereby increasing the de-
mands on the fund in which the pub
lie has so vital an interest 1t would
be the pleasure of the management
always to apply as much of the ~ev-
enues on permanent improvements as
on dividends. if that were possible.
There is, then, a basis of interest as
well as of morals for cooperation be-
tween the public and the railroads to
prevent the recurrence of these trag-
edies.
Appeals to Motorists.
With a deep sense of the responsi-
bility of management On this matter
and pledging this company to do
everything in its power which is rea-
Sonable and consistent with the func-
tions for which 1t was chartered, ] ap-
peal to the public generally for such
cooperation in avoiding these serious
and distressing accidents. In practical
ly all cases they can be, and in most
cases are, readily and easily avoided
by the automobile driver acting upon
the familiar warning to stop, look and
listen at railway crossings. While
familiarity with the crossing sign
posts and the regular schedules of
trains may breed contempt of danger,
surely every one of us when using a
highway can afford to sacrifice enough
of his time and his pride of opinion
to have a practical assurance of safety
On the other hand. the demands of
commerce and of public transporta-
tion do not permit railroad to stop
all its trains at all highway crossings:
II that were possible it would be
cheaper for the railroad to dasso than
to pay the damages. 1t is clear. how
ever, that il is necessary that one or
the other of the parties to a crossing
shall stop if the largest measure of
protection of life and limb and prop
erty is to be secured. If not from self
interest, cannot the automobile driver
yield the precedence as a matter of
courtesy to age. for the railroad is
older than the automobile,
The ideal of safety will be accom-
plished only when all grade crossings
of railroads are separated. In this
respect Southern Railway Company is
doing something every year and as
much its resources and other obli-
cations make possible; indeed, 1t may
be claimed that the company Is
speaking generally, making progress
more rapidly than most municipalities
which have an obligation in the prem
ises; but by cooperation of munich
palities and railroads many dangerous
crossings have been eliminated
throughout the South, and more will
be every year. Furthermore. on every
bit of construction work of Southern
Railway Company now in progress, or
recently completed, involving the re-
location or double tracking of limo
(nearly four million dollars has been
spent on such work during the past
year), provision has been made at
large additional expense to separate
all important highway crossings of the
revised line. wherever physically prac
tica BILE. and this policy will be con-
tinued for the future.
Sense of Responsibility.
Given the history of our transpor-
tation and highway systems and the
enormous cost of adjusting them to
modern conditions. the elimination of
grade crossings is and in the very
nature of the problem must be a grad
ual development with the growth sOf
population and wealth, but. meanwhile,
good judgment on the part of all con-
cerned can do much to anticipate the
benefits of the admittedly desirable
expenditure of large sums of money.
L
ity for life on the part of automobile
drivers which actuates NEST locomo-
tive engineers. and in addition the
willingness Of the automobile driver in
such a high interest to subordinate
his time and convenience to that of
the greater number represented by a
railroad train, can check a waste of
life and limb and property which is
now increasing every year.
ssTO this end I aDneal confidently for
the counsel of every responsible man
and woman in the South, whether or
not he or she drives an automobile. |
Words of caution and common sense !
around the family dinner table can
have more influence and can save more
lives at railway grade crossings than
all the warning whistles ever blown |
by a locomotive engineer"