Judsonia weekly advance., 1915-04-28
Hard- Headed SCotChman Who Became Famous in the Rail-
 road World.
AUTHORITY ON ACCIDENTS
Many Years of Keen Observation Gave Him Practical Knowledge on Subject and Then He Wrote
 Books About 1t.
By OSBORN MARSHALL.

1 per Syndicate)
 It was warm evening in June; still there was a breeze blowing in the sig. mai tower at the railroad station at West Cambridge, Mass, and Pagan, the fean-faced, eagle-eyed signalman i stationed there, was about the only man in West Cambridge who wasn't kicking about the heat. Maybe this was because Pagan was so thin he didn't mind a high temperature or per haps it was because he was so inter- ested in his little $2.50-a-day job that he didn't have time to think of his own comfort.
 As Pagan looked up the rails his trained eye caught sight of the east bound freight train running toward the signal tower At the same time Pagan was aware that from the op- posite direction there was coming an express passenger train The freight train was running along at 30 miles and hour and the passenger train was coming at full speed. Both trains were on tlrne and both had a clear right of way. Still Pagan kept his keen eyes open. Then half a mile west of the tower Pagan spied another eastbound freight train running par allel with the first freighter, and Fa- gan's pulse beat faster as he noticed that this train was enveloped in mist of smoke.
 Hot box" thought Pagan, his eyes intent on the train Wonder if the crew knows?"
 There was no longer need of asking this question, for, as Pagan watched he could see that brakeman was on top of the car watching the trouble. The brakeman knew and the conduc- tor knew, and of course the engineer knew
 But why didn't the engineer stop? Why didn't he throw on the throttle that would bring his train to stand still? Pagan was an experienced sig mailman and knew the answer to the question. The freight train was near ing its terminal On the parallel east bound track was the other freight train and, with the love for race that is deep rooted in every man of his trade, that locomotive engineer was intent on jumping" the other freight train.
 Horror Narrowly Averted.
 It was terrific risk to run with hot box, but apparently all hands were eager to take the risk, eager to run the frfghtful race against appall- ing odds for the sake of the sport that was in it, so the engineer had thrown his engine wide open, held his breath and let her go.
 Pagan also held his breath and his usually steady gray eyes were fired with rage, for from his tower he could see the westbound train bearing stead fly down upon the eastbound freight trains, and he knew that the passen- ger train was crowded with men and women and children who weren't so eager to run race with a hot box as that crew of the freight train was Pagan saw it all, but his hands were tied. There was nothing under heaven for him to do but wait In a few sec onds he would know the outcome.
 As he watched eagerly, angrily even, he could see the chips flying from the ties, showing that the melted journal of the hot axle box had snapped in two. Pagan shuddered as he knew that it was only question of seconds before the burning freight car would be derailed and the smash would come. Still the passenger train was bearing toward the racing freight trains.
 Then came the smashup There was a terrific crash, followed by blinding smoke, and both eastbound and west bound tracks were blocked with twist ed rails, broken ties and derailed cars. Pagan clenched his hands and looked through the smoke,
 Thank God!" he murmured. The passenger train crowded with passen- ger coaches and sleepers was just it's own length from the gruesome wreck It had covered the distance and passed the freight trains before the general smashup came, only through a mir acle of narrow escape.
 This time the passenger train did escape, but in other cases-cases which Pagan had watched from his tower-the passenger train hadn't es- caped and men and women and chil- dren had been sacrificed. Some of the railroad men considered such acci- dents simply inevitable. Others ad- mitted that they were due to stupid ity, others to negligence, others to the imperfection of rails, locomotives and car structure. These were the highly paid railroad lnen who were supposed to know all about such things.
 Pagan Knew the Cause.
 But Pagan, who drew his two dol lars and half day and who watched the trains from his watch tower and studied the human nature of railroad engineers and conductors-Fagan knew that these accidents were avoid able, that they were due to lack of