El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-05-31
ON
RAIL LINESFEE.
Col. Tyalor Says Trainmen
Watch Explosives Care
fully in Transit.


I handling explosives inaugurated on
/ the railways throughout the United
( States and Canada by the bureau Of
explosives, there occurred in the year
1917 but five accidents Of any i'm
! portance These five accidents re-
suited in no loss Of life. one man in
jured, and the destruction Of $500
worth Of property. This damage is
/ negligible when we consider the
enormous amount Of explosive ma
/ terial that is handled by the railways
Of this continent in these days. said
I Col j. i. Taylor who lectured TO 60
III Paso railway men at the chamber
Z OF commerce building Thursday night,
under the auspices Of the FL PasO and
Southwestern railway.
Col IaylOr's lecture was accOmpa-
MED by the exhibition Of a number
Of interesting slides thrown on
screen. showing the different forms
Of way bills, records in use, and the
proper way in which TO use them.
Careful Handling Necessary.
Careful handling Of explosives has
been rendered even more necessary
than ever since the outbreak Of the
war" said Col Taylor by the work
Of the innumerable spies and German
sympathizers who have infested this
country, and who viii stop at no
catastrophe 10 do their little bit to
ward helping the kaiser. BY our care
lessness in the past we have played
into the hands OF these persons in a
way that we hope never TO do again
As IL is, hardly day passes that you
do not read Of some explosion or fire
due to the incendiary work Of these
men. but I am glad 10 say that most
Of this destruction occurs either be-
fore OF after the explosive material
has passed into the hands Of the rail-
ways
Railways Have Good Record.
I'm the year 1917 our records show
ton OF life and property by eXplo-
sions, and their resulting fires, since
the terrible san Francisco cOnflagra-
ton Hundreds OF millions Of dollars
worth OF property was wantonly de-
strOyed, and hundreds OF lives were
lost, due in great part 20 the dia-
bolism Of German spies Very lit
tie Of this I am glad TO say occurred
in transit. and Il is due 20 the good
record Of the railways in this respect /
that the national railway administra-
tion has decided to leave the handling
Of explosives on railways entirely in I
the hands Of the bureau Of explosives, Z
as il has been heretofore.
Stops Concentrating Quantities.
In 1915 IN the city Of New York 1
occurred the tremendous explosion at
the wharves when carloads and barge {
loads Of high explosives let 20, shak-f
ing the city, and causing a property I
loss of 100000. 900 Tremendous as
this explosion was. the military dam
age IL did was negligible. Within I
three weeks after the explosion the I
stream Of explosives passing through
that port was as great as ever. Butt
We had learned one great lesson by
that explosion and never since that
time has any considerable quantity Of
explosive material been allowed to
collect I'm one place.
Need More Safety Work.
But good as is the record Of the
railways with respect 20 the handling
Of explosives. our work does not ap-
pear so favorably in other ways.
Careless and wrong management on
the railways Of the United States in
1917 resulted in 1916 major accidents.
IN which 40 persons were killed, SO
persons were injured, and a property
loss Of S1.159,9S4 was sustained These
figures compare very badly with our
record in other respects, and more
care must be taken 10 prevent this
leakage I'm our national resources.
Trainmen Avert CatnHtrophe.
That the technique and knowledge
OF the tralnmen is everything in case
Of accident is shown by two in
stances At Shreveport, La, last year
there occurred a derailment Of q
freight train, in which were II cars
OF gasoline Several OF them were so
badly crushed that the gasoline began
10 ESCAPE Inc crews on Inc tram
and the yard where the accident Oc-
CURED. by using the proper methods,
conserved by far the greater part of
that gasoline. held back the curious
crowd with their cigarets and cigars
and turned what might have been a
serious accident into a minor one.
should Have Used Hose
AT Ardmore, Okla, there occurred
another accident in which tanks Of
gasoline were involved. in which one
tank exploded caused the loss OF sew
aral lives, and a property damage Of
sL-50,OO0- This could have been
aTerted by the simple eLpedient Of
playing hose on the affected tank
for half an hour"
Col Taylor spoke in high terms Of
me ability OF director general ". 6.
McAdoo 10 handle the railways Of the
country in the most economical way.
and expressed the conviction that he
was the greatest man in the cabinet
He reviewed the career OF Mr. Nc
Aooo, briefly pointing out she Hud-
son tubes and the federal reserve
bank as two Of his greatest achieve
nents, and said that the vast success
~ the third Liberty loan was due
almost entirely TO Mr.. McAdoo.
War May Last Years Yet.
Many people think that the present
rive OF Won Hindenburg is the last
expiring gasp Of Prussia" said the
colonel But IL is the opinion OF
our military experts that this is a
var Of exhaustion which has years
ret 10 run This means that We must
our every resource. and stop
Every leak that detracts from Our
efficiency, and much Of this duty q
-olves upon the railway men Of
America.