The Parisian. (Paris, Tenn.) 1907-1962, 1920-05-07
RAILROADS WANT
SUSPENSION OF THE
CROSSING ORDERS
Ask City Council To Ease Up On So
Called Drastic Orders For
Protection.
WOULD PROTECT SOME
GRADE CROSSINGS THO
Council Will Give Answer at Regular
Meeting Tuesday; Reluctance
Prevails.

Wednesday afternoon the city
council met in extraordinary session
to hear the superintendent of the L.
& N. and N. C. & st. L. railroads in
connection with the ordinance passed
April goth, requiring all grade eros
sings in the city limits to be provid-
ed with protection of some effective
kind, the ordinance taking effect 80
days from April goth, and provides
penalty for failure to comply with
same. The railroads claim that it
would entail an annual expense Of
$4,000 to compy with the ordi-
nance.
According to Supt. W. J. Hills Of
the N. c. & st. L. road, his company
the way of crossing fagmen at the
is ready to proceed with protection in
Dunlap street crossing, where recent
fatal accidents have happened. In
fact, Mr.. Hills stated that he expected
to have fiagman by next Monday
morning. There will probably be
two flagmen used at this point,
working eight hours each SO as to
give protection throughout the day
light hours and into the early night.
However, Mr.. Hills was asking the
council to suspend the ordinance so
far as it pertained 10 Washington,
Wood and Ruff streets, inasmuch as
the speed of trains over these eros
sings necessarily is slow and the dam
ger minimized. He stated there was
already crossing fagman protection
at the Rison street crossing.
Supt. Scates of the L. & N. discus
sed mainly the hazardous North Pop
lar street crossing where there Is
reverse curve street approach. He
offered to recommend TO his man
agement the construction of an ov-
erhead structure at this point pro-
vided the city would agree to con-
struct the approaches. He stated
that the Depot street crossing in West
End was already protected by cross
ing fiagmen, and suggested that the
Iron Bank road crossing could be
safeguarded with crossing bells.
The gentlemen were asked to con-
dense their exceptions to writing and
appear before the council in regular
monthly meeting next Tuesday night,
when it will be determined just what
action will be taken on the requests.
However, several members Of the
city council were apparently reluct-
ant to grant any leniency from the
protection stand outlined in the re-
cent ordinance, which gave the rail-
road companies the privilege of Sc
lecting their own means Of affording
Observation-Disclosures by bells, flag
men, or tower and gates.
1t was brought out in the discussion
that there is now an ordinance re-
stricting the speed of trains through
the city limits to 1-2 miles an hour,
and Supt. Hills assured the council
that these instructions would be
rigidly enforced, and by doing SO
practically preclude the possibility of
accidents at the Wood, Washington,
and Ruff street crossings. He said
it was impossible at these three
crossings to put in system of cleo
trio bells, because the distance was
net sufficient for the electric bond
age and further because the bells
would be ringing nearly all the time.
He also stated that gates were not
effective. Railroad time tables have
not provided for speed limit of the
II 1-2 miles at the Dunlap street
crossing Mr.. Hills said, because he
had not been advised of the fact that
this crossing had been taken into the
city limits, but that now proper bull
letin instruction would be issued To