The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-06-19
PEOPLES FORUM
"Cross Crossings Cautiouslyn

The newspapers have invariably
been so cordially cooperative to-
ward safety campaigns of the rail-
ways that / confess to surprised
disappointment in reading an edi-
torial In Tho Age-Herald. on June
/. Shifting the Blame" feel
sure that you must misunderstood
the motives Of the Railway Age,
and of the Right Way Magazine,
when you charge them with ef-
forts to distract public atten-
ton" and shift responsibility"
Safety campaigns primarily seek
to save human life and prevent
human suffering. detectives which
are beyond legitimate reproach.
Their secondary purpose Is to de-
crease the amount Of money which
railways must pay out as the re-
suit of embarrassing accidents,
and this equally with the first Is
to the public interest. The rail-
ways have only such revenues as
they obtain from the public. II
considerable percentage Of that
revenue must be dissipated in
damage payments. II merely serves
to increase the burden upon the
railways-and consequently upon
the people who pay the costs of
transportation.
concur in your opinion that
the solution of the problem is the
elimination Of the grade crossings.
but that Is an ultimate and not
an immediate possibility. Good
progress IL being made in that d.
rection. but 1t Is necessarily slow.
To eliminate all grade crossings
quito beyond the power of the
raiiways--or Of the people from
whom their revenue Is derived in
the form Of freight and passenger
rates. For example. there are
1887 crossings on the Central Of
Georgia Railway. To separate the
grades would cost approximately
fifty million dollars, or substan-
TALLY moro than al the outstand-
ing bond issues Of the company.
The National Association OF Rail-
way and Utilities Commissioners.
In session at Washington in No
vember, 1890, received a report
from its grade crossing committee
reading as follows: ITO eliminate
all grade crossings In tho United
States would probably cost as
much IS all the railroads in the
United States have cost"
Thus 1t Is explained that the
work of grade separation must
be spread over long period Of
years. and in the meantime the
crying need Is for some plan OF
action that will Immediately stop
loss Of life and destruction Of
property. Tho prevention OF ac-
cidents IL In the hands Of those
who drive vehicles. They have It
In their power to protect them
selves. The distance btwesn the
rails Of a railroad IL but four feet
eight and one-half Inches. With
all the rest Of the world at their
disposal. why should people insist
upon ending their lives or their
Of landf can assure you that
tho railroads are earnestly seek
Ing to reduce tho number Of cross
ing accidents. The engineers and
firemsn deplore loss OF life.
They are harassed and distressed
by the habit Of reckless autoists
In dashing across the tracks and
In racing with their trains.
There IL another angle to the
situation. The careless driver
who takes chances at the crossing,
or the inexperienced driver. un-
able to control his machine. Is q
menace to himself and to every
one who uses the streets and high
ways. He slaughters children,
causes wrecks and destroys prop
erty. Tho vast majority Of auto
mobilists welcome educational
campaigns. traffic regulations and
every other measure that will les
sen the danger from the reck-
less and unskilled minority.
ade-crossfng regulations may
be irksome to some, but those
well-intentioned are willing to
abide by them for the general
good. Just as they accept one-way
streets. restricted parking ordi-
nances. traffic policemen and other
provisions for safety made neces-
sary by tho immense and sudden
growth OF travel by motor. The
railways need the sympathetic
support Of the newspapers in their
attempt to handle this problem.
The utterances Of The Age-Herald
carry weight with . wide circle
OF readers who look to 1t for
leadership in matters that affect
their welfare. I sincerely hope
that after further consideration
and second thought. Mr.. Editor,
you may find something to COM
mend in the safety campaign Of
the railways. the slogan Of which
Is Gross Crossings Cautiously"
w. A. WINBURN,
President Central Of GEORGIA.
Railway Company.
Savannah. Ga. June Is. 1923.