The Holly chieftain., 1923-03-22

draft and enforce ordinances and
lie safety. he finds that the very
constituents who vested him with
his authority are the hardest
to please If it is not the
violation of the rules it
delegated him to promui-
gate and upon Whichi thereby
puts the seal of approval that the
public suffers the greatest loss of
life and limb. Inquire of him if the
people do not expect to protect
them and theirs. and at the same
instant by their own acts watonlyI
mae it impossible. Get his traffic
officers to tell what they know
about the Inconsistency the deter
mined recklessness, of the self
same public that hired them for
protection An Illuminating in
stance has Just come to light from
figures recently compiled.
In the year 1921. the total casual
ties to persons. exclusive of en-
,,loyes, in railway collisions and de
railments We're 1862 killed and 2,75s
injured. During the same period
there We're exclusive of railway en-
plOyes, 1866 persons killed and S6Si
injured in highway grade crossing
accidents, by getting on or off ears
or locomotives, and through tres
passing on railway property.
Thus it occurs in railway activity
that when the public acts either
wholly or partially on its own iIn.
l.tes there arr lcarly twenty f &
mes as many people killed AID
three times as many injured as
when 1t yields to the Judgment of
railway employees. In other words,
only about Is per cent, or less than
one-flttli, of the casualties are en-
tirely beyond the control of the
lvictim. To put it still another
way, when u person exercises his
| own volition, he Is four times as
likely to incur disaster as when re-
strained by the we'll established
regulations of railway operations
Accident statistics in every day
life are still more Illuminating in
this respect. The natural tendency
OF society individually and collec-
lively. to chafe under restraint for
the common good of all the great
est bar to the conservation of life
and limb The inexorable tolls fix.
ed for the careless are paid by the
masses. Guardians of public safety
surely do have time with their
charges"
As matter of interest there is
quoted below an editorial by Fl Fl.
Windsor, appearing in the January
1929. issue of Popular Mechanics"
During the year 1921, it cost the
railroads of this country $l2.250O0O
for accidents where automobiles
and trains collided. In only com
Daratively few eases were the rail,
roads unquestionably to blame.
The overwhelming majority were
due to inexcusable carclessness on
the part of the drivers of the auto.
mobiles. Railroad trains are large
end noisy they can be seen and
heard usUalG considerably dis
tance away. In most states. GER
tainly in all densely settled ones. in
addition to the regulation danger
sign maintained by the railroads,
thtere are similar signs usually set
several hundred feet from the cross
ing warning autoists to exercise
caution in approaching the track
At other points nre eatemen: flash.
ing red lights. warning bells. The
engineer seldom fails to sound his
whistle warning at safe distance,
snd the locomotive bell rings. In
srite of all these precautions grade
crossing accidents are multiplying
ranidly, and the loss OF life is ap-
palling.
People seem regardless of danger,
or become so occupied in conver-
sation they are unconscious of it.
The chief of the accident-claim de-
partment OF every large road, told
me of one such, which occurred
recently.
A long freight train was nearing
country highway, at not over
eighteen miles an hour, over lev.
el track. 1t was a bright sunny
day. The locomotive and several
cars had already passed over the
highway, when the conductor and
one brakeman looking ont the Gu
nOlO windn,y saw an oman COR mn