New Britain herald., 1927-04-30
SCORNFUL
 0F LURKING DEATH
Takes Many Chances Daily to
 Beat Train" at Crossings

From time to time the newspa- pers record instances Of marrow es- capes'' at railroad crossings built to street grade, ot which there are several in New Britain. but the pro- portion oi the accidents which find their way into print 10 the number which actually occur is small indeed. according to the faithful employees of the railroad company who stand on guard day and night watching out for the safety of pedestrians and motorists. some of whom seem to be unworthy of the protection that is given them.
 One afternoon recently. an ob- servers curiosity goaded him on 10 the point where he decided to make it his personal business to deter mine the number of cases in which dangerous haste at the crossings was necessary. and to his surprise he learned that 13 men and four women disregarded the whistle Of the Main street crossing tender and of that number, eight men and two women merely strolled along quite leisurely on reaching the other side of the tracks. with apparently no place in particular to go to. Two men ran down railroad arcade as if i in a great hurry to board a train, and as both disappeared through the entrance to the passenger sta ton the conclusion was drawn that they had not bought tickets in ad-
 vance and in all probability they wished to be seated while riding. In ! these instances the haste might ! have been chased as iustifia ble, all though, of course. they risked their lives when they dashed across the tracks with trains laundering in.
 There seems to be no certain class outstanding in this disregard for safety, The majority of the men who were observed on the afternoon in question as they pulled their coat tails close about them and ran out with frantic looks up and down the tracks. stopped within a short dis tance Of the opposite gate and either stood at the curbstone or chatted with acquantances. Appar- entity they were going nowhere, but some thing within them urged them to revolt against a few seconds de- lay, and in response to the urging of that something, they made their dash.
 If every marrow escape" was published. considera be newspaper space would be required in practic- ally every issue. according 10 those familiar with conditions about the
 crossings. Prior to the age of the gasoline buggy. runaway horses
 offered problem for the gate tenders. Spirited animals, on ap-
 preaching crossings. often were i frightened at the sound of the ap-
 preaching trains, and bad accidents 1 frequently occurred or were avoided ! only through unusual good fortune. As a rule. howevQr. drivers of horses
 were more careful approaching the crossings than are drivers of auto mobiles. according to observers. But the foolhardy pedestrian. He and she were prcsen: years ago. no
 matter how far back one may care
 to search. and the only difference | between those Of a decade ago and | those Of today is that the latter are
 more numerous. They do not want
 to stand still minute, whether 1 they are gong anywhere or not.
 They did not want to wait in 1900
 and they are in just as great a hur-
 ry in 1927.
 , Not all the "narrow escapes" oc-
 cur at the Main street crossing. The ! fact that this crossing is centrally f located and is passed by thousands
 of people daily keeps it before the
 public as regards accidents and near accidents. put the gatemen at High
 street. Stanley street, Elm street. and various other streets along tn, line have had their opportunities to