OCR Text |
Show Such railroad wrecks as the one at Terra Cotta, I). U , In which an hundred hun-dred or more wore either killed or Injured, In-jured, are naught but the natural result re-sult of our mad raco for the almighty dollar Trains are run on close schedule sched-ule In order that tho roads shall show a certain dividend; this and that trestle is not placed beyond the 'absolute 'abso-lute possibility of collapse bceausc there seems little danger in Its present condition, and It would cost money to make It perfect; at a railroad crossing there Is no watchman because $.'10 a month would cut Into the dividend; one track walker is required to cover a territory that would be safer with fwo-lhc railroads need tho money; cars are built of most Inllamraablo material and of tho least resistance in case of wreck heavy cars of steel, In which passengers would be measurably protected from being crushed and Incinerated In-cinerated would cost money, dontchcr-know; dontchcr-know; train dispatchers and operators aro worked over hours and beyond their strength It would cost money to keep employed the number of men necessary to prevent such contingencies contin-gencies and the wrecks that coma as a result of some unfortunate overworked telegrapher's blunder. Nine-tenths of tho wrecks that occur might bo prevented pre-vented by tho expenditure of money, and If in tho course of ovents every railroad president, director and high otllclal generally lost a child, wife, mother, sister or brother In a horrible wreck such as has brought deepest sorrow into thousands of homes the past year, that money would be spent. One great crlmo of tho age Is tho yearly railroad slaughter of more men and women than were killed In different differ-ent wars. , |