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Show 'III!: SAI L MEDIUM OF TRANSPORT In a recent letter to President Roosevelt, James J. Pel-ley, Pel-ley, president of the Association of American Railroads, said : "lunn;c the calendar year 1935 .... on all the railroads of the United States only one passenger lost his life in a train acci'K nt. This regrettable fatality, resulting from the explosion ex-plosion of a steam heater in a passenger car standing in a si at ion, occurred, on November 6, 1935. Prior to that time, I hre had been no fatality in a train accident on American railroad for a period of more than twelve months. "During 1935, 4 15,991,021 passengers rode on the railroads rail-roads of the United States without loss of the life of a single passenger through collision or derailment of a train. This record was accomplished during a period when the volume of business and the speed of trains were being increased." In answering Mr. Policy's letter, President Roosevelt said: "Such successes of the railroad men and management in the field of safety of operation have occurred before and so frequently fre-quently that the country has come to expect them, however difficult. They show great capacity for intelligent and sustained su-stained effort. The industry now faces, and I assume will always al-ways face, new problems arising from the necessity of continually con-tinually adapting its facilities to meet the rapidly changing transportation needs of the country. This is a challenge which 1 am confident will be met with the same capacity which has served to make the splendid record just achieved." Neither Mr. Pelley nor the president exaggarates the superb safety record established by the railroads a record surpassed by no industry, and equaled, if at all, by few, and by none of comparable size. It seems that increase in train speeds is accompanied by a reduction in accidents a fact that millions of motorists Would do well to consider. The railroads have, made an achievement in the field of safety that should serve as an inspiration and an example to every industry and every individual in this country. n |