Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 January 1913 — FOR GREATER SAFETY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FOR GREATER SAFETY

RAILROAD EXPERT MAKES SOME RECOMMENDATIONS. Especially Strong ae to the Duties of the Flagman—Plain and Iporka-. ble Rules, With Strict Enforcement, Asked For. ■it ' ' ' “There should be drastic and plain rules governing the conduct of flag-

men. Under the most favorable circumstances of daylight and a straight t.r ac k, they should be required to go back not less than. 2,000 feet, and when signaled in should invariably

leave torpedoes on the track. Trains on the way would be slowed down in consequence, and trains waiting for the return of flagmen would be delayed In getting started again, but safety to life and property would be increased. Torpedoes are not always used, simply because it takes a to place them on the rail. The engineman has blown.his whistle, the conductor is impatiently looking down the line and the flagman, catching the first note of the signal, beats it back as quickly as his legs will carry him. And , death, in many instances, is thereby invited to take his sickle in hand and go to work. “Summed up,” Mr. Belnap went on to say, “the safety of travel depends fundamentally on a realization by railroad men, from the highest to the lowest, that they are the guardians of of those who travel in their trains, and also of the lives of their comrades; next, on plain and workable rules, enforced to the letter with penalties attached for - disobedience, not after the disaster, but before it happens, and lastly, on a reasonable reduction of speed, both of engines and of men. “As I said at the start, much depends on the individual employe. Block signals should be on every American railroad, but they have to be worked in conjunction with men — with intelligent, alert, and conscientious men —otherwise they are of little value. It is natural. I suppose, for most people to oppose progress. If it were not so, we might go forforward too fast and bring us trouble. The suggestions I have made with respect to safety may not be acceptable In some quarters,-but they will be adopted finally, I believe. It was declared that railroads could not be operated If the law said no man —unless there were an accident on the line or some other act of God causing delay—should work for more than 16 hours continuously. I have been out on the road for 50 hours at a stretch without sleep or rest I have seen flagmen doze standing up with lanterns in their hands. In the old days engineers often napped at their posts. But the 16-hour law came and it has actually been an economic benefit to the railroads themselves. In 1893 the number of tons carried by the railroads for each trainman was 5,085; in 1911, it was 8,946. Moreover, there has been an increase in the number of train miles run by each trainman employed.” 1