Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 158, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1915 — Increasing Safety on Railroads. [ARTICLE]

Increasing Safety on Railroads.

On the railroads in the United States the number of passengers killed in 1914 was 223, of whom only 71 were killed in train accidents—a smaller number than in any years since 1998. The number of railroad employees killed, 2,892, in the year, showed a similar decrease, it having been more than 3,00 b for each of the four preceding years. The number of trespassers killed —that is, of persons walking on the railroad tracks and bridges or stealing rides —was 5,471, as compared with 5,558 for 1913. Of this class the number of fatalities has increased at a pretty constant rate for the last 25 years. In other words, the railroad companies having control of their trains endeavor to reduce deaths from accidents by improving the roads and the train equipment and by the observance of caution. They are succeeding in reducing the number of accidents to persons traveling on their trains. The railroad companies cannot prevent trespassing on their rights of way. The habit of trespassing does not decrease, and so the deaths of trespassers do not decrease. —Columbia (S. C.) State. \