Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 February 1907 — HUNDREDS DIE IN WRECK. [ARTICLE]

HUNDREDS DIE IN WRECK.

People of tlie United States Face Peril of Railway Disasters. The people of the United States have a “new peril” to try their nerves and wrench their hearts. It is a peril of the new twentieth century—the peril of railroad travel. Approximately 500 passengers have been killed in the last few months in the most appalling series of railroad accidents the country, it is charged, has ever known, brought about by the desperate' efforts of the railroad companies to make more money. It has not been a question of signals and switches and regulations: it has been a question of hurrying trains Throughr—the flyer, the'fast freight—-of" getting from one end of the line to the other, so that they can be started hack again. Railroad employes have admitted on the stand that they disregarded signals —that they had to, to make schedules. Twenty , years ago persons traveled on railroad’ trains with comparative safety. There were some accidents, but few men dreaded a trip by rail. Even ten years ago the peril was not great. In 1897 only 222 passengers were killed. But look at the last four months I A total of 500 human beings, passengers on trains in the United States, were torn and mangled, scalded and burned to death in railroad wrecks —-225 per cent more deaths in four months than in the whole of 1897. The slaughter of the toll of 1907 began with terrible mortality. The railroads are overworked, overcrowded and overcapitalized. Earnings that should be devoted to improving and replenishing the equipment and paying for a better class of labor are diverted to dividends to keep up the value of watered stock. The accompanying table gives the worst of the recent railroad disasters. There were many more the country over where the casualties were one, two, or three. InDate— Killed. Jured. Nov. 12—Woodvllle, Ind., Baltimore & Ohio, collision. . 61 39 Sept. 18—Dover, Okla., Rock Island, passenger train, through bridge 25 ~ Oct. 28 —Atlantic City, N. J., West Jersey & Seashore Electric, open draw. ryirds3 18 Nov. 29 —Lawyers, Va., Southern Railway, Sam'l Spencer, President of Southern, among victims 7 '.. Dec. B—Danville,8 —Danville, Va., Southern Railway, passenger and freight collision 5 Dec. 11 —Vergenne3, Vt., Rutland . Railway, passenger and (weight, collision ....... 9 Dec. 23 —Enderlin. X. D., Milwaukee & St. Paul and Ste. Marie, collision 10 37 Dec. 30 —Terra Cotta, D. C.. Baltimore & Ohio, collision. 53 60 Jan. 2 —Volland, Kan., Rock Island, collision 33 55 Jan. 13 —Barney, N. M., Rock Island, open switch..,. 5.. • 8 Jan. 15—Waldron, Mo., Rock Island, collision 3 Jan. 19 —Osseo, Minn., Croat Northern, rails spread.. 3 Jan. 19 —Fowler, Ind., Big Four, collision 24 10 Jan. 19—Sandford, Ind., Big Four* powder explosion ...... 40 25