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H NE 1915
- --- - - - _.

America's Negligence-Railvvay Trespass

T oleration of th e Railroad Trespasser in This Country Results in Five Thousand Deaths a Year Due
Alm ost Entirely to Lack of Laws or Lack of Enforcement of Existing Statutes-
Th e Elimination of th e Deadly T oll by Adoption of English
Laws Which Spell " Safety First Saves Lives "
By Joseph H. Lan e, Traffic Manager

Worcester Chamber of Comm erc e

C CI DE NTS to Ra il road Tresp asse rs : ru le, gi ves h eed to t he e ve ry d a y d a nge rs whic h beset o ur
I Ki ll ed. Inju red . pa t hs , bu t why go o ut of o u r way arul seek d angc r !
T his q uest io n that we are on d ocs not a pply a lto­
United Sta tes, 100 1-10, 50,025 5:3,42 7
get h e r to the tra m p, ho bo, 01' so ci a l o utcast, as we often
•, United K ingd om , 1 ~ ) 0 1-1 0 , 4,434 1,:3J 5
t hi n k, b u t a ut hen t ic reports sho w th at at least 75 p er'
Tn th e U n ite d S ta tes law s aga inst r a i lro ad t n-s pass ing ce nt . of th c p eo pl e ki lled from tres passing o n r a ilroa d
a re not \"l:'ry 1l11 ll1l'I'OnS and arc seldom gene ra lly eufo recd . r ig h t o f wa y a re useful memb ers of soc iety , as w ill be
I II t he Unite d K in grloru person s ot her t ha n pass en ge rs s ho wn In t er on .
o r em ploy ees Foun d on ra il road pro pert y art' fine d $ ]0. In M assa chuse t ts th e P u b lic Servi ce Co m m iss io n r e­
101' eac h offence. ports a y ea rly ca s u a lt y 1'011 o f p ract ica lly 14:3 ki ll ed and
I n th is prog ress iv e co u n t ry Ir e ha r e mad e g reat (-;:3 in j ured , fo r the p ast te n y ears, a nd last yea r t he r e­
st ri des fo r t he co nse rva t iou of o ur resou rces . 1\1\[(.:h has port s ho ws t hat 175 p eopl e we r e k illed a nd 75 injured ,
ber n said an d d OIl E' to im p r ov e t he h ea lth a n d l if e of t lu­ a mi in n ea rl y a ll cases t he accid en ts happened to a u sefu l
in hab itan ts . Hu t in t h is p rogress a r e we not t ra ve li ug in m e mber o f Soc iet y . T he r eport sho ws furt hc r t hat. mos t
H de viou s l'OU t P, in stead of a Joi trai g h t l in e, c irc liu g aro u n d of t hese u n for tu n a t es wer e cau g ht wh ile t a k in g shor t
pro bk-ms th at an: vit a l a n d y et simpl e r to so lve t han cu ts a lo ng r a i lroa d r ig h t o f wa y .
ma ny of t he la u d a b le im pro vem en ts t h a t ha ve' been I n G r ea t B rit a iu , a nd in fa c t , a ll of wester n Europe
unrlcrta ke- n 'I t he r ai lroa d r igh t of way is pra ctical ly ina ccessible,
A yl.'a r a go at t hu J nt e r ua t iou a l Con g re ss o f H y gi en e T here' a r e a lmost 110 g rn d c cr ossin g s at a ll and it is im­
a t W ash in g t on, D . C., t lure ap pea red o ver oru - o f t il l' ex­ pos sib le to ge t o n to t he t racks ho m t he st a tio n. Ti le
hih its a p an el readi n g iu le is so s tric t lv en ­
like t his : fo r cpl! in 1110st Enl'o­
, Ve in spect OUI' hog-s o pe an c it ies t hat p eople
"We p lated ou r f or ­ w ish in g to see f riends
ests, off all a j o n ril ey III ust
W e negl ect our c hi l­ buy specia l tickets to
d rvn . get in a n d h a ve co u po ns
To t h is m igh t be added p unch ed befo re t hey
\ Ve to lerate t he r a i l­ ca n ge t out of t he st a­
mad tres passer . t ion, t he r-eby giv ing t he
I urge yo u to gi ve ra i lroaL1 n ot ice t lia I.
t h is qu esti on of T r es ­ such pers ons are a wa v
pass yo u f ' very se r io us fr om d an ger. T h'c
cons id e r a t ion, as it is a fr ei gh t va rd s, es pec ia l­
d an ger whi ch is se ldo m lv t hose in G r ea t B r it­
t ho ug ht a bou t, but on e ain , Fra nc e a nd Ge l'­
wh ich is al wa ys wi t h m any , a r e co m p lete ly
us. JJd me g ive you a f e nc ed in and a re
f ew g uara n te ed fac ts s tric t ly p o liced . T he
a bou t t h is p rob lem as la ws a ga in st t re spass
a lead er to yo ur co n ­ a re VPI'Y s tr ic t a br oad ,
sideratio n of th e s u b­ a w l a rc ca rcf' n llv en ­
j ect , NOl1l ~ of u s, as a f orced by tile r eg ul ar
1;;2 vVORCESTER
B oys A RE OFTE N SEE N LH\:E T H f S- -DI S nf: OARDl il.Tc;. T HE rn. RI CH 'I' '1'0
police, whil e in A merica t h e specia l ra ilro a d poli ce h ave
to enforce wh at f e w local laws we ha ve o n t h is su bj ect,
a n d as a rule, th e cou r ts will not g ive as m uc h heed to
t he sp ecial office rs as to th e r egular p olice.
Whil e d ea ths to tres pa ssers upon railroad p roperty
were h eld d own t o a lm ost noth ing in Em-op e and Ca nada
a n d g rea t ly red u ced in cer ta i n of ou r States , [ou rt ccti
ti mes as m an y p ersons wh o ha d no busin ess to be in d an­
g er , were killed by the ca rs in th e U ni ted S t a tes in 19 1:3
as com p a re d with th e number of pa ssen g ers kill ed. Fa­
talities rea ch ed 5,5 ;j 8-rnor e than at t he U a ttl e of Bull
R u n . Prog r ess to wards th e en ac t men t of laws p r o­
viding e ffec t ive pen alti es, and to ward con vict ion a n d
se n t en ces fo r those who willfully expose t he ms el ves t o
dan ge r, is slo wly s p rea d i ng, wh ile Joss of life an rl clam­
age as affecti ng ra ilway s is in c reasin g, Sta te legisl atures
which h ave been unwilli n g t.o a ct will have the proposi ­
t ion before th em aga in in 101 5, ba cked by th e Iorcc of
th e" S afety F ir st " cam paign , a n d t ho grow ing .l cm a ucl
f or adequate p enalty .
En gl and h as s in ce 1e6S p r ohib it ed an y un­
a ut hor-ized p e r son to be upon r a il roa d property
und er penal t y of te n do lla rs n ne , a n d thi s law
is enfo r ced a bsolu t el v . Aru eri can t r a ve lle rs
a b roa d, a ccu stom ed to' hee a n d easy hab its at
hom e, st ray upon ri ghts o f wa y a nd a re sur p r ise d
as well as g r ie ved t.o be grabbed iu st.ant a and
hustl ed befor e a m a gi s trat e wh o r eli e ves t ho m of
a pal I of th e ir su i-plus a n d se nds th em on chas­
te n ed arid wonde ri ng a I th e lwa \I ti f'u1 sy s tem .
Th e differen ce betw een En gl and an d t h « U n it ed
S t a tes in th is r espec t is shown by t he I';'s lllts,
From 1901 t.o E ll O inclusiv e, in 11](' Unit ed
S ta te s 50 ,02 5 t resp asser-s were k il lcd and in tli ;
Unit crl I(in gdom 4,434 ; in 11](' lJ ni t ('d S t a tes
53 ,42 7 were injured an (l in tlI e Uni t ed Kingllom
1,315,
During th e sam e peri od in the U n it ed Stat es
t he r e were I S,O()O cln l dren u tulrr J-i u ral' s o f N(j !'
kil/ rd a iul i uj ured iclul« tl'l'sp ass":lI fj Oil I'II dl'Oa(/
prop eriij, a n d th ere were :20,000 lltOr!' 1.'100lNZ 0/'
iuju re d be/w all ih e ag es of 1 4 «ud 2 J, m akin g a
iota! of 33,000 m inors who were th e victims of TJI E
the n eql eci of th eir pa rents a n d al so of socie ty i n.
MAGAZINE
Ca n a 111 01' (' laud able eff o rt ln: mad e t h au
[/ I1 /1'I'IlI .
th o snggt'st etl on e to ed uca te 111(' e h ildn' n ill th e
public school s a n d teach thom h 01l1 ti ll: beginning
th at to walk upon or p lay abo u t t hr- r a ilroa d
tra ck s is not on ly u nsafe Lil t is pro h ib irt-d.
Fran ce forb ids a nv pe rs on 1I 0t bel ongin g to til'.'
ra ilroad se r vice to (' 11\<' 1' Up OI1 it s ri ght of W;l y un­
lr-ss tllt',\' have a permit si g n ed bv a su per-i or rail­
l oad offi cer, Vi ola t ion s <lI T pun ishabl c by fines up
10 $5 7D.00 a nd a ja il seu tt -nc e II p to o ne mon th .
In G('l'lnany th« pl'llall ies r a nge IIp to $2 6.00 ,
Ca n a d a nTH'S trespa ssers up to *;)0 .00 01' im prison s
t licm up 10 two mont hs , ' I' hc Wabash Ii a i h-oad
op era t es a p ar t of its iuil eag« throu gh Can ada. In
th e yea ): en d ing .Iiuu- :~ O , 1 ~114 , !J-t trcspassc rs \I" (' l ' e
k illed a n d 1:35 were in jured alon g the entire
ro ute of thi s r-oad , a n d of thi s number onl y th r ce
we r e k ill ed a nd three in jured in Ca n a da . Th e 1'('­
ce iver of th o Waba sh R a ilroa d is qu oted as sa y­
in g : " T h e law th ere is V('I'y st r ictly en f orc ed. and
t he ro s u l t is t ha t we arc no t 1111J'd('ned w ith t he
L I\' E tr espassing e vil in Ca na lla , "
III th e U n ited S ta te s laws on this s u bj ect are
v ery f ew, and ev en where p en a l ti es a r c prescr ib ed magi s­
t ra tes h esita t e to impose t he m , la rgely und er st r ess of
local o p in ion , C it ize ns wa n t to d o as th ey pl ease and
local au t hor- it ies di sli ke to f eed and lod ge convicted
tramps. interst a te Co m m erce Co uu nissio u er C, C , M c­
C hon ] su mme d up t he con seq ue n ces befo r c thc Cooper ­
at iv e S a f ety Congress in Milw aukee, a y ear or so ago,
H e s ta ted that in l!cn d .'l y ears th e tr csp osscrs k illed on
railroa ds in the U ni t ed Stat e» tot aled 8(;,73 3 an d tile
inj ured .94/ ,16 or 181 ,37.9 casuuliics in a ll , Of those
in ju r ed h e sa id t h e maj ori t y were se r iously m aimed or
cr-ipp led fo r life. These trespassers arc not all hob os,
bu t in clud e ch i ld re n a n d wa ge cam el's li ving in t he
vi cinity , who se dea th or d isability h-a ves famili es d esti­
tu t e, Of 1,0 00 in ocsiiqairt! cases by th e Tnterstate Com­
mcrce Comm ission pra cti call y 600 11" ('1'( ' se lf-su p porti ng,
;112 were labor -ers and tho Jis t al so included a c to rs, bakers,
chc uiis ts, cle r gy m en , en g i uc c rs, f'n rm 11<1I1(ls, lumber men ,
merch ants, m u si cian s, sa ilo rs, sa lesme n , sc hoo l tea ch ers,
soldiers and st u d en t s. Of til e 1,noo [aiu! cases 27:3 a r c
SC JI OOI"S C .I N D o .\ Slm QCE l h: n J:-'l'J';,\ (' Il Jl«: Bovs T o KJ: I; p On '
TIlE Tn.\t ; f" s
 WORCESTER MAGAZINE
known to hav e left wives 01' ch i ld n -n. Th ree h un ­
dred and seven ty-six were si ng le. Most of th ese
unfort unutes we re men or women workin g or Ii\'­
ing nearby the ra il roa d tra cks, a nd t lu: sad 1'('­
suit s were in m any cases c hargea ble to p eopl e
taking s ho r- t -c u ts ill ord er to sa ve t imo. OIJ t of
the SIll/II' J ,000 [atol cases in vest igntvd -'US resid ed
ncar tilt' pl ace o f a ccident . :.;:2 1 1'('sid l'd so nu- dis­
tane« away, and FlO rcs iclcd a t pla ces not known.
Furthermore , ali t of tlI e 1,000 cases nuniio ucd
4GH W( 'J'(, Anlf'rican citizens, a nd t lu- bul nuc c 1' (']) ­
I'esl'nl<,d 25 for eign countrios, and again o ut of
the 1,000 cases 68 w e re und er fift een ye ars of age,
:J40 WI ~I't' f ro m 16 to 30 , 451 \\'1'1'(' be t we en :n a nd
60 and 69 WC I'C OW l ' f; O yca rs old .
At th e meetin g of tIl(: Na tio na l Associa t ion o f
Hailway Commissioner» hl'ld in Wa shington ,
Octob er l~Jl :3 , a re port was r<:ad sh o win g t ha t
of l!)~ J)42 p ers on s kill ed 011 A un-ric nu railw ays
durin g th e past 23 y en rs , till' .k-a ths of 17:>,6 10
01' 91.2 pel' cen t . were in no wise dn l' to faulty
train operation. In fac t , only H,8 per ce n t . o f
all the death s and inju r ies co u ld be sa il] to 11<1" e
been du e to ca uses ot lu-r th a n th e f'a u lt o f t he nnforru­
nate perso ns th emselv es,
By fa r th e grea te r number of such accide nts , to he
exact , 103, 566,01' 5 9 p e l' cen t ., were due to w il f'nl lv t res­
passing up on ra il road pro perry. As an in tctvs t i ug CO Ill­
parisou let us not e th e follo wing' a ut hcu t ic rep orts fro m
larg u tran sporta t ion Iinos which Ita ud Ie an innnonsc
local and th rough pa ssen ger bu siu es s . Pl cas« not e th e
luck of danger to th e pa ssl.'lJgel's an d -uipl ovec s, and
while th ese l'el'l'I'I'lle es arc ex ccpt ionailv goo.l ti le con ­
diti ous at N (· \ \ , York Ci ty, Bosto n, or Worcester ar e not
\'('I'y much dirf prcnt ill this 1TSjWCt. 0111' la rge railroad
operatin g 0 111, of C hicago Furnish es a st a tt-uu-nt tluit (l llr­
ing t ho two y(' ,Il 'S ('nd ing J a n ua ry hit , 1 ~ll S, i t enni ecT
26,000,000 passC'ngl'l's with out a .s ing- Ie f'at a li ty to ,I
pas.'il:nger , ]11 its C llicago su hu rb nn se r vice thi s l'O,Hl
CCIl'J'iwI 40 ,000 passen gers a day, and it nport s that not
a single passen ger lias IH'I:n ki ll od fo r S:i yea rs , An oth er
laJ'g<: trun k line i n tll (: Ba st ]'('JlOl'ts th at fo r t hr- ,F al'
eudiug Decemb er i31 st, l!Jl-!, it ca rricd ]S ~) ,OOO , OOO
)H1SSPllgCI'S with not a SOl d kill ed in <I train acc i.k-ut .
Pr CliI N G COA L ON' R :\ILHO.\ U T n.\ cl\. s - A CO~D (ON
133
'I' hvse cxa m plos will g i vo vo n an e xcellen t ide a as to t he
rela ti ve dan gers com ing f ro ru ri cliug 011 railroad train s
a nd wilfu llv t res passin g 011 ra il road prope rty,
All o f th ese figures ,11'(' of g reat i nterest and bas ed as
t hey al'e up on ac t ual compa ris ons , and ga t he re d fr om
uut lu-nt i« SOI II'CCS and np p lyi ng within sta red pe ri ods
a n d in ccrtu in s peeificd t crt -itori es , th ey un d ou btedly
illu sn-at« with a g reat deal of accura cy th e gre at cco u­
oiui c loss to t his coun trv th at bas been po rmitt cd through
Jwg ligcn el' a nd lack o f at tvut ion OIL tl w part of 0 111'
r d ll1:(lt ors, k-gislators am i ot her s who lead th e humane
work of conscrva t ion of lnu na u li fe ill this pro gressi ve
AJII('I'iea n H.('publi c,
III ( :hi<.;ago uhuosr l' very bit of railroad tra ck has heen
e k vH ted , doin g' a \\'ay I\' it h all g l'ade e ross ings. ]) O ("~
au vbo.lv Sllp POS(' so fl'eb!e a p recau t ion as that has
l'I\(lrd (Ira ths and accidr-nrs to trespasser s? Not a t a ll.
P('opl p I(:ap over a city ord ina nce a nd climb IIp onto th e
l'1('ViltiOIl in th ei r con scicn t ious d evot ion to t ho pursuit
of heing killed and nr a iuu-d. I II th ree month s 339 a rres ts
wer(' iuad e 0 11 th e el('vat ed railw ay and onl y 67 of the
orf( 'IHkr ~: 11'1:1'(: pllni RIH'd by the cour ts,
A ra il road llianag('l' h equl'lItl." find s npon his
depk h'lp gTallJS J'('pol'ting t l\'O 0 1' thr('c [)('r sons
kill pd 01 ' inju l'cd th e previou s <lay cnllspd by
t n: :-:pa ~ sin g , O(!" t:lltiIl Il'S \\' 011\('11 a llll chilllr('n, a nd
th i ~ ofiiei,JI \\'ollld un u very s!"I 'allge person in­
el('( d if lic di d \IOt f('1' 1 t1lat to e limina te sn ell a
t l'agpdy \\'us a ~u b j l'e t tl)(1 t migh t well occu py tile
,ll tt'ution o f ('\' ('1',1' lIJ au with an ('ICII1('nt of Itnman
sY1nlla t hy ill his luak ellp, Tn bringin g to yO ll,
1I1l'I'l'fol'(' , ,"0 111\: feall1JTs eoucl'ruing tli e probkm
of !"I'esp£l ssill g' 0 11 l'i1i ll'oad ]ll'Oj )( 'I'ty , T wish to
t Illphas;z(' t hl' \ 110 11 0 'ht t lwt t his is not a jll'obl em
of t h(' l'l ill1illati on of a uui sance, Tt is a jll'oblrln
tha t COnCI' I'ns eve ry 0 11(' o f ns as lnell1be]'s of so­
eid,\'. I f t hl' ll('\\'sp a]wrs I.'I ~port l' l l a \VI'eek e vel'Y
d ,ly wit h fi I'tc( 'U fa tclliti(,s t ll(' CO llullissi ous Hnll
) <1\\"111 <1 k('1S \\"0111<1 soo u co nct and (:lIfo1'cC In\\'s to
con trol tlt is appillilJ g \\'ast e of 11Illnan I ~ n e l'g.v ,
It lia s !)(' P ll ea rd ully cst ima t('d tll a t the a VE'I'­
agl:' p rolll.ldin: "alne of a hUl1wn life should br
ca pilnlizel1 at a bollt *15,000, If, in t he matter
S I <.i HT of t res passes onE' lllal<cs all owances for t hose who
1::4 WORCESTER
are t ramp s, a n d t hose wh o a r e aged, and we r educe
thc va lue of ea ch t r esp a sser k illed to ,'3 capi t ali zed
va lue of $1 0,000, it wo uld mea n tha t we arc each y ear
destr oy in g 55 m illi on of econom ic wea lth, to say n oth­
ing of hom es wh ich a r e wrecke d or of th e indi r ect bur­
den s which are th rust u p on society.
1'11<'l'c has been a great d ea l of legislation to safeguard
the l ive s of in du str ial wo rkers in h aza r d ous occu pations,
bu t the su bj ect of t respassin g seem s to have r eceived
a lmost n o cons ide r a t ion from eit her t he public or the
publ ic officia ls . Many bills ha ve been draft ed a nd sub­
mitted to legislato rs but t hey ha ve r ecei ved li t tl e con ­
sidera ti on. P crha ps th is indiffer en ce is d ue t o t he gen­
er a 1 misconception t h at a ll suc h t r esp assers ar e of t he
t r amp cla ss or some ot he r type of soc ia l deli nquent. I
h a ve sho wn y ou, I beli eve, th at t his is n ot t ru e. Law­
m akers and comm ission s are im po sin g on t he railr oads
r egul a ti on s to promo te the safety of t he p ub lic and its
empl oy ees, bu t should th er e not be some r egula tion of
th e p u bli c itself in the indiscrimi nate u se of railroad
ri gh t of way. L a ws a r c en a cted to p r ot ect fa rms from
t r espass, a nd t he r e are la ws against tres passi ng on S tate
la nd , and wardens a re a u th orized t o a rrest t res passers
with out wa rra nt. If prot ection fo r crops, ti mber, fish
a nd ga m e is importan t , how much mo r e so is the savi n g
of hum a n lif e 1
P ublic op in ion , wh en a r oused , is qu ick to respond
in dema ndi ng re f or ms where br oa d q ues tio ns of huma n­
ity a r e inv ol ved ; t he refo re, it would seem n ecessa ry to
a ro use publ ic sen time nt by a cou n t r y-wide ca mpaign of
edu ca t ion which shou ld r each th e chi ld r en as well as
the ad ults, and a lso th at cl ass of the gen er al p ublic
whi ch is only influ en ced by th e fea r of the law. T here
mu st be a p ubli c de ma nd for trespass law , as ex per ien ce
ha s sh own th at th e law s were un av ailing unless th eir en ­
forcemen t is su pporte d by p ubl ic sent imen t. The ra il­
r oa ds t hro ugho ut t he cou ntry a r e ma ki n g di ligent efforts
to re du ce the haza r ds t o t heir passe ngers, emp loyees a nd
t o th e pu bli c, a ll of which t hey can d o t h emselves, bu t
t hey a r e n ecessarily dependent u po n cons t itu ted aut hor ­
ity finally to elim ina te t res passi ng, wh ich is t he gr ea test
source of death and inj ury in this cou n try .
Th irty-fi ve S t ates h ave 110 law p ro hib iti ng persons
walkin g on r a ilroad r ig h t of wa y. All of these States
w ill ha ve a cha n ce, excep t six , ( K entuc ky , L oui siana,
Ma rylan d , Mi ssis sipp i, New Mexi co a nd North D a ko ta ,
wh ich hav e n o sessi ons of legisl ature ) , duri n g 1915 t o pu t
suc h a law on th e statu te books. T hi r t een S ta tes by
statu t e prescri be p ena lt ies ra nging fr om five-d oll a r fines
or te n cl ays in j ail in Maine t o a five hu nd r ed doll a r fin e
or one y ea r in ja il in N ew Y ork. T hese S tates wi th tres­
p ass law s are New Y ork, Wisconsin , Ma in e, New H a mp­
sh ire, New J ersey , Massa chusetts, V irgin ia, M isso uri,
Rho de Islan d , De lewa r e, Geor g ia , Minnesota and W a sh­
in g ton. Of all thc S tate legi sla t ion deal ing with t h is
S1l bjcct th e fra nkest a nd most unreserved r ecog nition of
t he in alien a ble ri ghts of the A meri ca n cit izen to gct
hi ms elf kill ed or mangled is con t a ined in the la w of
Misso uri. JII this cas e the law p r otects t he ra ilroad f ro m
a ny dama ge s u it, but do es n ot in a ny way prohibit tres­
p assi ng. L oui sian a in 1914 passed a bill p ro hi biti ng
ot her s t ha n passe ngers an d em p loyees be ing u po n ra il­
wa y eq uip ment und er pena lty of $ 50.00 fine or six
mo nths in j ail. Ma ryla nd in th c sam e yea r p assed a
law prohi biti ng trespassing on ca r s 01' locom oti ves u nd er
pe na lty of $25.00 or one m on t h in jail.
A cti vity on the part of m an y railroads t o lessen the
MAGAZINE
number of fa tal ac cid en ts on th eir Jin es by 1\10r e ca r ef ul
po licing in t he sect ions wh e re tJ'('s pass ing is preva lent ,
is b ea r in g fru it. E n er get ic effort s to comba t the evil
ha ve been m ad e in m an y States by t he la r g« E aste r n
t r u nk lin es who se Sa fety A gents la st vern : vis it ed poli ce
courts in all parts of t he S tat e a rmed with stat istics o f
deaths a nd in ju r ies to tresp asse rs. Ti le ma jority of
j ud ges a ppea led to agreed to p unis h offen d ers brou gh t
befo r e t hem, t hen t he n ewspapers wer e u r ged to g i I' C
the cam paign liber al pu bli city , W arn in gs in scvnra l
lan gua ges w er e posted in cons p icu ou s ]I lac es a long t he
road, manufa ctu r ers were urged to poi n t ou t to t uei r e m­
ploy ees t he danger s of t r a ck wal k in g , a nd pub lic scho ol
teachers m ade safe ty lessons a part of th eir rl'g ll7((1' u.orlc .
Th e p olice depa r tm en ts of th e va rio us r oads were t hen
in structed to ma ke a r rests systemat ica lly a nd th is ha s
been ca rried in fo r severa l mon th s. P utti ng the r esults
of a n um ber of th ese ro acls to gether , a JICI co mp a ri ng with
th e r es ults of seven mo n t hs d uri ng' ] ~n 3 wi th t he sa m«
seven m onths in 1914, i t is very p lai n tha t a rvdu ct ion of
30 p er cent. in d eaths a n d inj uri es rc su ltcd h orn th e im ­
p r oved conditio ns d uri n g t he 1914 p er-iod. In thi s r esp ect
the P ub lic Serv ice Comm ission of New Y ork re po rt in g
a decrease of 72 p el' cen t. in passen gers ki lled o n xt eam
r oads for th e y ea r end ing Ju n e BO th , ] !1Vl , com pa r ed
with t he p r eced ing ye ar r em a rk s, " an ot lw l' class of r ai l­
r oad fatali ti es which sho ws a dec r ease is t hat of th e
trespasser k ill ed whil e in p la ces wh ere he h ad no ri gh t
to be. Last y ear, th at is 1914, 348 were killed a s a gain st
393 t he yea r bef ore, and 35 8 wer e in jurccl in 1914 ~I S
against 409 the year befor e. " A ll of which is t he r esult
of t he en er get ic a nd ed uc a t ion a l effor-ts of th e trans­
p orta ti on li ne s.
A ll k ind s of orga nizati ons are workin g a lon g (liffe i'cn t
li n es to attai n su ccess on t his very imp orta nt qu est ion .
The P ub lic S afety Com mission of Chica go is ill tcrcs t in g
a ll t he women 's clu bs of th e na ti on a nd a r c ci rcul a r-izing
th e soc ia l a n d po li t ica l organ iza ti on s all OWl' t he coun try
in an effor t to r educe th e deat h to ll. 'I'he A mer ican
Museum of S a fe ty in New Y ork Cit y , one of t he lar gest
of it s kind in th c U nited S tates, has publish ed in pam ­
phl ets co n ta ini ng stories of ch ild interest, vi vid ly ou tlini ng
th e danger a nd f oll y of r a il road t respassi ng, an d und er
th e a uspices of t hat in sti tu t ion t hese a n ti -t respass les­
son s a re being taugh t in all th e N ew Y ork an d llroo k lyu
p u blic schoo ls. Hecog ni zin g t hat child r en a rc na t u ru I
or gani zer s and th a t the y love to " belon g to " thin gs, th e
Mu seu m has issu ed S afety L ea gu e B ut tons to be g iven
to boys a n d girls wh o hav e been ini t iat ed into th e secrets
of safety, S afety Patro ls h a ve a lso been orga n ized,
selected from th e old er and m or e r esponsible boys an d
gi rls f r om t he public scho ols , u pon whom d evo lv es t he
d u ty of lookin g after t he safety of y ou nge r child re n in
t he streets a nd on t he way to a nd f rom sc hool.
On e oth er la r ge socia 1 orga n iza riou in terested in th e
sam e q uest ion ha s p ut ou t U small hu man in terest pam­
phl et entitled " H arry H op 'I' he T rai n " whi ch ha s been
given a wid c circu la t ion in t he in t erests of ch iklrnr; l ivin g
al ong th e va ri ous ra il ro ad ]iu es in t.h « SOil th west. The
t ragic res u lts of H a rrys p ersi stence on hoppin g fr eigh t
t rains an d ot h er wise play ing a bo ut r a ilron d y ards, th e
a rriva l of t he am bul ance wi th a doct or, w ith h is bag fill ed
with k n ive s a nd saw s, the op er a t ing' room in a hosp ita l
wi th its g lass ca ses a r on n d th e wall s fu ll of gr ewso me
s ur g ical in st rumen ts, t he op er ati n g t abl e on whic h H arry
is p la ced wh ile his man gl ed l eg is r emoved , a nd t he sub ­
sequ ent r elease of a. li ttle crip pl e who cou ld n ever aga in
 vVOR CESTER
join his playmates in t he old swimming hol e. A ll of th is
story is told with a simplicity of exp res sion well calcu­
latcd to mak e a vivid imp r ession all th e child's mind . It
se('1I\S to me that work a long simi lar lin es, adopted uni ­
versally in our pu bli c schools , should bc advocated as
part of the education of chi ldren.
One organi zation has gon e to th c exte n t that ve rses
which might appea l to th e young child re n have been
put in attractiv e shap e and p rinted in several la ng uages
and di st ributed to schoo ls and ch u rches . These ve rses
wer t- published in th e Ba ltimore & Ohio Magazine, bein g
reprinted fr om L esli e's W eekl y , and m igh t appeal tosorne
of your chi ldren:
NEVERS FOR CI-LILD R E N.
Never cross t he t racks by night or by da y,
W ith ou t stop p ing to listen and look eac h way .
Never walk along t he rai lroad ties,
You can 't always t rust you r ear s and eye s.
Never hop a freight, fo r nothing quite heal s
The wou nd s r eceiv ed under grinding whee ls.
Never on a hot 01' sunny d ay
Sit ben eath a railroad ca r to r est or pl ay .
Never crawl un der a ca r of freight,
When the crossing's blo cked- p lay safe and wait.
~ever board or alight f r om a train that is moving,
Accidents daily its danger s ar e p roving.
~ ever play ga mes around t he tra cks at th e station ,
Ther e are mu ch sa fe r p laces to seek recreation.
Nevel' a r ailroad br idge shou ld you cross,
A train may come and res ult in YOUI' loss.
Never pic k up coal arou ud t he ra il road ya r d ,
A t ra in may catch you off you r gua rd .
Anoth er effor t alo ng the sa me lines of p r event ion is
being made by t he la r ger eas te r n rai lroads. Practicall y
each road has a genera l safety ag ent, a man of good of­
ficial sta ndi ng , well paid , whose d uty it is to go about
from place to p lace and Iecture on t his to pic , usin g lan ­
tern slides an d mot ion pi ctures, besides which he ac ts
as a pu blicity ag en t with th e newspap ers and ot her news
dist ributin g ag en cies. Sti ll a nother effort along a diffe r­
ent lin e is illustrated by t he fact that one large eastern
road employs 700 spec ial policemen . T h is road alone
receives on an average claims amou nting to $35,000 a
year for accoun t of inju ries to tr espassers.
MAGAZI NE 135
I have no t sai d very much abou t cond it ions in a nd
about Worcest er, f OI' we hav e been ver y fortu nate as
compared with man y ot her pa rts of t he cou nt ry, d ue
partly to th e elim ina tion of t he sout hern g rade crossing
and partly to th e stri ct pol ice watch mai n ta ined by t he
railroads on th e ri ght of way a nd in t he freight y a rds.
The watchful eye of P rovid ouco leas had a lot to do with
our good fortun e, althou gh t her e ha ve been ma ny na r ro w
escapes with quit e a n umb er of ser-ious iuj m-ies a nd a
few deaths. Our citizen s and our child re n a re, however ,
not always going to st ay with us and 1 want to get t he
impression firmly pl anted in th e minds of th e childr en
in particular that no matter where t hey arc t hey m ust
keep before th em t his advi ce :
KEEP AWAY FROM DANGER AND REiVlElVIB E R
THAT THE L ONGE ST WAY ROU ND IS T H E
SHORT EST W A Y HOME.TO FRIE NDS
AND PAREN TS.
It has been found that accid ents to trespassers are
more or less related to cer ta in condi ti ons involvin g traf­
fic d en sity , num ber of tracks op erated , and whe re th e
r ight of way is a di rect linc of travel betw een two centers
of popu la tion . Loca l condi tions a lso have an im por tan t
bea r in g parti cula r ly where cou n t ry roa ds a re bad , t hc
rail r oads affo rd ing a mor e direct a nd better pat hway
for f oot travellers. T he p rox imi ty of schools m ust also be
cons id ered as well as indu stri a l a nd m ini ng di s tri cts,
wh ere tresp assin g is so common. A notab le feature in
con nec ti on with t res passing, whi ch by t he wa y, accordi ng
to Interstate Comme rce r epor t , seems to be in creasi ng
from year to year , is th a t t his is t he onl y class of ra il­
road accidents wh er e t he nu mber of d eat hs exceed t he
number of injuries, th e latter being, as a rul e, th e loss
of limb 01' limbs whi ch is a lmost as d istressing as death .
Through this activ e cam paign of pub licity wit h t he co­
operation of the Press it is hoped that memb ers of the
various legislatures guid ed by public op inion will fin d
an effectiv e re medy that will r ed uce an d even tua lly pre­
vent th e use of r ail road tracks as highways.
All of t he compariso ns given abov e between conditions
in Am eri ca and Europe arc affect ed, of course, by the
gre a te r r ail r oad mileage in our own co un t r y , but at the
same tim e many of t hese fo reign roa ds have a more
densely popu lated and con gested ter r ito ry to operate in
t han we a re l ia ble to find in Am erica . T he truth of the
sit uation is, ho wever , as 1 have tried to sho w, that Euro­
p ean la w absolutely proh ibits trespassing under these
condi tions , and t herein Iies the gre atest fa ct or in con­
sidering the comparison.
F in all y , I bel ieve tha t t her e are two t hi ngs that will
be great factors in sta mp ing out t he tresp as s evil and
its awfu l results in t he Un ited States when t hat po werful
uu t now sleeping gia nt, the Amer ica n pu blic, a wak en s
to the serio usn ess of t he p rob lem . These two t hings a re
Edu ca t ion a nd L egislation .