Summary of Cost of Locomotive Fuel and Proportion to Earnings and Expenses of American Railways, 1909 to 1899, with Price of Bituminous Coal per Ton During the Same Period.YearMiles of LineCost of Locomotive FuelProportion to Operating ExpensesProportion to Gross EarningsPrice of Coal at Mines per Ton(a)1909221,132$184,359,11211.7577.77—1908230,494197,385,51312.0988.251.121907227,454200,261,97511.4717.741.141906222,340170,499,13311.1197.341.111905216,973156,429,24511.2787.511.061904212,243158,948,88611.8938.051.101903205,313116,509,03111.6757.701.241902200,154120,074,19210.7766.961.121901195,561104,926,56810.6026.611.051900192,55690,593,9659.8096.091.041899187,53477,187,3449.4785.88.87(a) These figures are from the latest report of the United States Geological Survey.
The significance of this table is that it cost the railways almost one-third more for fuel per dollar earned in 1909 than it did in 1899, the increase in the proportion of fuel cost to gross earnings having been 32%, due to the advance of 31% in the price of coal at the mines during that period.
The effect of the anthracite coal strike and the Commission's award of date March 18, 1903, upon the cost of bituminous coal is seen in the sharp advances in 1902 and 1903.
The railways have not escaped the advance in their cost of living due to the increased price of fuel any more than the public at large, and so far they have not been able to shift any portion of that cost, as manufacturers and shippers have done.
Never before in the history of railways has such a record for comparative safety been made as that recorded of American railways during the year ending June 30, 1909. Following its custom the Interstate Commerce Commission has published the report of accidents. It remains to set forth here the more remarkable record of safety.
Of the 368 companies reporting to this Bureau, no less than 347, operating 159,657 miles of line and carrying 570,617,563 passengers, went through the year without a single fatality to a passenger in a train accident.
Of the remaining 21 companies, no less than 10, operating 27,681 miles and carrying 185,447,507 passengers, only missed such perfect immunity by a single fatality each in accidents to trains. This leaves 11 roads whose misfortune it was to bear the burden of train accident fatalities to passengers during the year.
The invariable rule of the Bureau precludes the publication of the honor roll of safety. And it is well so, for it would lead to invidious comparisons, where, in such matters as accidents, all comparisons are as irrelevant as they are invidious.
But it may be stated that the roll of immunity includes roads in every section of the union, from Maine to California, several great systems operating over 7,000 miles of line each, as well as little branch lines of below ten miles of single track; lines operated with all the safety appliances known to twentieth century progress and lines operated under as primitive conditions as prevailed on this continent more than half a century ago.
This record of complete immunity, stretching over 159,657 miles of operated line, represents a mileage nearly seven times that of all British roads, and equals the aggregate of all Europe, excluding Russia but including the British Isles.
What immunity to fatalities to passengers over such a vast mileage means may be partly realized from the fact that only twice in half a century has it occurred on the 23,000 miles of British railways, and never, to the writer's knowledge, so far as statistics reveal, on the railways of any of the great divisions of Europe. Certainly it has never occurred on the aggregate railways of Europe.
It would take seven consecutive years of immunity from fatalities to passengers in train accidents on British railways to equal this phenomenal record of American roads.
In presenting similar returns for 1908, it was said that "considering the myriad units of risk involved, the record for immunity from fatal accidents to passengers is without parallel in the history of railway operation." How that record has been not only equalled but surpassed is shown in the following statement for the last two years:
Summary of Mileage and Traffic of Roads on which NO Passenger was Killed in a TRAIN ACCIDENT During the Years 1908 and 1909.19091908Number of operating companies347316Mileage of these companies159,657124,050Passengers carried570,617,563455,365,447Passengers carried 1 mile18,953,025,00014,776,368,000Tons of freight carried1,116,877,052916,123,410Tons of freight carried 1 mile151,974,495,000121,589,399,000Passengers killed in train accidentsNoneNonePassengers injured in train accidents2,5852,695
This table proves that the area of perfect safety, so to speak, was extended over from 22% to 26% more units of risk in 1909 than in 1908, which already held the palm for immunity in train accident fatalities to passengers.
The figures given above as to passengers injured in train accidents are equally illuminating as to the safety of American railways, for they demonstrate that with the multiplication of risks in 1909 the number of injured was less by 4%. The fact that no passenger is killed in train accidents is more or less adventitious, but a reduction in the number injured testifies to a reduction in the opportunities for fatalities.
During the past ten years the average of passengers injured in train accidents on British railroads has been 580, which, considering the difference in the units of risk, is 100% higher than the above record for 159,657 miles of American railway in 1909.
The following table, which includes no less than six great systems of over 2,000 miles each, presents similar data in respect to the ten roads whose record for safety to passengers in train accidents is marred by a single fatality:
Summary of Mileage and Traffic of Roads on which ONLY ONE Passenger was Killed in a Train Accident During the Year 1909.1909Number of operating companies10Mileage of these companies27,681Passengers carried185,447,507Passengers carried 1 mile5,778,621,000Tons of freight carried213,086,612Tons of freight carried 1 mile40,177,881,000Passengers killed in train accidents10Passengers injured in train accidents778
These figures show a mileage of 4,481 miles greater than all the railways of the United Kingdom, approximately one-half the passenger mileage, and over three times the ton mileage, with only 10 passengers killed in train accidents, to an average of 20 on British railways during the past ten years.
Further analysis of the returns to the Bureau, since data along this line has been compiled, affords the following statement of the number of roads and their mileage that have records of entire immunity from fatalities to passengers in train accidents of from one up to six years:
Statement Showing Number of Railways and Mileage on Which No Passenger Has Been Killed in a Train Accident, 1904 to 1909.Number of CompaniesMiles of LineSix consecutive years,1904-1909179,641Five""1905-19099544,894Four""1906-190917757,331Three""1907-190922869,713Two""1908-1909287108,710One year, 1909347159,657
Gratifying and remarkable as was the immunity from fatalities of the class under consideration in 1909, the fact that for a period of five years 95 American roads with a mileage practically double that of all British railways have carried hundreds of millions of passengers without a fatality to one of them is so at variance with the popular impression regarding the dangers of American railway travel as to seem little short of marvelous.
The impressive character of this showing will be better appreciated when it is understood that the immunity from fatalities intrain accidents represents consecutive years counting back from 1909. No road has been admitted to the list where the immunity has been interrupted by a single accident. With this fact in mind, the clean slate of the 17 roads for six years challenges admiration, especially as the Bureau's reports in 1904 covered less than two-fifths of the operated mileage of the United States.
Railway Accidents in 1909.
Having thus shown the gratifying immunity from fatalities to passengers in train accidents during the year 1909, and on 9,641 miles of line since 1904, it remains to present the reverse side of the picture, which is so invariably thrust forward in official documents. Accident Bulletin No. 32 of the Interstate Commerce Commission furnishes the following data as to the number killed and injured on the railroads of the United States during the last two fiscal years:
Summary of Casualties to Persons in Railway Accidents for the Years Ending June 30, 1909 and 1908.Class of Accident19091908PassengersEmployesPassengersEmployesKilledInjuredKilledInjuredKilledInjuredKilledInjuredCollisions943,0332482,3621114,2843033,428Derailments372,7172271,448543,0572602,065Miscellaneous train accidents, including locomotive boiler explosions—115451,067—89791,325Total train accidents1315,8655204,8771657,4306426,818Coupling or uncoupling——1612,353——2393,121While doing other work about trains or while attending switches——9314,315——20615,991Coming in contact with overhead bridges, structures at side of track, etc236761,2294371101,353Falling from cars or engines or while getting on or off1373,07648110,2591592,50166811,735Other causes653,1391,12518,771782,6771,49317,326Total (other than train accidents)2046,2511,93646,9272415,2152,71649,526Total (all classes)33512,1162,45651,80440612,6453,35856,344Totals in 1907:In train accidents4109,0701,0118,924————In other than train accidents2374,5273,34253,765————All classes of accidents64713,5974,35362,689————
The same cause which accounted for the remarkable recession of railway casualties in 1908 was still operative in a more marked degree throughout 1909, as evidenced in the above table. Here is shown a reduction from 1907 of 68% in fatalities to passengers in train accidents and of nearly 50% in those to employes. Even in all classes of accidents the decrease is almost as striking. A drop from 647 to 335 in fatalities to passengers and from 4,353 to 2,456 in fatalities to employes, resulting from whatever cause, should be a matter for national congratulation and thanksgiving.
That the facts herein set forth should have no lesson for national authorities beyond moving them to appeal for additional control of safety appliances is nothing short of a national scandal. As for safety devices, the railways in 1907 were practically as well equipped as in 1909. The percentage operated under the protection of block signals was 27.1% in 1909 against 26.2% in 1907, a difference inappreciable as compared with the recorded difference in fatalities. The government inspectors reported the equipment in better condition in 1907 than for any previous year by fully 30%, and yet that was the worst year in the annals of railway accidents.
An English writer (H. Raynor Wilson), his vision unobscured by the propinquity of patent devices, has placed his finger on the true cause of the reduction in railway accidents in the United States in 1908 and 1909 when writing in "The Safety of British Railways" he says:
"Experience in America during the period of depression that has prevailed since the summer of 1907 shows that fewer accidents occur during such times. There are not so many goods trains, the men are less 'pushed,' they work fewer hours, and the careless and indifferent are weeded out."
"Experience in America during the period of depression that has prevailed since the summer of 1907 shows that fewer accidents occur during such times. There are not so many goods trains, the men are less 'pushed,' they work fewer hours, and the careless and indifferent are weeded out."
But we do not have to go to England for a convincing analysis of the causes of the remarkable decrease in accidents on American railways in 1908 and 1909. In the presence of similar conditions Statistician Adams in his official report for 1894 penned the following:
"Another explanation may be suggested for this decrease in casualties to railway employes. The character of equipment used during the year covered by this report was undoubtedly of a higher grade than in previous years. A large number of old cars of abandoned type were destroyed during the year, while there was an increase in the better grades of cars equipped with train brakes and automatic couplers. This, however, is a suggestion merely, there being no statistical proof of any relation between a higher grade equipment and the decrease of accidents to employes. It is also probable, in view of the fact that liability to accident is increased bythe employment of the shiftless and unskilled, that the grade of labor was raised through the discharge of so large a number of employes. This latter suggestion finds support in the fact that the ratio of casualties in the Southern States, where the grade of labor is somewhat inferior, has for a series of years been higher than in the Northern and Eastern States."
"Another explanation may be suggested for this decrease in casualties to railway employes. The character of equipment used during the year covered by this report was undoubtedly of a higher grade than in previous years. A large number of old cars of abandoned type were destroyed during the year, while there was an increase in the better grades of cars equipped with train brakes and automatic couplers. This, however, is a suggestion merely, there being no statistical proof of any relation between a higher grade equipment and the decrease of accidents to employes. It is also probable, in view of the fact that liability to accident is increased bythe employment of the shiftless and unskilled, that the grade of labor was raised through the discharge of so large a number of employes. This latter suggestion finds support in the fact that the ratio of casualties in the Southern States, where the grade of labor is somewhat inferior, has for a series of years been higher than in the Northern and Eastern States."
With a continuation of similar conditions as to traffic and labor throughout 1895, the Official Statistician, having not yet accepted the theory that violation of rules, carelessness and negligence are amenable to patent appliances, emphasized the concluding suggestion of his 1894 report in these terms:
"From the above comparative statement it is clear that the year ending June 30, 1895, is more satisfactory, so far as accidents are concerned, than any previous year. Reference was made in last year's report to the fact that the marked reduction in the pay roll of the railways, by which the incompetent and inefficient were dropped from the railway service, and the consignment to the scrap heap of equipment worn out or out of date, were largely responsible for the greater safety in railway travel and railway employment shown by the statistics of the year. The result of raising the character of the railway service and grade of railway equipment is yet more marked during the present year, and to this must be added the fact that the demands upon the passenger service during the present year have been somewhat decreased. It is also worthy of suggestion, although the facts yet at command are not adequate for confident assertion, that the fitting of equipment with automatic devices is beginning to show beneficial results."
"From the above comparative statement it is clear that the year ending June 30, 1895, is more satisfactory, so far as accidents are concerned, than any previous year. Reference was made in last year's report to the fact that the marked reduction in the pay roll of the railways, by which the incompetent and inefficient were dropped from the railway service, and the consignment to the scrap heap of equipment worn out or out of date, were largely responsible for the greater safety in railway travel and railway employment shown by the statistics of the year. The result of raising the character of the railway service and grade of railway equipment is yet more marked during the present year, and to this must be added the fact that the demands upon the passenger service during the present year have been somewhat decreased. It is also worthy of suggestion, although the facts yet at command are not adequate for confident assertion, that the fitting of equipment with automatic devices is beginning to show beneficial results."
From that year to this the fitting of equipment with automatic devices has proceeded with uninterrupted despatch. Where in 1895 only 27.7% of it was equipped with train brakes and 31.3% with automatic couplers, in 1907 the Commission reported 94.4% equipped with train brakes and 99% with automatic couplers. In every form of mechanical safety device the railway equipment of 1907 was incomparably better than in 1895, and yet the number of fatal accidents to employes in 1907 exceeded those in 1895 seven to three and to passengers three and four-fifths to one. In the matter of deaths in coupling accidents alone are "beneficial results" traceable to automatic safety devices. The character of the men in the service, their automatic observance of regulations, intelligence and alert devotion to duty are the best preventives of railway accidents, and the conditions prevalent after the panics of 1893 and 1907 are conducive to these conditions.
It is not likely, however, that the American people will welcome experiences, even in homeopathic doses, such as we knew in 1904, as the cure for railway accidents. But from the lessons ofevery depression, as read in the statistics of railway fatalities, the American people have a right to expect their representatives in federal and state legislatures to learn that the prevention of railway accidents rests on the intelligence, vigilance and experience of the man and not with the multiplication of devices. Automatic obedience to rules will prevent more accidents than all the safety devices that cumber the shelves of the Patent Office at Washington. Invention, however, is easier to the average American than plain everyday observance of rules. Besides the selling of devices to railways is a profitable business.
Accidents Increase in 1909-10.
Accident Bulletin No. 33 for the first quarter of the current fiscal year shows the unfavorable turn in casualties always attendant on reviving business. Given in brief the figures are as follows:
Casualties to Persons, July, August and September, 1909.ClassKilledInjuredTo passengers:From accidents to trains562,325By accidents from other causes482,088To employes:From accidents to trains1371,427By accidents from other causes61113,401Total classes85219,241Corresponding quarter 190873416,545
As this report goes to press, the Commission, through the Associated Press, has issued a summary of Accident Bulletin No. 34 which states that there were 1,073 persons (105 passengers and 969 employes) killed and 21,849 injured on the steam railways of the United States during the three months ending December 31, 1909.
This shows an increase over the corresponding quarter last year of 275 killed and 5,003 injured. For the same quarter in 1907 the killed were 1,092; in 1906, 1,430; and in 1905, 1,109. As the quarter ending December 31, 1909, saw railway traffic at its highest pressure, it shows an improvement over the records of 1907, '06 and '05.
The number injured is the highest ever recorded for three months, surpassing the quarter ending September 30, 1907, however, by only 126. But as explained elsewhere, "injuries" is too elastic a term for comparative statistics.
Accidents to Other Persons.
Where the quarterly Bulletins of the Commission make no mention of the accidents to persons other than passengers and employes, the annual reports of the carriers supply the missing data as to "Other Persons." These include casualties at highway crossings, to trespassers, persons walking, standing or sleeping on the track, workmen in railway shops and all other accidents directly or indirectly connected with the transportation industry. Accidents to "Other Persons" cover over 60% of all fatalities charged to the railways and of these over 80% are to trespassers.
The returns to this Bureau show the following casualties to persons other than passengers and employes during the year ending June 30, 1909:
ClassKilledInjuredTrespassers (including suicides)4,9195,697Not trespassing8203,069Total other persons5,7398,766
These figures warrant the estimate that the total number of trespassers and other persons killed and injured in the United States in 1909 through the operation of railways was approximately 5,978 and 9,132 respectively. This marks a decrease from 1908, but not nearly so great as in the case of passengers and employes.
Fatalities in Railway Accidents Since 1888.
We are now enabled to present a complete statement of the fatalities connected with the transportation industry since the Commission began compiling casualty statistics in 1888. The figures in this summary are confined to fatalities, for the reason given by the Commission that it "is well known the term 'injury,' as used in statistics of this character, is elastic." As a matter of fact the terms injury and casualty are so individually or locally indefinite and variable as to have little or no statistical value.
Passengers, Employes and Other Persons Killed in Railway Accidents from 1888 to 1908.YearPassengersEmployesOther PersonsTotalTrespassersNot Trespassing19093352,4565,1248548,76919084063,3585,56094010,26419076474,3535,6121,04411,65619063593,9295,38194910,61819055373,3614,8659409,70319044413,6325,10586810,04619033553,6065,0008799,84019023452,9694,4038718,58819012822,6754,6018978,45519002492,5504,3466607,86518992392,2104,0406347,12318982211,9584,0636176,85918972221,6933,9196036,43718961811,8613,8115956,44818951701,8113,6315246,13618943241,8233,7205806,44718932992,6273,6736477,34618923762,5543,6036147,14718912932,6603,4656117,02918902862,4513,0625366,33518893101,972Not(a)3,5415,82318883152,070given(a)2,8975,282(a) Includes trespassers.
To the most casual student this table illustrates how railway accidents increase and decline with periods of business activity and recession. The effect of the panic of 1893-94 is seen in the decrease in accidents in 1895 and 1896. The temporary slowing up in 1904 is reflected in fewer fatalities in 1905, and a drop of 11% in the business of 1908 was followed by a decreased death roll of 12% for that year and 25% in 1909.
Relation of Accidents to Passenger Traffic.
The relation of railway accidents to passenger travel is most accurately measured in the following statement of the number of passengers carried one mile to one killed in train accidents during the years for which these statistics have been compiled:
Passengers Carried One Mile to One Killed.YearPassengers Killed in Train AccidentsPassengers Carried One MilePassengers Carried One Mile to One Killed1909131(a)29,452,000,000288,745,1001908165(b)29,082,836,944196,505,648190741027,718,554,03072,802,600190618225,167,240,831183,702,488190535023,800,149,43668,000,427190427021,923,213,53681,197,087190316420,915,763,881127,535,745190217019,689,937,620115,823,162190111017,353,588,444157,759,89419009316,038,076,200172,463,18318998314,591,327,613175,799,12718987413,379,930,004180,809,86418979612,256,939,647127,676,45418964113,049,007,233318,268,46918953012,188,446,271406,281,542189416214,289,445,89388,206,456189310014,229,101,084142,291,010189219513,362,898,29968,522,555189111012,844,243,881116,765,853189011311,847,785,617104,847,660188916111,553,820,44571,762,859(a) Of these only 102 were passengers in the ordinary sense of the term.(b) Of these only 148 were passengers in the ordinary sense of the term.
The student has to go back to the years of continued business paralysis, 1895 and 1896, to find any record of immunity to passengers from fatalities in train accidents at all comparable with the conditions that prevailed in 1909.
Decreased Hazard to Train Crews.
Never in the history of American railways has the occupation of the men directly engaged in the operation of trains been as free from fatalities as during the year 1909. This is proved by the following statement showing the number of trainmen killed in all descriptions of accidents since the figures have been compiled, with the ratio to the number employed: