Mrs. Mary H. Crawford, passenger, injured at Beulah, Oct. 13th, getting off train No. 35; porter allowed her to fall, and she stepped between platform and car steps.
Many of the roads have the steps on coaches that come near enough to the ground so that such accidents are practically impossible, but on the Pullmans and on cars of some of the roads they are so high from the station platform as to require a ladder to get on them. Why they are not all made on a proper and safe standard no one seems to know.
Another cause of injury to passengers, especially children, who always want the windows open, is by the windows falling and injuring them. Nearly always their little hands or fingers get hurt; or by ventilators falling on their heads. When you have an accident caused by a window falling examine it immediately and, if the catches are all right, show the injured person or, if a child, the man or woman in whose charge it is traveling, that is was not the fault of the window catch, and at the same time call the attention of some intelligent passenger and of your brakeman to the matter and have them try the window catch, and send in their names and addresses with your report. If, however, the catch is defective report the fact, but don't advertise it, and whenever you find any defective catches or anything else wrong about a car in your train call the attention of the first car repairer you meet to the matter and have it repaired, and report it to your superintendent. If the car repairers would make an examination of the windows, their catches, and of the ventilators, for the purpose of finding out their actual condition, we would get rid of many such cases. Do the same thing with the matting in the aisles, and when there is a hole in it get it fixed, or get a new one. If you can't do that, take the matting up and so prevent any one falling on it.
Ruth Darman, child five years old, injured December 25th, near Correctionville, was riding in coach 269, train No. 39; caused by ventilator window falling and striking her, injuring her head.
J. E. Wills, passenger on train No. 25, January 25th, stumbled over the zinc at end of matting, which was out of condition, in coach No. 659.
Mrs. Jones, passenger, injured September 23d, at Junction, was riding in coach 480, train 65, when train stopped at Junction. She walked to rear end of coach and in doing so caught her foot in a hole in the aisle matting and fell forward on her face.
Nora Holm, 3 years of age, injured near Henshaw, July 24th; caused by a window in coach 338, train 9, falling on her arm, on account of a defective spring.
And, speaking of aisles, so far as possible get passengers to keep their valises, suit cases, and bundles out of the aisles so that other passengers won't fall over them. If the glass in a door gets broken, when the train is running, be sure that the glass is taken out of the frame, so that passengers won't catch their hands on it. Take pains to see that your passengers, especially the old and infirm, the women, and children, are provided with seats, and when some passenger, whether man or woman, who has paid for only one seat or is riding on a pass, is occupying three or four seats, have them make room for those standing. Pay some attention to ventilation—in cold weather open the ventilators on the side the smoke trails on, and then there won't be any draught. In other words, comply with Rule 20 and then cases like the following, which seem to be on the increase, won't happen:
Mrs. Alice Gahriels, passenger from Clinton, Iowa, to Lincoln, Neb., on train No. 3, June 2d, while returning from the dining car between Cedar Rapids and Belle Plaine stumbled over a valise which was left in the aisle of the chair car and fell and was injured.
Mrs. Little, passenger, injured at Van Buren Street depot at 9:52 p.m., March 9th, was alighting from train No. 594, and in doing so took hold of frame of vestibule door of coach. The glass in door had been broken and this lady's hand was seriously cut on the broken pieces which had not been taken out of the frame.