“That very statement was officially made in France some years ago, and supported by the proof, that while ten people were killed on the rail, fourteen died at home from falling over carpets, and having their garments catch fire.”
“All that may be true enough of England, or Europe; but I should think that it was widely different in America,” I replied.
“Of course it must be admitted that, taken as a whole, the dangers incident to railway travelling are materially greater in America than in any country of Europe. Still the destruction of life and limb is nothing frightful,—the wonder rather is that so few are hurt. Perhaps you will not believe it, yet the truth of the fact remains, that in the year 1874, throughout the whole of Massachusetts, but one passenger was killed on the cars through an accident to which his own carelessness did not contribute; while in the same year of grace, in the city of Boston alone, fifteen people were killed from falling down stairs, twelve by falling out of windows, and seventeen were run over by carriages and fatally injured.”
“But perhaps, that was an exceptional year!”
“Let us take four years then, from September, 1870, to the same month of 1874: in that time the railroads disposed of 635 persons, all told, passengers, employees, trespassers—in Massachusetts; and in Boston during the same years there were 1,050 accidental deaths! The returns for the last fifteen years show, that in Massachusetts only 39 passengers were killed, while 250 were injured, but not fatally, from causes over which they had no control: that is less than one killed to each 8,900,000 travellers, and about one in each 1,400,000 injured. The statistics for that State would appear to indicate that if one chanced to be born on a train and remained there travelling 500 miles a day, he would, with average good fortune, be about two hundred and twenty years old before being involved in any accident resulting in death, or personal injury.”
“That is quite long enough, since Methusaleh is no more.”[501]
FOOTNOTES:
[476] Aston v. Heaven, 2 Esp. 533; Frink v. Potter, 17 Ill. 406.
[477] Collett v. London & N. W. Rw., 16 Ad. & Ell. (N. S.), 984.
[478] Denman, C. J., in Carpue v. London & B. Rw., 5 Q. B. 747; Laing v. Colder, 8 Penn. St. 479-483.