4i6 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



proved to be loost efficient for its pur- 

 pose. But there were too many par- 

 ties interested in rival devices, and the 

 superior one came into use, but very 

 slowly. It did make progress, how- 

 ever, and we are told that the issue is 

 now narrowed down to a struggle be- 

 tween two American brakes, the West- 

 inghouse and the Smith vacuum, which 

 has been its strongest rival. 



As to the comparative safety of 

 travel on the railroads in England and 

 in this country, it is conceded that the 

 former have the advantage, although ex- 

 actly to what extent it is impossible to 

 say, owing to the gross incompleteness 

 of American statistics. But the causes 

 of accidents act very unequally in the 

 two countries. For example, while from 

 failure of bridges, viaducts, or culverts, 

 there were, in six years, in England, 

 only twenty-nine accidents, there were 

 in this country, for the same time, one 

 hundred and sixty-five accidents due to 

 similar causes. The English lead in ac- 

 cidents from collisions of trains, and we 

 in accidents from trains being thrown 

 from the track. "The English colli- 

 sions are distinctly traceable to con- 

 stant overcrowding ; the American de- 

 railments and bridge accidents to infe- 

 rior construction of our road-beds." 



The subject of railroad statistics, 

 including accidents, has received more 

 attention in Massachusetts than else- 

 where iu this country. The following 

 statement by Mr. Adams will excite 

 some surprise : " During the four years 

 1875-78 it will be remembered a sin- 

 gle passenger only was killed on the 

 railroads of Massachusetts in conse- 

 quence of an accident to which he, by 

 his own carelessness, in no way con- 

 tributed. The average number of per- 

 sons annually injured, not fatally, dur- 

 ing these years, was about five; yet 

 during the year 1878, excluding all 

 cases of mere injury, of which no ac- 

 count was made, no less than fifty-three 

 persons came to their deaths in Boston 

 from falling down stairs, and thirty- 



seven more from falling out of win- 

 dows ; seven were scalded to death in 

 1878 alone. In the year 1874, seven- 

 teen were killed by being run over by 

 teams in the streets. During the five 

 years, 1874-'78, there were more per- 

 sons murdered in the city of Boston 

 alone than lost their lives as passengers 

 through the negligence of all the rail- 

 road corporations in the whole State of 

 Massachusetts during the nine years 

 1871-'78 ; although in these nine years 

 were included both the Eevere and the 

 Wollaston disasters, the former of which 

 resulted in the death of twenty-nine 

 and the latter of twenty-one persons. 



The most prolific source of railroad 

 accidents is reckless walking and saun- 

 tering upon the tracks — a practice in 

 violation of the law, and for which the 

 companies are not responsible. Walk- 

 ing upon the railroad-track is, in this 

 country, regarded as a kind of right of 

 the American citizen which be pays 

 for liberally, nearly fifty per cent, of 

 all accidents which occur being due to 

 this cause. Under the English mon- 

 archy the people are kept oflf the tracks 

 more eflfectually, and the accidents from 

 this source are accordingly only about 

 seven per cent, of the whole number. 



REMOVING THE BARRIERS OF COM- 

 MERCE. 



"We print a translation of the ad- 

 dress delivered before the International 

 Congress at Paris, by M. Charles de 

 Fourcy, on the several projected routes 

 of an Interoceanic Ship-Canal across 

 the Isthmus of Darien. M. de Fourcy is 

 a distinguished French engineer, and 

 Inspector-General of Eoads and Bridges 

 in France, an eminent and responsible 

 position in that country. He was a 

 delegate to the Congress, a member of 

 its "Technique" Committee, and Presi- 

 dent of the second Sub-Committee into 

 which it was divided to simplify its 

 labors. On the afternoon of the day 

 preceding the final vote he reviewed 



