Having been particularly struck by the infernal smashes that have recently
taken place on several railroad lines, and having been ourselves forcibly
impressed by a tender, which it must be allowed was rather hard (coming in
collision with ourselves), we have thought over the subject, and have now
the following suggestions to offer:--
Behind each engine let there be second and third class carriages, so that,
in the event of a smash, second and third class lives only would be
sacrificed.
Let there be a van full of stokers before the first class carriages; for,
as the directors appear to be liberal of the stokers' lives, it is
presumed that every railway company has such a glut of them that they can
be spared easily.
As some of the carriages are said to oscillate, from being too heavy at
the top, let a few copies of "Martinuzzi" be placed as ballast at the
bottom.
In order that the softest possible lining may be given to the carriages,
let the interior be covered with copies of Sibthorp's speeches as densely
as possible.
We have not yet been able to find a remedy for the remarkable practice
which prevails in some railways of sending a passenger, like a bank-note,
_cut in half_, for better security.
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