on the 20th of July a brakeman was seriously injured in a collision between a Shepaug engine and a freight train on the Danbury & Norwalk railroad.

In these train accidents therefore, one passenger, if Griswold is to be so classed, was killed and eight injured, while four employees were killed and twenty-one injured. There were also thirty-seven other employees killed or fatally injured, and ninety-seven injured not fatally. Of the forty-one employees reported killed or fatally injured, three are reported as so hurt while coupling or uncoupling cars, and thirty-nine more were hurt in this way, out of the total one hundred and eighteen injured not fatally.

An examination of the returns of these injuries develops some peculiarities.

For instance: while between October 1, 1882, and June 17, 1883, there are reported as injured in coupling on the New York & New England Railroad twelve employees, there are none whatever reported as so injured during the rest of the year, that is, from June 17th to September 30th. Again: out of twenty-seven reported as injured in this way on all the divisions of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, seventeen were returned as so injured on the Hartford & New Haven Division alone. Now when we consider that this division embraces only seventy-four miles out of the two hundred and twenty-four miles operated by this company in the State, and that the mileage of its freight and other trains, besides passenger, is but 832,169 out of a total of 2,219,178 miles, and that the condition of its tracks and equipment, and the character and habits of its employees and the management of the road are, to say the least, as good as any in the State, we are led to look further for the reason for the apparently greater number of accidents of this character on this division. We think the explanation is that here the letter of the law is obeyed, while greater laxity prevails elsewhere. It will be remembered that in 1881, the law which previously had required only accidents attended with serious personal injury to be reported to us was amended so as to require accidents

attended with personal injury, whatever its degree, to be so reported. The reports on the Hartford & New Haven Division seem from inspection to have most closely followed the requirements of the law. Of the seventeen coupling injuries reported on this road, one "fell on the track and was run over and killed," one was "injured internally," one "injured," one had "arm crushed," one "badly injured two fingers," two conductors crushed their thumbs pulling pins, six were "slightly injured," one "lost part of a finger," one "lost end of thumb," one "broke one finger," and one "very slightly injured one finger." Of the eighteen other employees injured on this division, five fell or slipped from cars and were "slightly injured," and one fell and sprained his wrist. Had the law remained unchanged not more than three or four out of these thirty-five would have been reported at all.

From the above it is apparent that a comparative statement of employees injured on the various roads may be very unjust towards one and equally improperly favorable to another. We do not know that any legislation can secure more uniform practice in returns. We have, however, caused a record to be commenced, to be made up of such information as we may receive from any source of all injuries to employees, and hope thereby in some manner to perfect this part of our report. The total number of persons injured on our railroads during the year, was two hundred and sixty-seven; of this ninety-nine were either killed or fatally hurt.

Two passengers were killed, and eighteen injured; fortyone employees were killed, and one hundred and eighteen injured. Of those one hundred and fifty-nine, thirty-seven fell from cars, and forty-two were injured in coupling or uncoupling; nine persons driving over the tracks at gradecrossings were killed or fatally injured, and five others injured; two persons crossing on foot were also killed; fortyfive other trespassers were killed and twenty-seven injured.

AUTOMATIC COUPLERS.

There has been in force during the year covered by the returns, the law requiring every railroad company operating a railroad located wholly or in part in this State, to cause all freight cars built or purchased, or on which new couplers should be substituted for old, to be provided with couplers so arranged as to render it unnecessary for any one to go between the ends of the cars for the purpose of coupling. During that time seven hundred and fifteen new freight cars have been added to the equipment of our railroads, and the law has, we think, been generally complied with. The New London Northern Railroad Company reports that they have adopted the "Perry Self-Coupler." The Naugatuck, which has added sixty-two cars, reports that they have fitted up twenty cars with the Perry coupler, also have some of the Safford draw-heads in use, and two cars with the Janney Coupler. They add, "we are much in favor of the Janney over others as far as we have tested it; it has been on nearly a year, coupling in with other cars and no failure as yet."

The Danbury & Norwalk, which has added twenty-seven new cars, reports: "Our new freight cars have been equipped with the Perry Coupler, and those rebuilt, as fast as taken into shop, are treated in same way."

The Hartford & Connecticut Western reports the "application of the Perry Coupler to all new work (over one-hundred cars) and in all cases where cars have been rebuilt or broken couplers replaced."

The New York, Providence & Boston Railroad Company, which has added thirty-eight freight cars to its equipment, has paid no attention to the law.

The New York & New England report that they have applied a style of coupler, of which they sent us a "blue print," to three hundred and seventy coal cars built since the Connecticut law was passed, but the coupler has not been submitted for our approval.

The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company report automatic couplers on one hundred and seventy-six

freight cars, and that "in every instance where the ordinary old style of coupler has been damaged or broken since the law requiring their replacement by the automatic, it has been done so far as this company is concerned, and will continue to be done till all the freight cars they own are supplied with the automatic."

The Housatonic Railroad Company report that they have equipped one hundred and sixteen cars with the Perry Automatic Coupler, six cars with the Whitmore, and twelve with the Hine Coupler.

These reports show that progress has been made, and those who are interested in securing for railroad employees all possible protection in their hazardous occupation, should feel encouraged. The adoption of the standards of time throughout the country is another reason for encouragement in the matter of couplers. It has shown that unanimity can be obtained where it seemed almost impossible. Whenever a man shall be found among the master-car-builders, or indeed anywhere, who possesses the enthusiasm, wisdom, judgment, tact, energy, and perseverance of W. F. Allen, Secretary of the General Time Conventions, who will give himself to the coupler question, it will be solved.

STANDARD TIME.

A few days before the adjournment of the last General Assembly we received a letter from Secretary Allen, of the General Time Convention, asking if it was possible at that session to have our law making the time of the meridian of the City Hall in New York the standard time of Connecticut, amended so as to make the time of the seventy-fifth meridian the standard. To this we replied, that while we were fully in accord with the movement for general time standards, and that there was no doubt but what Connecticut would make its standard conform to the time proposed, it was too late for any new business at that session. The several standards of the United States having been adopted by the Time Convention, we were inquired of by railroad officers whether in our judgment the

railroad companies of this State should adopt the time of the seventy-fifth meridian as the standard. Our answer was that its adoption would be in strict accordance with the spirit of our existing law, and that we believed the Legislature, immediately on assembling, would amend our statute so as to make that time the legal standard of the State.

We shall cause a bill to that effect to be presented, and we presume the amendment will have been made before this report is received. If not, we recommend its immediate adoption.

The enactment of our law in 1881 was the first result of an organized effort to relieve the public of the inconvenience of a multiplicity of so called standards of time, and prepared our own people to welcome the general standards as now adopted. The thanks of the public are due to those who were instrumental in causing the first step to be taken.

TAXATION OF RAILROADS AND RAILROAD SECURITIES.

Two bills of directly opposite character in regard to railroad taxes were before the last General Assembly. The one proposed to reduce the rate of taxation and the other proposed to place on corporations, chiefly railroads, the whole burden of taxes. The first bill passed both houses of the Legislature but was vetoed by Governor Waller. The second failed to receive a favorable report from the Finance Committee and was rejected, and the existing law was therefore left unchanged. We have always favored remitting the taxes of those companies whose earnings were needed and expended for keeping or placing their roads in a safe condition. The duty which the State owes to its own citizens, and the general public using its railroads, requires that what otherwise might be received in taxes from such companies, and devoted to other state expenditures, should be so far as necessary applied in this manner to the protection of life and property. It might be thought that we were not within the range of our duties were we to advise in regard to the general rate of railroad taxation, but it certainly cannot be regarded as out of