LETTERS: WHAT DID CASEY DO TO BECOME INFAMOUS?

To the editor:

Remember "The Ballad of Casey Jones"? It begins, "Come on you rounders that want to hear the story of a brave engineer." It goes on to describe the heroism of Casey Jones, a real person.

In essence, Casey Jones, an early 20th century American railway engineer, sacrificed his life by taking control of a train right before it crashed. He died, but his assistant and the passengers survived.

I have been so impressed by Casey Jones's actions that he is high on my list of American heroes and heroines. The guy was born right here in Southeast Missouri! However, I stand poised to mark his name off the list.

Why? Well, an excellent Oct. 17 feature story, "Riding the rails," described Casey Jones as a man who "will forever live in infamy." Infamy? Casey Jones has a very bad reputation? Wow! This must mean that key elements of the Southeast Missourian staff and management believe Casey Jones should be remembered not for a heroic deed, but rather for a despicable one. What could it be? I can only speculate. My best guess would be that historical data uncovered by conservative members of the Southeast Missourian staff indicated to them that Casey Jones was guilty of the unpardonable sin of having been (this is extremely difficult for me to commit to writing, but we must face the truth) a liberal Democrat.

STEVE MOSLEY

Cape Girardeau