Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-03-01
ALIGNMENT OF @. j. IVES,

49,
ARGUMENT OF G.. j. IVES,
PRESIDENT OF THE H.. G. p. a y. r.. H. co,
Dir. Chairman and GentleBiea:--As my
friend, Judge McDill, spoke last in reglcI
10 this fence matter, | would like to speak a
few words in connection with that while 10
Is still fire. sh in your minds, and upon Son
parts of il which he did not touch upon.
While what he says in regard to the dan gers
Is absolutely true, from my experience for
good many years in railroad affairs, aud as
doubt not, some of you gentlemen are farm
eIs ard own stock and know the habits of
animals in regard TO their seeking railroad
crossings as places TO lie down, because the
crossings are usually planked and are warm
and dry, we know absolutely from our ex-
pericnce that cattle do seek these places to
lie down. One animal lying down OH the
track is more dangerous than ten animals
standing up or moving along A To-
connective is almost certain to climb mp, as
we say, ON am animal lying down, and as a
matter Of course gets off the track, and the
train follows, and nobody knows what may
result. Ii will be absolutely impossible or
unsafe to the very highest de-
gree, TO attempt to operate trains through
the night If these farm crossings, so called,
are provided with cattle guards on each side,
and left open for the access of stock rs they
go back and forth from one field to another.
The danger is ten times increased over the
ordinary highway crossing, for most of the
stock is confined in fields and pastures
through the country which is fenced
Through the country which is not fenced
where the local option in regard to stock
running at large is in force, the stock is us
ualy herded. Our reports show that the
stock is killed mostly in the older settled
portions Of the country. Where they are
taken care Of every night there is but little
danger, but where the road passes through a
pasture and the stock goes from one side of
the road to the other, at its will when night
comes on, they are bound to lie down right
on that track and If they do and a train
comes along. of course it would rush on to
them without any notice whatever. there can
be but one result, or two, the stock
viii be killed pretty certain, and il no lives
are lost property will be damaged, and doubt
less to a large extent, and there is a ques-
ton right there, whose loss is this? If these
five or ten steers are killed on that crossing
who is TO pay for them? The railway com.
pany is powcrloss to keep them of. The
law says they are to have free access across
there; we cannot keep them away, and If
we kill them who is responsible? | think
that you are not doing the farmer any favor
when you provide this which he may think
at first glance is going to be very great con-
yenience to him, but in my opinion 1t will be
a very costly experiment for him to try, say
ing nothing about the loss of the railway
company, in the added danger to its trains
and its passengers, and TO say nothing
about the expense. | have some hg-
| ures here, and l would just like to call
| your attention to that. Not having time to
Il, in
| gard to this, | secured a copy of the report
which we made to the Railway Commission
ers, and from which will have to take some
| items to explain to yOu. | find from note
l made here That the highway crossings,
| which we report to the Railway Commission
| on our line are 953, nearly a thousand cross
| ings. / think any of you gentlemen will adj
nit without word, that the farm crossings
are at least double my impression is they
are more. l could have ascertained at home
just what they are, but we will put it at two
thousand, the lowest figure; these two
thousand farm crossings then are to be pro
yided with cattle guards on each side. That
is for our line, at an expense which | had
estimated here at one hundred thousand dol
lars. l ask the question of Mr.. Brown, who
is thoroughly conyersant with these appli-
ances, and he says this is at least IS per
cent too low. shall have occasion to refer
to that again, and leave the subject with
you, although there is one remark more
would like to make in regard to that bill. 1t
provides for the fencing of all railroads
without any exceptions. Now, | say SO far
as our line is concerned, we run into the
northwestern corner of the State where ii is
sparsely settled, large areas of country for
miles without people. Would il be any con-
venience to the people up there, would it do
anybody any good, if that line of railway is
fenced ON the open prairie which you find in
Lyon county especially, and would we not
be doing an injustice for creating an incon-
yenience, to say the least to the few farm
ers that are there, If we fenced our line, so
that when he wanted to move his stock from
one side of the road to the other for better
pasture, or to take them from the pasture on
one side to the water on the other side he
would have to drive his stock from half
mile 10 mile to get to some road crossing,
and then back ON the other side TO the point
he wished TO reach, making an unnecessary
drive of mile, a mile and half or two
| miles? Would it do anybody any gDo1?
| 1t would certainly be an Inconvenience TO
| him and would be an expense to the railroad
| company, which find by this report of the
number Of miles of fence on our line to be,
roads fenced in Iowa, $50 miles roads not
| fenced, 1875 miles. The cOsS. to us of fenc-
ing that additional 1876 miles, al the lowest
| possible estimate for fence prescribed in
| the bill, would be ST5,0 Now, ] will say
| in regard to the policy of our company
as to fencing, it is this: that any farmer
who has fenced his place and asks
| us to fence oar roads through his fields, it
is done as promptly as possible. We think
| ii is due to the farmer to accommodate him
| in that way, and there is no hesitancy on our
| part. and that is the rule, and our fence men
who have charge of that branch of the bust
ness are instructed to that effect.
Member Of Committee: Mr.. Ives, what
would you say about authorizing the Board
! Of Supervisors or Township Trustees, in
that section you speak of, requiring you to
fence or not, as the local option might indi-
cate?
Mr.. Tees: Well, that would probably be
nearly the same thing as if left to the farm
ers. If farmer cultivates a field or in
closes a field and asks us TO fence we do it,
and i suppose that the views of the Board
| of Supervisors would be simply the views of
the farmers in that section, and we certain
| ~ would be willing to fence.
Mr.. DuncOnlbe: You would not object to
fence any land you were asked to fence?
Mr. ICES: No. / think it is due to the
farmer, when he has cultivated his field and
wants to turn his stock in, and asks us 10
fence, that we should fence. If he wants to
make use Of his corn stalks and stubble
fields, he don't want TO herd his stock III
there, nor turn 1t in and leave It; and |
think it is right and just he should have IL
fenced. The only question is whether this
large additional expense for fencing the