The morning times., 1895-10-27

/
Passing Over Tracks of Electric or
Cable Lines-AgainstO Distractions.
President Phillips, of the Metropolitan
Railway Company, has gained his point
| III the controversy with the Baltimore and
| Potomac Railway Company, and his agi-
| tation and the public demand have secured
| the adoption by the Commissioners of a
| regulation requiring steam railways 10
| stop all trains, and locomotives without
| trains, before permitting them to cross
| the tracks ola street car line.
The regulations are general and sweep
| ing in their character, and apply equally
| to all steam railways within the District.
They are as follows:
~. No locomotive, or train with or
| without a locomotive attached, shall pass
over any street railroad crossing where
| the cars of street railroad are propelled
| by cable or electric power, without conf
| ing to full stop at point not nearer
\ than forty feet of the nearest rail OF
| such crossing, and shall not pass over
| such crossing except in obedience to sig
| nal given by the gateman employed by the
| corporation owning the tracks over which
| such locomotive or train is to pass; and
Il
crossing gates are closed In such manner as
! to effectually prevent access to said tracks
from the highway.
MUST OPERATE SAFETY GATES.
"2. The safety gates at every railroad
| crossing shall be closed during the passing
| of any trains, locomotives, or cars, ana
| shall be opened Immediately after the
| passage of the same"
The third and last section will be es-
pecially gratifying to the people of the
| Northeast section OF the city. 1t reads as
| follows:
"3. No train, locomotive, OF car shall
be allowed to stop or stand on any street
crossing for Il longer period than two min
| utes at any one time"
| Among the papers in the case was a
letter from Mr.. Phillips, written just
after the accident at the Virginia avenue
| and Seventh street junction, IN which,
after calling attention to the occurrence,
| he said:
1T has been intimated to me that you
| have referred the subject to the attorney
| of the District. / beg to say that the
| president of the Pennsylvania Railroad
will probably not accept your attorney s
| opinion as of any value, and Will con-
tinue 10 operate the road as at present
until the highest court in the District shall
| pass upon the subject.
| "If your honorable body shall pass an
| order as L have above indicated, pledge
the Metropolitan Railroad Company that
1t VIII at once, il disobeyed by the Penn
| sylvanisf Railroad Company, enter an
| injunction suit to prevent that company
| from disobeying your order. BY this means
/ your power in the premises will be brought
| for adjudication before the District Su-
preme Court and by appeal subsequently
| to the Court OF Appeals"
PRIOR ORDER SET ASIDE
A similar order, stopping trains, and
applying specifically TO the Baltimore and
| OHIO Railroad crossing on Ii street north
| west, was promulgated last winter, but
| when brought TO the attention OF Judge
| kimball Officially, it was turned down
| upon the grounds that IL was special
regulation applying TO 4 single street
This defect is now cared. and the regula-
tions will apply to the troublesome Balti-
more and Ohio crossings as well as those
| of the Baltimore and Potomac
The correspondence between Mr. Phillips
| and the officials of the Baltimore and
Potomac Railroad, together with his re
| quest for the adoption OF the ordinance,
were debated at an open meeting of the
| board OF Commissioners several weeks ago,
| and were afterward referred to the attor-
ney for the District, who returned all the
| papers yesterday afternoon, with a copy
| OF the regulations adopted, and with a
written opinion stating his views upon the
question.
The opinion in substance is as follows:
| II have examined the CORRESPONDENCE
| between the Metropolitan and the Ba itmore
and Potomac Railroad Companies, in regard
| TO the crossing at Four.and-a-half street
| and Virginia avenue, submitted with the
| request that the Commits ioners establish
a regulation requiring every train of the
| Baltimore and Potomac Railroad to come
| to Il full stop before crossing Four-and "A half
| street, which you referred to me for opin-
ion as to the power of the Commissioners
| TO make the desired regulation.
AIDED BY BRIEFS.
''In the disposition of this case, / have
been aided very materially by briefs sub
mitted by counsel for the respective rail-
road companies, and l have given the
| matter very careful consideration in view
| of its gravity and Importance.
| 1T viii be observed that the act of
Congress, under " hich the Metropolitan
| Company operates. definitely and posi-
| lively pTesCribes an underground electric
| system Tor prcpeliing its cars. These cars
| Railroad Company are vehicles for the
| transport alton of passengers, srd rs such
are clearly within the provisions and ex-
press terms of the act of Congress, entitled
| An act 10 authorize the Commissioners of
| the District OF Columbia to make police
regulations for the, government of said
| District" approved January &c, 1887
! ga Statute 26S1D. which gives the Com
missioners authority to make, modify, and
| enforce rtdSOndDit ponce ana
| among other things, TO regulate the move
ments of vehicles on the public streets and
avenues for the preservation of order, and
| the protection of life and limb"
POWER REINFORCED.
1.-THE power of the Commissioners was
| further extended by a Joint resolution
of Congress approved February 26, 1892.
II am aware that the supreme court of
this District, has given section 2, OF the
joint resolution, a construction which ap-
parently limits the Commissioners to such
regulations as are in addition to those
authorized by the law of 1887: but the
court seems to have affirmed the authority
of the Commissioners TO make regulations
in such cases as we now have under con-
sideration. In its opinion, at page lab,
the court said:
"'But it is to matters which of their
own operation may affect life and limb,
health, comfort, or quiet. that this au-
thority is strictly limited. 1t is with acts
and conduct, whictr by whomsOever done,
tend in themselves to impair one of these
public interests, that the Commissioners
are authorized to DEAL
1.-The danger to life and limb that directly
and Immediately results from the unregu-
lated use of common crossings by two rail
roads, is, In my judgment. a subject for
reasonable regulation by the Commission
ers under these two statutes.
My opinion, is, the Commissioners have
the power to make reasonable police
regulation in regard to railway crossings
in this District Such regulation, how
ever should not be special in its character,
but should be general, so as to operate