The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1897-12-11
saturday DECEMBER II, 1897
DEMAND OF HUMANITY.

The interstate commerce commit
tee, IN the face of strong protes
from labor organizations in various
quarters, has decided to exend fel
a period of two years the time il
which railroads must place automatic
coupling appliances upon all of theil
cars. The act of congress of Marcel
2, 1898, commonly known as the
safety appliance act, decreed that al
the cars of all the railway companie:
should be thus equipped by 1898, q
period Of full five years being al
lowed in which to complete the
change. This was deemed ample at
the time, and it doubtless would have
proved ample had not the railway
companies believed, with good rea-
son, that extension of time could be
secured. Be this as 1t may, the
limit has nearly expired, the railway
companies have not met the condi-
tons imposed by the act, and the
time has been extended.
Railway employees, who may be
said literally to have vital interests
at stake, demur, or are supposed to
demur through the protest of labor
organizations, against this extension
as placing the humanities in the
scale against the cost of the equip
ment ordered. It is asserted that
the companies have had ample time
to equip their cars with these life and
limb-saving devices, and that the
plea that they cannot afford the ex-
pense at this time is one that should
have no weight against the fact that
every years delay costs the lives of
hundreds of trainmen and causes the
injury, more or less serious, of thous-
ands. 1t IS believed that the auto
matte couplers, when universally
used, will greatly reduce the number
of these deaths and disasters. 1t is
certain that vast number of brake
men have been killed or manned in
the use of the old system of hand
coupling, and the substitution of the
automatic coupler is urged as mat
ter of humanity, in the shortest pos
sible space of time.
Recognizing the vast outlay Incl
dent to this substitution, and taking
into consideration the fact that the
cars of the different railway systems
are, IN fulfillment of the demands of
interstate commerce, widely scat
tered, and that business constantly
presses, period supposed to be am
pie for making the change was al
lowed. This the railroad companies
maintain, under all the circumstances,
was not long enough, while the rep
resentatlves of the trainmen's inter
ests aseert the contrary and charge
dllatory tactics, backed by their sup
posed influence upon legislation to
secure an extension of time, upon
the railroad companies.
Statistics showing the killed and
injured among trainmen in charge of
freight trains during the past years
are cited as showing an urgency for
the equipment Of freight cars with
automatic couplers that brook node
lay. On the railroads operated in
the state of Pennsylvania alone last
year no fewer than 500 men we're
killed, and 1o,591 injured in the
freight service, while the figures rep
resenting the grand total of lives de-
stroyed and injuries suffered amono
this class of employees are truly ap-
paIliug- The belief that these casu-
alties will be decimated by the GEN
eral use of the automatic coupler is
and well founded. Hu-
man life is the most important con
'ideration in this matter. It is
1erhans useIess IN ;no,,iro