The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-02
Should Not be Considered To-
gether, Says Mr.. COWen
OF the B. & o. Before the Inter
state Commerce Commission.
CARCOUPLER HEARING
Is Taken Up on the Proposition
of the Railroads
For an Extension of Five Years
to Comply With the Law.

commerce commission has opened the
hearing of the railroads which have pc
titioned for an extension of the time in
which they may comply with the law of
1898 requiring them to equip their cars
and engines with automatic car coup
lers. hand rails and brakes. The rep
resentatives or attorneys of several
hundred railroads and also the leading
labor organizations were present
John K. CoWen one of the receivers of
the Baltimore & Ohio presented the
general subject to the commission.
Previous to his general presentation,
Chairman Morrison of the commission
called for the oral argument of the
case, of the roads which were complete
ly equipped under the law but which
had petitiOned the commission for an
extension of the time as applied to the
case of other roads, which had not COM
piled.
Samuel Hoar, representing the Bos-
ton & Albany, made a brief argument
on this point to show the utter paral-
ySiS of traffic which must follow if
roads which had complied with the law
must cease hauling uneQulpped cars.
Mr.. CoWen presented the whole ques-
ton representing in this issue not the
Baltimore & Ohio, but the Lake Shore
road. The Lake Shore, he said was
a prosperous road and was able to
comply fully with the law but it was
here uniting with other roads in ask
ing for an extension. The business of
the railroads of the country was
largely a unit and those roads which
had equipped their cars could not haul
unequipped cars without technically
violating the law. Mr.. COWen said he
was chairman of a committee at this
hearing which represented about 6OO,-
600 of the 993, 900 freight cars, engaged
in Interstate commerce. OF the freight
cars of the country, Az per cent were
now equipped with car cOuplerS and
9615 per cent had the additional air
brake attachment. He offered as the
Inv fF1a hsa7
fully complied, the industrial depres-
sion which followed the passage of the
act in 1898, which he said had rendered
them financially unable to make the
outlay required by the law.
He contended that the law as pass
ed was defective, and that congress
recognized this by giving the commits
sion the power to suspend its opera
ton.
The single question presented to the
commission, he argued, was the meth
Cd and extent of extension, because un-
less an extension was granted, inter-
state commerce must cease. He urged
that the extension be for five years,
with provisionfOr an equipment of one
fifth of the cars each year. thus work
ing up to full and complete compli-
ance.
He further said that it would cost
from $40 OOO,O 900 to $50. .OOO GOO for the
money must be earned. If the commits
sion declined an extension, the roads
would be absolutely unable to equip
their cars out of their own resources.
The cost, he said, must come out of
the wages of the employees if the roads
were to be driven beyond their finan-
cial ability.
The percentage of equipped cars for
the control of trains ranged, according
to estimates given by experts present,
from 20 to so per cent.
p. H MOrriSsey, representing the
brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, the
Railroad Conductors association, the
Locomotive Engineers, the Broth1'
hood of Locomotive Firemen and the
Association of Railway Telegraphers,
followed Mr.. COwen with a fOrcfble
presentation of the attitude of the rail-
road employees toward the solicited ex-
tension
He agreed with Mr.. Cowen that in a
large measure this was a great COM
mercial question. This law, the main
features of which were to become Oper-
ative on the first day of the new year,
he said, represented the heart and con-
science of the American people as rep
resented by their chosen servants in
congress. The associations for which
he appeared, were a unit in protesting
against any such unreasonable exten-
sion as had been proposed. Five years,
he said, would render the purpose of
the law nugatOry.
During the past five years z, 900 rail-
road men have been killed annually
and between 5000 and $4,000 injured.
OF these casualties, 60 per cent were
directly attributable to the two evils
this law was designed to correct. The
slaughter would continue as long as
the present conditions remained. He
thought something should be done with
roads which, being able to comply par
TALLY, had utterly dfsregarded the law.
He replied rather heatedly to the inti-
nation of wage reduction thrown out
by Mr.. COwen.
Il speak in no defiant spirit said
he but want to say that when the
question of a reduction of wages is
presented to US, we will meet it. II
the alternative of reducing wages or
the manning and death of its members
were presented to the organizations
which represent, I do not hesitate to
say that they would prefer to go out
and equip the road themselves"
He called attention to the great
financial losses the beneficial assOcia-
tions of the railroads had sustained.
In death and disability claims, 81, 000,
900 had been paid out during the past
five years. enough to completely equip
a road like the Louisville and Nash
vile.
When pressed by Chairman Morrison,
Mr.. MOrriSSey replied that the railroad
| employees held the maximum extension
| must not exceed a year. In discussing
1 the proposition of the railroads made
| by Mr.. Cowen, Mr.. MOrrissey asked if
/ the commission in granting an exten-
| sion had the power to impose cOndi-
| tions.
| 7 am sorry to say" replied Chair
| man Morrison. that there are some
/ things the commission does not do, and
4 that is one of them"
/ Mr. LoOmis of the New York Central,
/ whose road has complied fully, asked
! for the extension on the ground that
/ the commission could not contemplate
| such an interruption of traffic as must
| follow the inability of his and other
| transcOntinental roads to haul un-
The several roads which had fully
complied, those which had between rs