The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-07
TOLESSEN LOSS OF LIFE
Law Forcing Railways to Adopt
Safety Appliances.
1T WILL SOON GO INTO EFFECT.

The Roads Were Given Five Years to
Equip Their Trains, but Notwithstand-
ing This Many Companies Want an Ex-
tension of Time-No Certainty That the
Union Pacific Reorganization Committee
VIII Get Possession of the Road.
Washington, Oct. THE interstate
commerce commission will hold a full
meeting in this city the latter part of
next week. By far the most important
question which will come before the in
terstate commerce commission this fall
will be that of the extension of the time
in which the railroads of the country
engaged in interstate commerce must
equip their trains with train-brake sys-
TENS and automatic car couplers. The
act compelling the railroads to equip
their trains was passed in the closing
hours Of the Harrison administration
after a protracted and bitter contest.
The act was approved March 2, 1898.
and gave the railroads about five years,
until Jan. l, 1898, to comply with the
law. The same act provided that the
railroads should equip their cars with
handrails and drawbars before July /,
1895.
To Insure Greater Safety.
The whole purpose Of this legislation
was to insure greater safety for passen-
gers and to give greater security to
brakemen and other railroad employees
in coupling and uncoupling cars. Dur
ing the five years previous to the pass
age of the act the statistics showed that
each year one employe in every 433 had
been killed AID one i'm every thirty-Cne
injured. Before the time for equipping
the ears with handrails and dIaWbars
had expired many Of the railroads petit
toned the commission for an extension.
This the commission was empowered TO
grant, and after an examination extend
ed the time when the operation Cf that
portion OF the act relating to hanGr2ils
and drawbars should go into effect from
July l, 1895, to Feb /. 1896 The con-
mission is now beginning 10 receive 7 Il
tions asking for an extension Of the time
in which the other sections Of the act,
providing for automatic ccurlcrs and
train brakes, shall go into effect. and
before Jan. / they must decide this i'm
portant question.
Passenger Trains Equipped.
The railroads ask for one to ten ycarc
longer than the law provides. The last
reports Of the railroads made to the
commission upon their equipment (Aprll
l, 1866 show that the passenger trains
were almost entirely equipped as re-
quired by law but that only about ere
third Of the freight trains and ears had
been provided with the proper safety
appliances. Since this report the work
of equippng the freight cars has gone
steadily on, but ii is doubtful whether
more than so or GO per cent. are even
now supplied with the safety appliances
required by law. The last annual re-
port Of the commission shows that 1,Si1
railroad employees were killed during the
year. and 25.696 injured. a decrease of
twelve in the number of killed, and p
pa in the number Of the injured, as COM
pared with the previous year. The de-
crease in both killed and wounded is
largely attributed to the improvement
and more general use Of safety appli-
ances. Members Of the commission feel
that in extending the time they leopard
ize human life, but they also realize that
some Of the railroads have not been
financially able to comply with the law