The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-02
THEY WANT MORE Time
Many Railroads Have Not Com
piled With the Law.
SAY THEY'RE TOO POOR
Railroad Employees Object to Any Ex-
tension-Csrdinal Gibbons quoted
as Also Obiecting Some
Heated Arguments.

commerce commission to-day opened "A
hearing of railroads which have petit
toned for an extension of the time in
which they may comply with the law OF
1888 requiring them To equip their ears and
engines with automatic car couplers,
hand rails and brakes. Representatives or
attorneys of several hundred railroads
and also OF leading labor organizations
were present John cowan. one OF the re-
ceiyers OF the Baltimore a Ohio. present
"a the general subject TO the commission.
Previous 10 the general presentation
Chairman Morrison OF the commission
called for the oral argument of the roads
which were completely equipped under
the law. hut which had petiiioned the
commission for AN extension OF time as
applied 10 cases Of other roads which had
not complied Samuel Hoar. representing
the Boston a Albany. made brief ar
gument on this point TO show the utter
paralysis OF traffic which must follow II
the roads which had complied with the
law We're compelled To cease hauling un-
equipped cars.
Mr.. Cowan presented the whole ques-
tion. representing in this issue not the
Baltimore a Ohio. hut the Lake Shore
road. The Lake Shore. he said. was a
prosperous road and had been able TO
comply fully with the law but IL was
here. uniting with other roads In asking
for AN extension. The business of the rail-
roads of the country was largely "A unit
and those roads which had equipped their
ears could not haul unequipped cars
without technically violating the law. Mr..
rowan said he was chairman Of a COM
mittec al this hearing which represented
about $4,000 OF the H3.0'0 freight cars
engaged I'm Interstate commerce. or the
freight ears % the country iiiz per cent.
were now equinned with car cOunlers and
ISL per cent had the additional air brake
attachment. He offered as the principal
reason why the roads should not fully
comply. the Industrial depression viii, h
followed the passage of the act In J. ),
whirh. he said. had rendered them finan-
cially una bile Ia make the financial outlay
required by law.
He contended that the law was de-
fective and congress recognized this by
giving the commission the power TO
suspend It's operation. The single ques-
iion presented To the commission. he
argued. was the method and extent Of
extension. because. unless an extension
was granted interstate commerce must
cease. He argued that the extension
be for five years. with provision for an
equipment Of one-fifth Of the ears each
year. thus working up to the full ana
complete compliance He further said
that IL would cost from Si00oO.000 To
s50.0O0.0O0 for the railroads to comply
with the law This money must be
earned. II the commission declined an
extension. the roads would lie abso-
lutcly unable TO equip their ears out OF
their own resources. The cost, he said,
must como out of the employees IL the
roads were to be driven beyond their
financial ability. The percentage Of
equipped ears for the control of trains
rang' 4. according to estimates given by
experts present. from 20 To 90 per
Itnt.
y. ". Morrissey, representing the
Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. the
Railroad Conductors association, the
L,comotivc Engineers. Locomotive
Fin, men and the Association of Rail-
road Telcgraphers followed MIR. Cowan
with a f0rcible presentation Of the atti-
indc If the railroad employees toward
thc solicited extension. He agreed with
MIR. cowan that In a large measure
this was a great commercial question.
The associations for which he appeared
were a unit in protesting against any
such unreasonable extension as had
been proposed. Five years. he said,
would render the purpose of the law
nugatory. During the past five years
1000 railroad men have been killed an
nually and between 10000 and $4,000 In
jured. pf these casualties 80 per cent
were directly attributed To the new evils
this law WAS designed To- correct. The
slaughter would continue as long as
the present conditions remained. lie
thought something should be done with
the roads which had utterly disregard
| ed the Law. He replied rather heatedly
4 to the intimaiion of wage reduction
| thrown out by Mr.. Cowen.
Il speak in no defiant spirit" he said.
| but | want Ia say that when the ques-
/ tion nf a reduction Of wages Is present
I'd 10 us. We viii meet it. II the alter
native of reducing wages or the malm-
ing and the death Of its members were
presented Ia the organizations which |
] represent. I do not hesitate TO say that
they would prefer to go out and equip
/ the roads themselves" He called at
| tontion 10 the great financial losses the
beneficial associations of the roads had
sustained. In death and disability
] claims s2.O00.000 had been paid out dur
| ing the past five years, enough To COM
/ pletely equip a road like the Louisville
| A. Nashville.
When pressed by Chairman Morrison
| Mr.. Morrissey replied that the maxi
| mum extension must not exceed "A year.
| In discussing the proposition of the
| railroads. Mr.. Morrlssey asked II the
| commission in granting an extension
had the power TO impose conditions.
II ann sorry to say" replied Chair
man Morrison, that there are some
things the commission does not know,
and that Is one uf 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 ar interruption ~ traffic as must
follow the Inability ~ his and other
ro5ds to haul unequipped cars. The
several roads which hal fullv ronplird,
these who had between - and loo per
u cent ul their cars equipped. and those
between 30 and Ib per cent. were called
and the Representatives II each gave
an ,stimat" ~ the time IN which the
work uf complying with the law could
he completed.
After a brief recess Julius Rosendaie
uf Philadelphia. IN behalf ~ himself
aud many eminent diyines whom ho
said he represented. aud among whom
hr mentioned Cardinal Gibbons. enter
pd q protest sgainst granting any eN.
tension II time
Mr. clark rpprrspnfiug the rhicng