The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-02-14
SUNDAY, Eel
FELLOWS SERVANT LAW.

This is subject that is being careful
Iy and, we might say prayerfully, watched
by great many Thousand people IN the
State who have never before been spe-
cially interested in any particular leg
islation. Mr.. j. A. HARNESS is to-day
the best known young lawyer with this
class; but while the present law bears
his name and will be a monument that
will last long after his death, the names
of Charles A. Cook and Thomas III. SUIT
ton, also, will be gratefully remembered
people already knew Lacy, and
they were not surprised at his stand
but they ought to know that Schuaken,
of Columbus, ably seconded Mr.. HARNESS
before the committee, and such men as
Dixon, of Cleveland, Ferguson, of Hay
wood, Murphy, of Rowan, and many
more were loaded, cooked and primed
TO back it most heartily in the House if
there had been a necessity for it.
Now this meritorious bill is in the Sen
ate, and these people are anxiously
watching to see who are their friends.
The friends of the bill are solicitous lest
irrevelant amendments may interfere
with the passage of the bill, and there
fore they are specially anxious that it
should remain in its present satisfactory
form. The bill as it passed the House,
moreover, is a copy of the Georgia law,
which has worked admirably in that
State.
This law is judicial in contradistinc-
ton 30 statutory law. The first case
was in England in 1887. Priestly VS..
Fowler( 3 NJ and w. ID This was
case of two servants of a butcher, and
simply decided that the master did not
guarantee the safety of wagon in which
his servant was doing duty. In South
Carolina in 1S41, Murray VS.. S. @. r. r.
Co, it was decided that company was
not liable for accident to a fireman on
account of negligence OF the engineer.
This case Is somewhat similar to the case
of Hobbs VS.. Atlantic and North Caro-
lima Railroad 107 N. c., where a fire.
man fails to recover ON account of the
negligence of the engineer. This decision
was written by one of the present Asso-
ciate Justices of our Supreme court.
There are hundreds of decisions on this
matter, all based ON that old English
ruling. Sir James Scarlett justifies his
position by explaining that if a servant
allows an inefficient or vicious fellow
servant to remain, he having a better
opportunity of judging his character
than either the manager or the public, it
is just for him to bear the risk. That may
have been good reasoning in 1887, but
now, as Mr.. Lacy said, when one end
of a line is in New York and the other
in New Orleans it is impossible for the
servants to know each other even by
sight, therefore the law has manffestly
been outgrown by our civilization"
The claim that railroad employe holds
the same relationship to the public as one
of a private company is absurd and is
unworthy Of some who make it. No
money can pay a faithful engineer for
sticking to his post when death in it's
most horrible form stares him in the
face. Again quoting from Mr.. Lacy.
1.-THE present law is an inducement for
an engineer to jump at the first sign Of
danger rather than stay TO the last mo-
ment and take every risk for the passen-
gers cooped up in the cars behind him."
Judge Avery. who made an argument
before the committee in favor Of the bill,
says: "All we ask is to put the engineer
on par with hog. The company pays
for the hog il there is wreck and one
is killed"
Mr.. Schulken truly said, 1T is an alb
surdity to suppose, as claimed by the OPP
posite side, that railroad employees would
agree to put their heads under the
wheels to let any relative get damages
therefor"
Sutton and Cook say the law is JUST
to the employees and is for the best inter-
est OF the travelling public, and should
pass.
Almost all Of the above has appeared
in the News and Observer before in some
shape, but we are so much interested
that we reiterate it as we consider this
one Of the most important as well as
righteous bills that has been introduced
We are glad that it is above party lines
and Democrats, Republicans and Popu-
lists are advocating it.
Report of Commissioner of Labor Sta
tistics shows that there are about TO-
600 railroad employees on the roads of
North Carolina. Every one them is deep
dy interested in the passage of the pend
fng BILL and are closely watching the vote
ct every legislator.