The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-03-22

| or less i'm use for over thirty years, ~
should not have required an act of tes$
gress TO enforce their universal ndlEsE /
| Failure To adopt them. after b,yNtc 4
| long and widely known aud usF " a.
negligence in the defendant ltIppN ~ a.
| principles of the common law. Wes2 .,FS
case. supra The act of Congress inipos
| Ing n penalty for failure to add the nppli-
anccs of January l. 1898, in No wise
affected the right Of amy cmployc to
recover for damages, sustained 10y the
negligence of any railroad company to
attach them. The action OF the Inter.
state Commerce Commission In extend
ing the date NJ which such net should
come into force Thy virtue of authority
given i'm the actl could not set aside the
principle Of law chat failure 10 adopt
such appliances was negligence per SC,
nor have any other effect than TO post
none the date at which the United
Statcs Government would impose the
prescribed penalty upon all railroads en-
gagged in Interstate Commerce failing
to equip all their ears with automatic
couplers, penalty which il imposed IL
respective whether any accidents occur
from such failure or not.
The Indifference of railroad companies
shown i'm not adopting these life and
limb saving appliances is all the greater
since their cost is comparatively small.
Indeed the Interstate Commerce Com
mission in the above cited report tpage
S9) state that. considering the less eN,
pense required in rpairs, they are an
actual saving. They say Figures sub
mttted by one of the beading railroad
companies indicate that the adoption of
the automatic coupler will result in
saving n very large sum annually in
comparison with th@ expense incurred IN
former years. in applying aud maintain
ing the link and pin type; and this does
not take into account the reduced cost
to the roads which must result from
fewer suits for damages by Injured emf
ployes: and further that there being too
much slack in the old pin and link for
the break to act automatically or sue
cesSfully the automatic coupler meets
the requirements OF railroad operation
better as we'll as diminsshes the danger
to employees"
In Witseli vs.. the Railroad. 100 \, G.
s,51 TAT page 500 il is said, If an APP
pliance is such that the railroads should
have it the poverty of the company is
no sufficient excuse for not having 1t.
But not only. as above. the use of self
couplers would he an actual economy TO
the defendant. but that it is amply able
TO put on these appliances if it was not.
is shown by the published report of the
defendant company that its gross earn
ings for the year 1895 twhen this in-
jury was inflicted were over S11000,00o
and its net earnings. over and above
all expenses. were more than So,000.0oo
tPoor's r. II. Manual. 1898. p. I92l-
figures which for the year just passed
have risen to over S20.000.000 gross
earnings and to over S6,0o0,000 net earn
ings.
With such an array as above OF the
terrible cost of life and limb by failure
to use appliances to avoid coupling and
Iuncoupling cars by hand lin, doing which
the plaintiff was injured). the small ex-
pense, nay actual economy of adopting
them and the ample means the defend
ant possesses. we can not reverse ON
ruling in Greenlee's ease that it is neg
| ligence per Sc in any railroad company
to cause one of its employees to risk
| his life or limb in making couplings
which can be made automatically with
out risk.
This matter of requiring these great
corporations to protect the travelling
public and their employees as well by the
adoption Of all safety appliances which
have come into general use is so inn
portant that we have gone into the
subject at this length. Ordinarily
owned by great syndicates out of the
State in which they operate, and their
management at all events removed from
any subsection to that sound public
opinion which is so great check upon
the conduct of individuals and of gov
erltment itself, the sole protection left
to the traveller and the employee alike
is in the application Of that law which
is administered impartially and which
can lay its hand fearlessly upon the
most powerful combination and protect
with its care the humblest individual in
the land.
The subject is one of transcendent inn
portance, for notwithstanding the partial
adoption of these appliances and the
consequent reduction in casualties, the
Twelfth Interstate Commerce Commits
sion shows Up. 10 that for the year
ending June 30, 1889, on the railroads
engaged in Interstate commerce (Which
alone report to that commission there
were still 43,16S casualties, of which s.
49, resulted in death. OF these | 1893
killed and 7,667 wounded were railroad
employees. among whom III were killed
and 6.2S3 wounded in coupling and
luncoupling ears. In our own State the re-
| port of the North Carolina Railroad Com
| mission for 1898 (p. 250-D shows that
| for the year ending June 80, 1898. the
railroads reported S79 persons killed and
wounded tof whom 90 were killed. and
of these % of the killed and 500 of
the wounded Were employees, total CD.
| As Of the 5000 employees reported in
this State. 1900 according to the
usual ratio) were employees engaged in
| the actual operation of trains, it follows
| that in this State one such employee in
| every Gia was in that year injured or
| killed. In view of such mortality, rival
| ing that of the bloodiest wars, this court
lcannot reverse its declaration heretofore
which is sustained by every sentiment
of jutsice and humanity. that where q
life and limb-saying appliance, like au-
tomato car-cOuplers has come into gene
raj use, and its partial adoption has in
four years. notwithstanding the increase
| in railroad mileage and employees. de-
| creased the injuries and deaths from
| cnunlino cars onp-half that the failurt