The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-08

The orators of the senate had field
day of it yesterday, and much Of the
working day was devoted to the dis
cussion of senate bill No. SO, by Evans,
and, finally, the report Of the railroad
committee. recommending it's rejection
was voted down. and the bill was filed
for regular order.
The bill requires railroads to erect
and maintain a fence that will turn
| livestock on each side of the track
where it passes through lands owned,
/ settled or occupied by private persons,
with cattle guards at all crossings and
in case of failure to maintain such
fence and guards the road is made
liable for the full value of all damages
| sustained by the owners Of livestock
killed or injured by the trains, with
interest from the date of the killing.
When the plaintiff has shown the kill
I ing. it Shall be considered prima facle
! evidence of careleSsnesS or negligence
by the railroad, and the burden Of
proof shall be on the company to es-
tablish that it was not careless or neg
hgent. The railroad company is also
made liable for damages resulting from
! fire resulting from its operation.
Senator Evans led the fight against
| the report of the committee, which rec
commended that the measure be re-
! jected, and won by a single vote after
debate lasting nearly two hours. Dur
| ing the course of the debate the Ian
guage used by Senators Nebeker and
Evans grew decidedly warm, Mr.. Nebe-
ker saying that he resented a question:
| by Mr. Evans, and the latter saying
| that he would not Stoop to have such
a trivial matter passed upon by the
senate
AS soon as he got the floor Mr.. Evans
declared that the bill was righteous
and necessary, and ought to pass. The
railroads, he said. had the right OF
eminent domain, and could so where
they would, and it was only simple JUS
tice that where they ran through a
mans property his stock should be
protected by the road.
| Mr.. Nebeker, chairman of the rail-
cad committee. said that the Brother
hood of Locomotive Engineers had
| begged, through committee, that the
bill be killed, as it would endanger their
| lives. They declared, and ne agreed
with them, that it was impossible to
build a fence that would turn cattle,
and that once they were on the track
and unable to get out, they would Jeop-
! ardize every train that passed. He also
thought the bill unconstitutional and a
useless burden on the railroads.
Senator Evans read the law in re-
] TURN, SHOWING lldl lTOIII Ills SIduupOilAI
/ the bill was constitutional and sound
in every respect. Senators Alder,
Thomas and Robson all spoke in ia
vor of the. bill, and the report of the
committee was rejected. Those in favor
of the committees report were Sena-
| tors Bennion, Chambers, Howell, Kie-
| sci, Nebeker and Rideout-6, and those
| opposed Senators Alder, Evans, RObi-
son, Shurtliff, Tanner, Thomas and
Wright.
The substitute for house bill No. 81,
providing for branch agricultural col
lege in southern Utah, failed to pass.
Senator Tanner changed his vote and
gave notice of a motion to reconsider.
| When the senate convened in the
morning Senator Whitney introduced a
| resolution making a slight change in
the resolution that had already passed
relative to the payment of the money
| from the semi centennial jubilee to the
! Brigham Young Memorial association,
| in that 1925 is appropriated for badges
| to be given to members of the jubilee
commission, the money to be expended
| by q board composed of the governor,
| President Nebeker and Speaker Roy
| lance. The resolution went to the COM
mittee on appropriations
| After the first meeting of the joint
assembly the senate did not convene
again until O'clock. Then communi-
! cations We're received from the house
stating that that body had passed house
! bills Nos Ga and 102 and the substitute
| to house bill IA. The report Of the con-
! ference committee on senate bill No. 3
was then adopted.