Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1900-08-30

means Il fine OF $500 for any railroad to
use cars ia interstate commerce which
require hand-coupling-$ for each
and every offense.
AS the law is national in its scope 1t
applies to all rolling stock operated be-
tween the different States. 1t would
be possible for IA road to operate the
Oltl-faShOned ears within the borders
of State having no automatic car
coupler law. 1t is said that 1t Is now
question of but a short time when
every State in the Union will have such
u law. and then the original crude way
of coupling cars will disappear forever
However, it is said that despite the
fact that it would he possible to opcr-
ate cars not equippd with the new de-
vice in some States the railroads Will
Epvt rtheless improve all Of their cars
with appliances at once. as 1t would be
mere trouble than it would ne worth
to tndeavOr to keep cars within the
limits of single State. The roads
entering Chicago own in the neighbor'
hood OF 100000 freight cars and 1t Is
asserted by railroad authorities that
over 80 per cent of these cars are al
ready equipped with the new coupling
contrivances rs required by law. These
roads own almost 1900 passenger cars.
but of course all or nearly all of the
passenger coaches in the country have
for years been fitted with appliances
for coupling which do not endanger life
or limb. From the platforms OF the
ears the man coupling them is enabled
TO accomplish the operation by levers
without exposing himself to accident.
Many of the roads have not a car
which is not supplied with automatic
coupling attachments. Others have
from a few hundred up to Il couple OF
thousand cars not yet fitted with the
safety devices. In recently published
statistics the Baltimore and Ohio road
was said to have 2.G62 which had not
yet been supplied. This was a greater
number of cars without the modern
appliance than was charged to any 9th
er road entering Chicago. The Balti-
more and Ohio officials Indignantly
deny the allegation and assert that all
their freight cars now have the auto
matte couplers. Although some au-
thoritles make the modest estimate Of
80 per cent of cars as the number legal
ly equipped. there are others who say
that scarcely more than one car in 100
can be found which is not supplied
with the up-to-date brake.
The law was enacted by Congress in
nd tn, int
effect on Jan. l, 1898. Reasons given
by the railroads that equipment of all
the cars in the United States within
the time allotted was impossible result
ed in an extension of time to Jan. /,
1850. Subsequently the time was eX-
tended to Aug. l. The extension of
time was granted on condition that the
roads Immediately begin to equip their
cars. In June. 1893. four months after
the enactment of the law, there We're
1,O47.577 freight cars reported as
owned, of which 300. $50. or % per cent.
were equipped. In December. 1897,
the percentage of cars equipped was
80. ON Dec. /. 1893. the percentage
mad increased to Il. The statistics for
last July are that there are 1,25O.SOS
freight cars owned in the United
States: that 1.137.299. or 81 per cent,
are equipped with automatic couplers.
Expense IL Enormous.
1t is estimated that the railroads
have expended in the neighborhood of
SaO,Oo0WO in equipping their cars with
the automatic car couplers and with
air brakes. which are also required by
the same law. The equipping of each
car cost on an average $40, 500 for the
air brake and $50 for the coupler. All
of the roads are of the opinion that this
great expense will be more than com
pensated for by the great decrease in
the number of deaths and injuries
which formerly resulted from the acct
dents caused by the lack of these mod
crn inventions. In 1898 the number OF
accidents resulting from coupling cars
by the old-fashioned coupling pin sys-
tenn was one injured in every fifty-sev-
en- trainmen employed and one killed
in ovarv 1SO Tho niirnnSp of the law