The age-herald., 1901-09-05
COUNCIL WILL
 LOOK INTO CAR
 FENDER MATTER
Will Not Take Action Till lnves- tlgation Has Been
 Made
PRESIDENT JEMlSON HEARD
Appears Before the commIttee and Afterwards Addresses the Citizens Meetine-Promises to Provide
 the Best Protection Possible.

The city council will not take any steps at present to force the Railway, Light and Power Company to equip it's cars with lenders. Robert Jemison, president of the company, was before the miscella- neous committee of the council yesterday afternoon and 1t was decided to go further into the practicability of the fender as a life preserver before taking action.
 The committee will send letters to the mayors of leading cities asking for in formation as to the success of the fender as protection to life. At the same time MT. Jemison will write to two hundred or more street railway companies re- questing the benefit of their experiences and advice. Some understanding will be reached when this information is at hand.
 Company Wants Protection.
 MT. Jemison told the committee that the company was just as anxious to provide protection for life as any citizen could possibly be- They had investigated the fender question and had been informed that it was more of a menace to life than a protection. If the fender is a good thing the company will provide them at once, and 1t will do so in any event if the council so orders.
 The committee of which Alderman Geo. [ ie ol.a Il Gil report to the council last night;
 "The committee having had a confer ence with officials of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power Company in regard to equipping It's cars with lenders for the better protection of life, report:
 That the Light and Power Company states that 1t desires to cooperate with the board to the fullest extent in devising plans that will give the greatest satis- faction and safety to the people; that the amount of money involved and expense incurred in finding a. solution and furnish ing further safeguards has no bearing on the question as far as 1t is concerned; that 1t Is prepared to follow whatever in- structions and regulations the board may see fit to make, and only ask that the matter be handled carefully, with time for full investigation so that no mistake be made on its final disposal.
 otiii dH Opcn GucSIiou,
 "The committee further reports that in- asmuch as street car systems in many cities of the United States have from time to time adopted these appliances, and then by request of the people some of said cities have withdrawn them from use. owing to increased number of acci- dents, the question of their advantage or disadvantage seems an open one
 Therefore the committee asks that 1t given O or that a special committee be appointed to take the matter up and report back as early as possible"
 A meeting of citizens held in the office of W. c. Garrett, register in chancery, at the court house came to a similar con- clusion. MT. Jemison made the same statement to this assembly and the meet ing adjourned with vote of confidence that Mir. Jemison and the company will provide protection without being com pelled to do so by the board of aldermen.
 Report DereIect Motormen.
 During the meeting several gentlemen said that cars were run in different parts of town at a dangerous rate of speed, especially in Eleventh avenue. A resolu- ton was passed asking all citizens noticing such dereliction of duty to report 1t to the company with number of the offending motorman.
 There were probably twenty-five prom inept business men at the meeting in re- sponse to the call of E. P. Quigley, W. c. Garrett and R. P. Wetmore The oues- ton was thoroughly discussed, and Mir 'Jemison's statement heard.
 MT. Jemison was asked If 1t was not customary for cars to stop at the inter section of streets. He said that 1t was and when a motorman was caught vio- lating the rule he was suspended. He added that the company had killed fewer people and had had fewer accidents than any company in the country carrying the same number of passengers. He spoke of the difficulty of getting men to remain in the street car service. saying that they had only 20 per cent of the men they had three years ago, while Nashville had 80 per cent of the men they had eight years ago.
 Pay Better Wages.
 The company here. he said, paid better wages than any company in the south outside of New Orleans. The reason men could not be kept here was because jobs were easily obtained and they quit when an attempt was made to discipline them.
 In answer to a question Mir. Jemison said that the cars were not allowed to run over twelve miles an hour in the city limits and that there was not car in the service that could make over eighteen miles an hour on level ground. Hardly six miles an hour was averaged in the fire limits.
 The question of eauippins the cars with