Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-03-22
CRASH STIRS men
COLORADO WRECK REEVES IN
TEREsT,tN THE OPERATING
EMPLOYEES HOURS
Case Of Operator Of Denver and Rio
Grande Road, Who Slept at His Post
Is Made Basis Of Discussion BY
Prominent Railroad Men.

Is Made Basis Of Discussion Byl
Prominent Railroad Men.
The Denver & Rio Grande wreck,
which is said to have been caused by
an over-worked telegraph operator 60
ing to Sleep, has again aroused inter
est In the question of the hours of la
Dor for operating employees Of rail
roads. In answer to the question,
do the railroads, as rule, work
their men excessively long hours, and
are wrecks frequently due to fatigue
caused by overwork?" leading au-
thority yesterday said:
1t Is undoubtedly true that railroad
operating employees do frequently
work overtime and are at times SUBJ
jected to mental and physical strain
which impair their faculties for the
time being. In this respect they differ
in nowise from employees of other cor
porations, but when the railroad en-
ploye's faculties are dimmed disaster
is likely to follow.
Every reasoning man knows this,
SO it may be assumed that, in the alb
stract, railroad officials are DESTROYS
of having fresh men to operate their
trains and are also striving to prevent
overworking of their men. That 1t
has, thus far, been impossible to Grad
icate overwork, and therefore, to Grad
icate wrecks with are caused by over
work, is admitted by railroad execu-
tives.
Hard to Fix Liability.
tUn,, tI,o ,@ho. 1000 ;e
ingly difficult to determine whether a
wreck is due to negligence, which in
turn is due to overwork. Naturally,
when disaster occurs and the blame
is attached to an operating employe
or to train crew, and 1t so hoppens
that more than the prescribed hours
of labor without rest have been under
gone by the man or men to whom
blame attaches, they ascribe 1t to
oyerwork. Investigation, however.
sometimes disclosess the fact that the
overworked employee has not taken
care of himself during his prescribed
hours of rest.
"In general it can be said that,
urged by dictates of humanity, by f.
nancial economy, by state legislation
and by the criticisms Of the press, the
railroad arrangements have striven
and are striving to minimize the hours
of labor without rest. With some ex-
ceptions, perhaps, railroad manage
ments feel they hare the matter now
| In hand to such an extent that the
danger of wrecks occurring on &C
| count Of overworked employees Is min
4 imized about as much as Is possible
| f. A. Delano. president Of the Wa
bash road, summarizes the question II
this way:
| Railroad employees In certain i'm
| portant operating positions, for exam
pie enginemen on locomotives, train
men handling freight trains, operators
at stations, are occasionally required
to work longer than the prescribed
hours, but great progress has been
made by railroad companies In the last
twenty years in limiting the hours o.
work. Railroad men who got their ex
perience forty years ago can tell plen
| ty of stories of exceptional hours o.
service, under trying conditions, which
they had to put in, and in spite Of the
very best plans, enginemen and train
4 men on duty are sometimes, through
/ accidents to their trains or to the
track. or on account of serious storms
|laid out between division points Ions
beyond the scheduled time.
4 "On we'll managed railroads in busy
times 5 to 10 per cent of overtime fol
enginemen and trainmen is not very
! uncommon, but even this is an expen
sive luxury for the railroad compan.
and is avoided as much as possible.
"On board ships, ship captains, pi
4 lots and engineers are very frequentl.
h kept on duty long hours; in, othel
4 words, storm or fog or breakdown
may require men to be on duty con
tinuously up to forty-eight or even six
4 ty hours. On railroads such expert
] ences are relatively few, and excep
. on frontier lines are obviously becom
ing fewer. On all the older trunk line'
of the country they are getting better
equipped every day. A man. who has
\ had proper rest and who has takel
proper care of himself can stand coca
sional strains of long hours Of duty
whereas man who habitually take
too little rest or whose habits are no
of the best is incapable Of taking sucl
strains.
Engineers on fast mail and fas
passenger trains are on duty frequent
lily only five or six hours every othe
day. Obviously, it is very inportan
4 that they should take pretty good car,
i of themselves In the long interim /
i they are to keep themselves in thu
best shape mentally and physically"
I Tells Of Operators Hours.
i W. A. Gardner, vice president Of tn
Northwestern road, says:
"The hours of telegraph operator
on railways are diversified, and are TO
\ the most part dependent upon tn
quality and quantity Of the servic
} that is necessary. They are divide'
: into eight, ten and twelve hour pei
! iods. The use Of telegraphy on raj
ways is not the fundamental basis o
. safety or regularity. Rules and regu
Ilations to insure these two prime fac
tors are printed along with the tim
cards or time schedules, and if Their
,uora M nneratrrs or fa1apran |ic ca,