Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-07-31
RAILWAYS AND WRECKS.

Periodically through a disastrous
smash up the question of reasonable
safety against railway wrecks is dis
cussed, the cause of the disaster then
before the public being foremost
in the comment. But two articles
that have recently been published have
brought the question out again with
out any wreck in particular being en-
phaszed. One of these is the recent
ly published quarterly report of the In
terstate Commerce commission and
the other is the address of Chief. E.
E. Clark of the Order of Railway con-
ductors made before the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers and publish
ed this month in the official organ of
the conductors.
The commerce commission calls at
tention to wreck in which thirty-two
people were killed and which was caus-
ed by an overworked employee falling
asleep at his post by a telegraph in
strument, and explains that there is an
increase of wrecks with the assigned
cause of employees being overworked
as to hours. Mr. Clark in discussing
this same situation before the en-
2ineerS, says:
There is some talk of legislation
regarding the hours of labor of rail
way employees. 1t is pretty difficult
question to get at just right We had
our representative at Washington in
troduce measures authorizing the in
terstate department at Washington to
investigate, and when they found
that men were kept on duty beyond
reasonable hours to fix regulation.
This was met by some attorneys rep
resenting the railroad companies with
the proposition to make it a crime for
a railroad employe to remain on duty
beyond a certain number of hours
think 1t was done simply in the
hope Of defeating any legislation of
that kind. 1t presents an absurd sit
uation. Literally construed and lit
orally applied it would mean that
when crew had been on duty GER
tain number of hours, they should
stop and go off duty, no matter where
they were; and, having been on duty
the maximum number of hours, and
it being a crime for him to remain
longer on duty, it would be crime
for f1aglnan to go cut and protect
the train.
sition to enact law prohibiting rail
road companies from permitting or re-
curing railroad employees to remain on
duty longer than 16 hours, except in
the event of casualty to their train oc-
curing after they leave the initial ter
minus. have no doubt that measure
will be proposed, and of course our
ideas and wishes in regard to it will
be asked, and l will make free to sug-
gest that that is one Of the things that
is worthy of some consideration at the
hands of this convention. and that you
should, before you leave here lay down
in general terms the policy that youex-
pect your representative to follow in
that regard"
In mentioning the La Toilette bill,
relating to this question, the Sioux
City Tribune shouts, Treason of the
Senate but Mr.. Clark, who is leader
in name of one of the great organiza-
lions interested in the movement, and
a leader in fact of all of them, states
it only as "a pretty difficult question
to get at just right" and he cites the
fact that there was more than one
phase of it before the legislators. He
has been in the work Of securing legis-
lation for railway employees for good
number of years and has met with sue
cess, so he does not get excited and
condemn everybody that does not
come to his way of thinking In his
recent speech he talks hopefully and
like a man who was expecting to re-
ceive a reasonable portion of what he
proposes to ask for.