The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-05-07
CALDWELL ENTERS
FOR The U. S.SH
w. E. Glasscock
SUMS UP THE FuIMER CASE IN a
MANNER THAT IS VERY IN
TERESTING.


NorSantown & KnSwood Railroad
Company and the Fulmer Coal Com
pany. has been settled by submitting
all the matters in controversy to Judge
Dayton as arbitrator, and he has rem
dered his award The name OF Sena-
tor Elkins has been frequently men
toned in connection with the case w
E Glasscock. of this city. being asked
for a statement which would set forth
the facts, said:
Senator Elikns was not party TO
the suit in any way He is not now,
and never was an officer Of the Nor
santown & KnSwood Railroad Com
pany. In fact, he owns only one share
OF the stock OF the company The road
belongs to his sons
The charge has been made that the
Morgantown & KinSwood railroad
would not give cars to the A c. Full
mer Coal Company,and that in order
to avoid doing so it abandoned and
took up its switch or branch from its
line to the Fulmer mine. The testi-
nony in the case shows that cars
We're given TO the Fulmer COMPANY
as long as the branch road was oper-
ated. and the Baltimore & Ohio fur
nished the MorSantown & KnEwood
railroad with cars: that the company
finding that it was unsafe and un-
profitable to operate the spur or
branch to the Fulmer mine. which was
one and seven-eiShths. miles long. and
which was purchased as private
road from Mr. Stursiss. concluded TO
abandon the branch or spur.
1T was testified 10 in the hearing
that the grade was about Ave per cent.
that, II was, dangerous to operate the
spur and. that the officers OF the road,
and the men. warned the management
that they did not want TO risk their
lives in taking cars to the mine This
led to the passage OF the resolution
by the stockholders to abandon the
switch or branch A number of suits
followed this decision before the
whole matter was submitted to arbi-
tration.
IF the officers of the road had op-
Grated it after notice from the general
manager and the employees and death
had resulted they could have been In
dicted for manslauEhter and could not
have escaped conviction
Besides. under the law. the COM
pany clearly had the right to abandon
the branch or switch. The findings
OF Judge Dayton as arbitrator exon
Grated the officers of the MorSantowr
& Kingwool railroad from any blame
or wrong in abandoning the track
Mr.. Glasscock referred to the me
morandum fled by Judge Dayton with
his award. from which the following
extracts are quoted:
1T is to be remembered that this
contract was made under a former
ownership and management OF the rail-
road company; in fact. by single
Individual owning it substantially. and
he had the strongest personal inter-
ests to conserve
However. it seems clear that when
this spur was built it was done most
abominably: that its grades are near
ly prohibitive reaching four and five
degrees in places. and experts state
that in order TO be shipped over in
safety they should be operated by cleo
tric motors. and not by steam locomo-
tives. The present management and
ownership must now stand responsible
even to answering, II might be. as
officials to criminal prosecution in
case of disaster for operating piece
of road conceded by themselves and