Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-04-21
BROWNE ON
 HOWELL BILL Little Rock Telegraph Off eial Says Alex RoWell's Measure Will Be Most Unsatisfactory.
OFFICES WILL CLOSE
Will Not Insure Public Safety. He Says. But Will Result in tIH Abandonment of Night Telegraph Service at Many Points.

Perhaps no bill affecting the rail roads, and the public as well, has oc- casioned keener interest than the Alex H. Powell bill, passed by the House Friday, the provisions of which limit the service of railroad telegrapbers, dispatchers, etc., to eight consecutive hours daily.
 Speaking of the bill and it's poss- ble effects both on the employees and the public, J. C. Browne, general fore man of the telegraph department of the Iron Mountain at Lit tie Rock and generally rec OgniZed as one of the best authorities on telegraph matters con nected with the Missouri Pacific sys- tenn, said in an interview this morn ing that he believed the bill, if enact ed. would be most unsatisfactory in it's results.
 Upon the part of the public. says Mr Browne. the desire seems to be to obtain guarantee of perfect safe ty in service, while on the part of the employees the end seems to be to se- cure shorter working period at practically tbe same salary.
 Now careful analysis of the pro posed measure will indicate, it appears to me, that neither end will be sue cessfully accomplished; that neither the greater safety of the public will be secured nor will the operators be ultimately any better off, as to salary.
 There are about 362 telegraph of fees in the State. At 297 of these the operators handle train orders and com mercial messages, while the other 63 are straight railroad telegraph offices. About 9O3 operators are employed i'll caring for train orders, or are con- nected with the telegraph movement of trains If this proposed bill becomes a law, the travelling public will not have the protection it is now enjoying for the simple reason that number of telegraph offices will be closed and the movement of trains will be much more difficult. Every telegraph office that is closed adds an element of dan ger and delay in the handling of trains. Yet. that many offices will be closed is evident if the law is enforced without reference to local conditions
 Many offices are now maintained as dayaud night offices, where the reve- nue perhaps barely pays for the ser vice, yet, under the present system, the public has the advantage of the complete service. It would hardly be reasonable to suppose that the rail- road company would go to work and install three shifts of telegraph oper- ators at these small offices; even the public would not expect such d thing. The consequence will be the closing of tho office as broken service, that is, a service for only a few hours out of the day. would be entirely unsatis factory Only few train orders are handled at many of the offices, vet they come. Or may come, at all hours of the day or night. hence the neces- sity and convenience in maintaining a day and night service. There are in stances occasion of preventing disas- trous wrecks by the virtue of having an operator at the statio,l
 This much for the safety of the public AS for the employees, it is evident that every office closed lets the operator out of employment. Or. if an office can be found to possibly maintain the day and night service. under the eight-hour law, the tendency will certainly be to secure men as eco- nomically as possible, in view of the fact that the expense of maintaining the service has been greatly increased. Thus the individual operator will nat nrally receives less than formerly.
 "Besides. many offices where the complete service is now maintained have a salary set by agreement on the DaSlS that lHe OIlce IS tilus HidlH- tained. To break this schedule breaks the obligation, and would naturally tend to reduce the pay of the station agent.
 'So, viewing the matter in all fair ness, and from the light of experience, it strikes me that the law is unwise, and instead of securing the end appar- ently gained, it defeats it. The public safety would be less safeguarded and the operator would in many cases close the place Of his employment. The railroad telegraph service has been given the most careful attention. with