The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-07-31
IS DONE WITH It,
j. 1. Sheppard Wouldn't Go on
Inspection Trip.
Trackmen No Longer a Party to
the Farce.
HE WRITES A LETTER
Sharply Criticises Position Of
Chairman Kanavel.
Prevented Action When Com
Prevented Action When Com
missioner Urged Order.

Kansas was resumed by the state
board of railroad commissioners, but
j. L. Sheppard and the representatives
OF the trackmen's union did not ac-
company the party. Mr.. Sheppard, in
a letter to Geo. w. Kanavel, says that
1t is waste of time for the trackmen
to try to help the railroad board,
when the board refuses to take any
action such as Mr.. Sheppard deems
necessary.
Chairman Kanavel did not accom-
pany the other commissioners because
OF the fact that he desires to attend
the funeral of his fellow townsman,
Justice A. L. Greene. He may join
the inspection party later.
E. a. Gould, the general superin-
tendent of the Gould lines in this sec
ton of the country arrived in Topeka
Tuesday evening, and accompanied
the inspection party when it left here
this morning. G. F. Grattan, attorney
for the board, and w. L. A Johnson
state labor commissioner, were in the
party.
The party was pushed out of To-
peka in an inspection car ahead of
the engine, the same way in which the
track was inspected in the recent trip
over the main line. The train will go
first to Fort Scott, and thence to
Wichita. 1t is thought that all of the
remaining Missouri Pacific lines in
Kansas can be inspected by the end of
the week.
The following is the letter sent by ].
I. Sheppard to Chairman Kanavel,
declining TO accompany the board on
its inspection trip.
Dear Sir:-Last "Wednesday, at the
meeting of your board in the city of
Topeka, I was Informed by you that
you would continue to inspect the Mis-
souri, Pacific Railway company's tracks,
beginning at Topeka, July 81. You re-
Quested me to accompany the board
with our experts, as on the former in
spection trip. 1 indicated to you that
We probably would not do SO. Since
lat time, you sent me notice through
your secretary as to where and when
we should meet you. The officers of the
National Union of Railway Trackmen,
after having fully considered the action
of your board, so far as the same re-
lates to inspection of railway track
made under our complaint, instruct me
to notify you that we will take no fur
ther part with you in this inspection.
They have determined that it would be
a waste of time to have our trackmen
accompany you and point out danger
GUS conditions which exist on the un-
inspected portion of this company's rail-
way tracks in our state. In the COM
plant we filed in your office, it was
charged, that the Missouri Pacific Rail-
way company in Kansas is operating
its trains over tracks tnat are unSafe
for the transportation of passen gers.
ard that tt tere is constant danger of
wrecks and serious loss of life, OCCASION
ed by the operation of trains over these
tracks, Your board and our represen-
tatfves inspected this company's main
l.ne in Kar sas from Colorado to Mis-
souri, The conditions we found are
best explained by a sentence contained
ir q letter which you wrote me on the
next day after The inspection was con-
cluded You wrote, We found condi-
tions very much worse than represent
ed in the complaint This you wrote
on the 11th inst. On that day you were
starting somewhere cast for trip. You
returned to Kansas on the oath inst.
All of the time that elapsed from the
18th to the oath inst, the railway COM
pany was endangering the lives of its
employees and the passengers it car
ried over the tracks that you found
to be extremely unsafe
ION the oath inst, at meeting or
the board in Topeka, we urged you
to make an order requiring the Mis-
souri, Pacific to put its tracks in safe
condition, and to make a reasona Bile
limit to the speed of it's trains while
Ryan, a member of the board, Joined
with us in urging an. order at that
time on the railway company. Know
ing the conditions as you did, yet you
sided with Mr.. Ryker, the third mem
ber of the board, and refused abso-
Iutely to do anything. What influence
ed you, I do not know. Something
must, undoubtedly, have had great
weight with you In causing you to
take the stand you did. Your attor-
ney, Mr.. Grattan, advised the board
that if they made an order, it should
be made secretly, SO that the public
might not know what condition you
found this company's railway tracks
in This, evidently, met with your ap-
Droval What a monstrous PROPOSE
tioni You. and your associates, repre-
senting the people of Kansas, keeping
railway tracks in their state are dan
gerous to the lives of those who travel
over them! This may be your idea of
what constitutes official duty, but we
venture the assertion that nobody else
will agree with you, except your at
torney your associate, Mr. Ryker, and
the Missouri Pacific Railway COM
pany 1t does not seem possible that
any man would be willing to allow
the engineers, f1remen, brakemen.
conductors and railway mail clerks,
not to say anything of the public gen.
erally to risk their lives travelling ov-
er this road in order that criminal
Iy negligent company may continue to
get money from the people for the
miserable service they PERFORM Be
lieving as we do, that you are tied
hand and foot and that you dare not
make such an order as your oath re-
ouires. we decline to further accom-
pany you. We will not longer be a
party to this farce. The company Of
ficials will take you in their special
train, entertain you royalty, and all
they will ask in return is that you
still continue to shield them at the
risk of the lives of innocent people.
When you have completed your trip.
we will follow over all the territory