The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-10
and their telegraph system in the hands

and their telegraph system in the hands of three men.
 He contended that 1t would add pow CT to the unions and while he was not opposed to unions. he was opposed to passing any bill that would give them a chance to tie up any system. The passage of the bill. he said. would put the responsibility of running railroads where 1t did not belong.
 MT. Pitts, of Perry, said he had pre- pared. bill on the same subject but he had been convinced that railroads should be let alone in the matter of hiring their telegraph operators. They knew much more about 1t than did the members of the Legislature.
 '"TheJ have thousands of dollars of property at stake" he said. They are responsible for the lives of their pas sengers and say that when you att tempt to dictate to them who they shall hire, what rules shall govern the eln- ployment of telegraph operators, you are going too far; you are inviting on yourselves the responsibility for any accident that may occur; you are in- viting the responsibility for the man. agement of all schedules. In my opin- ion the railroads know more about this question than we do and they should be let alone"
 Mir. McCrory of Conecuh said he had talked with a number of operators who were skilled men. These men, he said, were absolutely opposed to this bill. arguing that it would not help them nor insure accuracy in the transmits sion of dispatches. The bill, he said, was dangerous and called for respon- sibility on the part of the Legislature it should hesitate to take. Union vs. Safety of Public.
 
 Mir. Sherrod of Lawrence bade the question an issue as between the teleg- raphers' union and the safety of the public. He was not interested in any union, he said, but was looking after the safety of the people of Alabama. The law, he believed would add safe guards to the qualifications of dis patchers: it would insure that compe- tent men would handle the telegraph keys and he believed that any law which looked to the safety of the public was better worth considering than any question: as to whether the Legislature was Infringing on -he rights of the railroads in the employ ment of their operators.
 This bill says thai examiners shall examine applicants" he said. Tt has been suggested that the railroad peo- pie are the proper people to examine applicants, but I submit that the real interest here is the interest of our lives and that of our wives and chill dren."
 MT. Pitts of Dallas wanted to know whether the railroads are not respon- sible for any accident that occurred, and In reply, MT. Sherrod asked him whether that would compensate him for the loss of any member of his fam fly. Would Promote Strikes. Taking up the strike feature of the controversy. MT. Foster of Tuscaloosa argued that restriction of the number of men who would operate the tele- 1 graph key, by reason of an examina- tion before a commission, would only | increase this difficulty. He could sec he said, when the passage of the oill would aid materially in tying up rail- | roads. and would interfere with the transportation of people.
 Men who operate the keys. he said "are not made by examinations. Ii takes little education to teach q man | the Morse code, but 1t requires some' thing more than that; 1t requires a man of some intelligence, judgement and stability to hold the important positions that railroads have to give l them"
 The bill was tabled.
 A resolution was offered on the death | of the late Speaker, W. L. Martin. and l Thursday evening at o'clock was set | as an hour at which memorial exer- cises should be held.