East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-01-30
THE SENATE DID NOT
HAZE La TOILETTE.

The following graphic review of
Senator la Follette's fight for bill
reducing the hours of labor on rail-
roads is taken from Golfers Weekly:
The alleged combination to haze"
Senator La Toilette was itself unmer-
cifully hazed in the present session
of congress. In the last session of
congress Mir. Ia Toilette introduced
a bi!l 10 Protect the public from ac-
| cidorts by limiting the hours Of labor
OF railroad employees. The majority
! of tho senators lid not want to pass
/ il, but at the same time they felt a
| ielicaCy dlotu sluarely opposing It.
| They pleaded for delay. II was a
very important measure-senGtors
ought 70 have time to give it thought
! ful consideration, so that 1t could be
passed in perfect form. Mr.. La Fol-
lette was patient.
The days ran on until the end OF
the session was at hand. II was plain
/ " impossible 10 crowd the bill
through in those fleeting minutes
| senators regretted the situation but
such was life.
Thon a startling discovery was
made. Almost every senator in the
/ terestei in some appropriation in the
| public buildings bill, and when that
hill came along Mr.. La Toilette was
| standing on the track with a red Ian
tern. He was very sorry. but II the
| time was too short to pass the hours
| Of labor bill, he feared it was too
shor; to pass the public buildings bill.
| The senators Capitulated and agreed
/ by unanim oUs cCnseHt that, II La Fol-
| lette would let them have the post
| offices and custom houses for which
their constituents We're pining, they
would make the hours of labor bill
| the unfinished business in the next
! session and take a vote on 1t upon
the 10th Of January.
Every day this session La Toilette
/ has been on hand at o'clock to
stand guard over that agreement and
keep the bill from being dropped in
his absence into the unfathomable
I depths of the calendar. At last the
| day for the vote approached. Sena-
tors who had let weeks pass without
mantfesting any desire to discuss the
| subject, began again to deplore the
unseemly haste with which they were
| expected TO act. Toward the end a
real debate sprang up. Manufactur-
/ ed memorials against the bill from
unions and individual railroad en-
| ployes who wanted to work more
than II hours 4 day were poured in
20 the senate.
Mr.. La Toilette furnished evidence
showing that most of the alleged OPP
| position to the bill on the part of
employees had been directly inspired
| by the companies. He then produced
and had printed in the Congressional
Record a really appalling list OF ac-
cidents caused by overworked and
| exhausted trainmen.
An engineer who had been on
duty for i3 hours used poor judg-
ment" in stopping on a curve-aston-
ishing lapse for such a fresh mind as
his must have been-and there was
4 collision. In another collision the
train was mot under control" after
the crew had been only AZ hours on
duty. In another case a signalmau
went back to flag and fell asleep.
Only one man KILLED, luckily. \ con-
ductor and engineer who had been
on duty for 80 hours forgot to pro-
tect the roar of their train with a
flag. Collision. Another collision oc-
cured while the engineer was asleep
after As hours of service following six
hours of rest. Twenty-one such acci-
dents occurred after the adjournment
/ Of the last session of congress. and 81
have no doubt" said Mr.. la Toilette
"tnat at least 90 of the q accidents
I would have been averted had the bill
( which is pending today been enacted
, at the last session of congress anc
the hours of Limitation upon service
enforced"
When the time came to vote upor
( the amendments a majority of th'
a senators voted to cripple the bill
wherever they could do it without {
record, and turned the other way OF
i almost every question in which th'
f yeas and nays were put down II
e black and white. The chief test cam
= when Mr.. La Toilette moved to strik
out the whole mutilated bill and in
y sert a short and consistent substi
II tute.
After the adoption of the substitut
the railroad contingent ceased t
fight The ancient Pettus of Alabam
was left waving his state rights fla
q alone, and on the passage of the bi
:, as amended all the rest of the senator
n present, 10 strong, ranged themselve
:, under the banner of the hazed an
ostracized La Toilette.
= The bill as passed forbids any EN-
a ploye on a train carrying interstat
or foreign freight or passengers
n remain on duty more than 16 consec
utive hours, unless in specified exceI
70 ticnal cases, or to go on duty afte
A 16 consecutive hours service withot
having had at least 10 hours off dut.
~ or to work more than 16 hours in th
aggregate within any period OF
4 hours. Violations of the law on tn
y, part of any common carrier or Il
% officers are made punishable by fir
II of not less than 500 or more tina
l