Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-14
MEASURE is
WELL LIKED
LIABILITY BILL INTRODUCED IN
BOTH HOUSES
HAS ENDORSEMENT OF RAILWAY
ORGANIZATIONS
Is Intended to Meet Supreme Court
Decision Which Declared Preced-
ing Act of June, 1906, to Be
Unconstitutional
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, Feb. ia compre-
hensfve employers liability bill was
introduced in the senate and house to-
day by Senator Lafolette of Wiscon-
sin and Representative Sterling of
Illinois.
The authors say the bill has the in
dorsement of the Brotherhood of Lo-
comotive Engineers, Brotherhood of
Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen
and Brotherhood of Railroad Train
men, and is intended to meet the re-
cent decision of the supreme court by
which the employers liability act of
June II, 1906, was declared unconsti-
| tutional.
Every common carrier while engaged
in interstate or foreign commerce. or
commerce between the possessions of
the United States, is made liable to its
employees who are injured while en-
ployed in such commerce, when such
injuries are due to the negligence or
mismanagement of any officer or en-
ploye of such carrier, or when due to
defects or insufficiencies in equipment
| This provision is made equally appli-
cable to carriers in the territories, the
| District of Columbia and the Panama
canal zone. and carriers engaged in
the transportation of the United States
mails.
Doctrine II Recognizes
The bill recognizes the doctrine of
comparative negligence as it is now
recognized in the states of Wisconsin.
| North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada,
| Georgia, Florida, etc, and in the act of
congress, which was declared uncon~
stitutional.
1t permits an employe to recover
damages if he has been guilty of con-
tributory neglect, but says the jury
shall diminish the damages in accord
ance with the amount of negligence
| they may find attributable to such em-
ployers.
/ 1t provides also that an injured en-
ploye shall not be held to be guilty Of
contributory negligence in any case
where the violation of law by the car
rier contributed to such injury; also
that questions of fact relating to negli-
gence shall be for the jury to deter
mine
In the event of a verdict in favor OF
the employe, it is required that the
court shall allow as part of the costs a
reasonable attorneys feet, not exceed
ing an amount equal to % per cent of
the Judgment recovered, and an addi-
tional fee equal to per cent of the
,amount 4.nally recovered for each ap-
peal.
Penalties Provided
1t is made a misdemeanor, punish
able by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or
Imprisonment not to exceed six months
for an attorney to exact or receive any
fee or compensation other than or ad-
ditional to the amounts so allowed by
the courts.
An injured employe shall not be held
to have assumed the risk of his en-
ployment in any case where the VIOLA
tion of law by the carrier contributed
to such injury.
One section of the bill specially
makes void any contract, rule or de-
vice, whatsoever, the purpose of which
| is to exempt the carrier from ] -bility
under the act. The statute of limita-
tions within which suit can be brought
| is fixed at three years.
/ Receivers of common carriers are
made equally liable to their employees
as are the common carriers. The final
section protects suits which have been
brought in the territories, the District
of Columbia under the act of June IL,
1906, it being contended by the en-
ployers that that act is still intact in
those jurisdictions.