Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1908-07-22
SANTA FEE ROAD ON
 TRIAL IN U. s. COURT
Grom Thursdays Daily)

There was a contest for a principle in the United States district court yes terday, tho question at issue being | solely whether the law should be up held regarding safety appliances on | railroads, which was designed for the protection of human life or whether the railroad should hold in contempt | and defiance the law prescribed by the congress of the United States. The Santa Fe road is charged under the ease at issue with violating the law on | fifteen counts. The evidence, as pro. duced yesterday in the United States district court, appeared very clear against the defendant corporations; in
 fact, the defendant through it attor-
 ney. Paul Burks, offered at one time to plead guilty to one of the counts, but
 in the next minute changed its mind. | The government was represented by United States District Attorney J. l.. E. Alexander.
 l The first witness If the government
 was James A. Lawson. He is the gov. ernment inspector in the employ of the
 Interstate Commerce Commission, prior to which time he was employed in the
 railroad service. for twelve years as a
 brakeman and switchman. On August
 20, 1907, he in company with Henry | Kurtz. another government inspector
 in the employ of the Interstate Com.
 merce Commission, examined a number
 of cars at Seligman, Arizona, which is a divison point and repair point for
 the Santa Fe railroad. Lawson made
 two examinations, according to his
 sworn testimony, of a number of cars
 which had defective couplings-so de-
 fective, in fact, that it was absolutely
 impossible for the ears to be uncoupled
 without a man going between the con.
 nected cars and personally making the
 uncoupling which, if the law had been
 complied with, could have been done
 automatically.
 On the 30th of August, Lawson and
 Kurtz went to Winslow, another di.
 vision and repair point, and there dis
 covered, after personal and thorough
 examination, that the company was
 violating the law in operating ears
 with defective safety appliances.
 Inspector Lawson made copious
 notes of his inspection at both places
 and in relating his testimony to the
 jury, he not only gave the number of
 the ear, the number of the engine, but
 also minor details as regards the par. ticular defects of the alleged safety
 appliances which he and his associate,
 Kurtz. examined. These inspectors
 not only made an examination of the
 cars on the sidetraeks at : o'clock in
 the morning, but later on at 7:45 clock they made onther and corrobo-
 ratory examination when the ears were standing on the main line. In one case
 there was car which not only was
 lacking draught timbers, coupling de vice and coupling pin, but was connect . ed with the adjoining car with a neavy wrecking chain. The lay re. |, quires that the drawbar should be thirty-one and a half inches above the level of the track, but Inspectors Law [ son and Kurtz found several cars in p which the drawbars were only twenty nine inches above the track level. Law son s testimony was clear, intelligent and convincing, and when he wal 2 placed under cross examination by Mir . Burks, he never slipped a cog.
 Burks, the attorney of the Santa F' ' railroad. is recognized as one of tn, | cleverest and snrewdcst attorneys al n the local bar, but when he undertool , to tangle up Lawson he became hope lcssly involved. Lawson spoke o "slack.up' of train and Burk '' thought that he referred to a condition Il when the train was under tension !. when the reverse was just the ease
 This chap Lawson evidently had no been in the railroad business fo q twelve years without learning some d tning. He spoke of draught blocks n clevices, lift chains, carrying bars an
 the like, with a familiarity that at
 solutely amazed and mystifed the gs O nial Burks, notwithstanding the fac B. that the latter was being coached b o one of the head mechanics of the raj " V road. After awhile Burks gave up i u despair his attempt to confuse the gov d ernment inspector, and the jury appal d ently only smiled at his efforts to CT .d tanglc the testimony of man wh
 evidently understands the railroad bui e mess from \ to 7.
 s. Then the government put on Kurt Id as its witness, who was with Lawso
 at the time of the inspection of th 's ears both at Seligman and at Winsloy i' and he was under examination whe
 the case adjourned at . o'clock mt Q. 9:30 o'clock this morning.
 The crux of the proposition is whetl ~ CT or not the law ~nould be upheld. ne the automatic appliances prescribed h ld the federal statute are in good worl s ing order they will operate autOmat :, cally without man going between tt ears, and endangering his life to n at couple the same. That is the whole i at tent and purpose of the law-to pr m tect the lives of the brakemen in Il
 pursuit of. their vocation. If the a ss pliances are not in good working ord of it is necessary for n brakeman to .
 ter between two moving ears and ri'
 his life in order to unc0uple the sam
 IL remains to be seen what a jury northern Arizona thinks about q IN proDosition