The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-14
EMPLOYERS'
 LIABILITY Bill Introduced in House
 and Senate. ENDORSED BY LABOR UNIONS Courts Are to Allow Fees For
 Attorneys. Measure is intended to Meet Decisiea of the Supreme Court in which Fer- mer Law Was Declared To Be
 Unconstitutional.

Washington. Feb. 13--A comprehens- i've employers liability bill was intro- duced in the Senate and House today Representative Sterling, of Illinois. The authors say the bill has the en- dorsement of the Brotherhood of Lo- comotive Engineers, Brotherhood of Locomotive Bremen and Enginemen. Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. and is intended to meet the recent decision of the Supreme Court in which the employers liability act of June Il, 1906 was declared unconstitutional.
 Every common carrier while engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. or commerce between the possessions of the United States, is made liable to It's employees who are injured while em- ployed in such commerce, when such injuries are due to the negligence or mismanagement of any officer or em- ploye of such carrier, or when due to defects or insufiictencies of equipment. This provision Is made equally applic- able 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. ~
 The bill recognizes the doctrine of "comparative negligence as Is now recognised in the States of Wisconsin south Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada. Geor- ria and Florida, and in the act of Congress which was declared unccn- stitutionai. It permits an employe to recover damages if he has been guilty of eontributory negligence. but says the fury. shall diminish the damages in accordance with the amount of neg iigence they may find is attributable 70 such employe. empIove shall not be held to bee guilty of contributory negligence in any case where the violation of law by the car rfer contributed to such Injury also that questions of fact relating to neg iisence shall be for the jury to dster- mina.
 Tn the suant of q verdict h favor of the empleyes it is required that tne cSairt shan allow as part of the costs. \ reaaouable attorneys fee not eK- ceeding an amount equal to twenty five percent of judgment recognized and an additional fee equal to five per cent of the amount finally recovered for each appeal It is made mis- demeanor punishable by a fine not ex- ceeding one thousand dollars or nm prisonment not to exced six months for an attorney to exact or receive any fee or conipensation other than or ad- ditional to the amounts so allowed by the courts An injured employe .shah not be held to have assumed the FISK of his employment in any case where the, violation of law by the carrier con tributed to such injury. One section of the bill specifically makes void any contract, rule or any device whatso- ever, the purpose of which Is to ex- empt the carrier from liability under the act. The statute of limitations within which suits 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 fina! section protects suits which have been brought in the territories and the District of Columbia under the act of June II, 1908. it being contended by the employees that the act is still in those jurisdictions.