Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-09-27
INVESTIGATION SHOWS STATUTE
APPLIES TO ONLY A FEW
LARGE STREET CARS.
LEGISLATURES EFFORTS
ARE MADE INEFFECTIVE
Numerous Street Car Accidents Bring
Attention to Inadequacy of Recent
Act Of State Law Makers-An Apoi-
osy for Des Mcines' Way of Doing
Things.
Special to Times-Republican.

Des Moines, Sept. 81. Frightful
street car accidents in Des Moines that
have resulted in the loss of lives have
caused the city officials here to in
vestigate the law as to air brakes. 1t
is discovered that the last legisla turc
enacted some laws intended to make it
possible for city officials to require air
brakes on street cars. Now it is dis
covered that either there is the pro-
verbal "joker' in the law that gets
irto so much legislation that affects
legislators made a bad mistake.
The fact is there are not more than
a half dozen street cars in the state
to which the law applies. The law pro-
vides that city councils can require air
brakes on cars of d certain descrip
ton as to capacity. length and the like.
But there are but a few street cars
used in this state that are of that de-
scrption and hence the law is practi-
cally worthless.
Next session of the legislature there
will be an amendment proposed or else
an entirely new law proposed that Will
make it possible to require air brakes
on all street cars of whatever desert D
ton and then possibly some of the bad
accidents of the state may be averted.
The last street car accident in this city
in which a Perry interurban collided
with a street car on the Highland Park
bridge it is believed could easily have
te1 6a1 al oly,ae
on the street car. The accident on First
street during state fair week when a
Rock Island train crashed into a street
car possibly could have been aver.ed
tho there is some question whether air
brakes would have helped in that acct
dent. The matter is one in which not
only Des Moines is interested but oil
! cities where there are street cars as
accidents have occurred elsewhere in
the state as we'll.
The Dies Moines street car system
has long since been outgrown by the
town. Ii did very we'll when Des Mones
was a city of $4,000 but does not sup
ply city of 100000. 1t is generally be-
lieved that sooner or later the system
is TO change hands. Congressman Nc
Kinley of Illinois practically admitted
/ while he was here that he had bought
| it and his attorney over in Illinois gave
it over the long distance telephone that
1 the system had been bought. What
ever the truth of that it has not
changed hands at any rate.
Des Moines business men are aroused
to the fact that unless something is
done to better transportation facilities
/ here Des Moines will suffer This city
being centrally located is an ideal place
4 for conventions and big gatherings ana
annually the state fair is held here.
! For seven years the crowds in attend
ance at the state fair have beeI so
large that the street car facilities have
] not been half sufficient to handle the
4 crowds even with the Rock Island rail-
road carrying a big per cent of the
people to and from the grounds. Tn
doubtedly many more would go by the
Rock Island and the Rock Island could
handle very much larger number OK
cept that it is inconvenient to walk
/ several blocks additional to the depot.
/ Business men of Des Mones are not
unmindful of the criticisms that are
going about over the state Of the street
car service during fair week and OF
other complaints about the way "Des
,Moines Does Things" Several have
been asked what they proposed to do
about it. 1t was pointed out to them
that Des Moines will ever be the capt.
tai city and that the entire state was
Interested.
"And we are interested because for
business reasons we want the people
to come here said a business man
But the fact is Des Moines is just now
emerging from a big town to metro