The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1909-03-19
LEGISLATIVE JUSTICE.

spirit in which the average legislator
performs his duty-espeoialIy where
the matter concerns railroad or
other corporation was given in
little dispatch that came to the
Journal from Jefferson City the
etner day. A bill had been in
troudced by representative from
small town, requiring all railroads
in Missouri to carry third brake
man on every freight train. The
bill having been referred to CON-
mittee and a hearing called for,
General Superintendent w. T. Tyler
of the Frisco road, who had worked
his way up from the bottom, serving
Ave years as a brakeman, then
freight conductor, dispatcher, divis-
ion superintendent, peuntendent
aad now at the head of his depart-
ment. testified that there is no need
| for a II ird brakeman and never VIE
be, and that the bill was DIES gned
merely to create more places,
utterly useless ones, for trainLen~
He explained that the term "brake-
man" isnow misnomer. Formerly
brakeman stopped trains by twist
ing a brake. Now the engineer in
the cab and the conductor IN the
cupalo of the caboose do that by
twist of the wrist, applying the als~
brakes. AT one time third brake
man was carried IN the middle of
the train and was known as 0
"swingman." But the tralnmea-
organ zed labor-protested agairst
1is having to ride on top of the
train and he got back into the
cabonse, where he at once became
} source of danger. When a train
stopped and it became necessary
! for somebody to run to the rear to-
; flag trains coming from that dlrec-
ton, the records snow that the two
men, the rear and the third brake
man, each thought the other was
: going to the rear, and the conse =
quence as'neither went, and acei-
dents ensued. Answering the argu-
ment that a third brakeman was
needed in the case of runaway cars,
/ where a train breaks in the middle,
} Superintendent Tyler SAID that such
4 thing was NO longer possible, and
in any event the brakeman could do
, no good. When train breaks now
it breaks what is called the train
line, or air pipe, and the mere
breaking of that pipe lets the air
out and jams the brakes down.
There can be no runaways IN the
future unless the train crew has
violated its most important order
regarding the airbrakes. To prove
hat The "swlngman" would not
ude IN the middle of the train,
Superintendent Tyler pointed to one
Of the trainmen-1 union labor
membel-who was present at the
COMMITTEES meeting, lobbying for
the bill and said, "Thars is one of
them whO refused to; he caA tell
you about it himself, if hs wants to.
But the man left the room. with
out word.
Upon this conclusive showing,
that the bill was utterly useless and
without merit, the committee very
properly made an adverse report.
However, the house by a vote OF
sixty five to twenty decided despite
the adverse report to put the bill on
the calendar for sngrossment, and
doubtless it win pass in due season.
And why did he majority of the
house vote for the passage of bill
that can be of no possible benefit to
this public9 Simply to please the
trainmen who want easy Jobs, and
thereby get the future support Of
organized labor. But have the rail
roads no rights whatever In the MAJ
tere None whatever.
This little incident is a fair ex-
ample of the iuiustire with which ~.