The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-06-29
Railroad News
HOURS OF SERVICE
ACT Held VALID
TRAIN CREWS CANNOT BE WORK.
ED MORE THAN SIXTEEN
HOURS, SAYS JUDGE
PAGE MORRIS.

| Washington, June 2S. - Announce
| ment was made by the interstate COM
merce commission that United States
District Judge Page Morris, holding
| court in Iowa, had decided that the
federal laws regulating the hours of
( service Of train crews on interstate
| railroads was constitutional
| The attorneys for the defendant-the
| Illinois Central railroad-attacked the
constitutionality of the law on thir-
| teen different grounds. Their principal
reliance was upon the decision of the
United States supreme court in the en-
ployers' liability cases.
In it's statement the commission
says:
In the Interpretation of the hours
Of service act, which limits the service
Of the train crew to sixteen hours in
any twenty-four- hour period, the court
held that the performance by the engi-
neer Of duties required by the rules Of
the company in preparation for a trip
during the half hour previous to the
scheduled time for the departure of
train from an initial terminal made
such engineer on duty during such
half hour, and that this time must be
included In the time Of permitted serv-
ice.''
The case was a test case, the state
ment concludes. 1t was the first de-
cision by any court upon the constitu-
tionally Of the law and the first judi
cial Interpretation Of it's provisions.
Investigation Goes Slowly.
The senate committee created to in
vistigate the legislation concerning In
dian contracts discussed the matter at
considerable length today and tried to
frame its plans, but made little head
way. The time and place of hearing
and the method of procedure will be
determined later. Senators Jones, Bur
ton and Hughes were the members
present the two other members.
Messrs. Crawford and Percy, having
left the city.
The scope Of the senate investigation
is limited to whether any senator in
or connected with legislation affecting
the approval OF Indian contracts, or
has done anything because Of such in
terest, and whether any improper at
tempts TO prevent or procure the pas
sage Of the bill affecting the approval
of Indian contracts, have been made at
the session Of congress just closed.
Testing Paper Materials.
The forest service is formulating it's
plans for experimenting on the various
woods to determine their adaptibility
in the manufacture of paper. An ap-
preparation Of $4,000 for conducting
the tests Is available for the next fiscal
year. They will be started July 1. The
first experiment will be made with
hemlock, jack pine and birch.
To Start Postal Banks.
Postmaster General Hitchcock de-
clared today that he will push as rap
idly as possible the organization Of the
postal savings banks system. He add
ed, however, that he did not believe it
would be feasible to establish any de-
positories for some months.
Parr Gets Reward.
Twenty thousand dollars Is to be
paid July l to Richard Parr, the New
York customs employe, whose vigilance
in detecting frauds in underweighing
sugar imports saved the government
more than $2,00o,O00. PARIS total re-
ward is to be 100000. For the remain
ing $4,000 Secretary Macveigh will
ask congress to make the necessary
provision.
Corporations Pay Million.
A million dollars was received at the |
treasury Saturday from the corpora
ton tax. The total paid to date on
that account aggregates $4,23s,4O2.