El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-15
MUST SAFEGUARD
THEIR employees
Supreme Court Says Roads
Must Keep Safety
Appliances Up.

washington, D. c., May I5.-Ran-
roads coming within the terms Of the
safety appliance act OF 1893 and 1903
are under an absolute duty to keep in
repair automatic couplers and other
appliances prescribed by law and it is
not merely their duty to exercise rea-
sonable diligence in repairing Such
was the decision Of the supreme court
today
Vital Questions Involved
By an odd coincidence, number OF
vital questions concerning the scope Of
the Safety Appliance acts Of congress
came before the supreme court OF the
United States about the same time and
were heard together.
One Of these arose in the suit Of r
NJ Delk. a brakeman on the St Louis
and San Francisco Railroad company,
for injuries suffered while attempting
to manipulate a detective coupler Of
car on switch in Memphis, Tenn. The
United States circuit court Of appeals
for the Sixth circuit finally decided
against Delk on the ground that while
the railroad was under an absolute duty
to equip cars with automatic couplers
and other appliances required by the
safety appliance acts, yet it was only
under the common law duty to exercise
reasonable diligence when it came to
repairing the appliances. -Delk had con-
tended that the acts changed the COM
mon law duty so as to make the rail-
roads absolutely liable for not repair
ing appliances required by the statutes.
as we'll as for not equipping cars with
the appliances
The direct reverse OF this holding
was announced by the United states cir
cult court OF appeals for the Eighth cir
cult. when the United States sought to
recover from the Chicago, Burlington
Quincy Railway company 500 for eacn
Of four alleged violations of the acts
There 1t was held that the railway COM
pany was under an absolute obhg4-
ton to keep the safety appliances with
which their cars must be equipped in
repair. The railroad claimed that the
court held them liable, notwithstanding
the company did not know its cars were
out of repair and had no intention to
violate the law.
A Colorado Case.
Another question was passed upon by
the United States district. court OF Colo
RADIO, When it held that the Colorado &
Northwestern Railroad company, mar
raw gage railroad, entirely within
Boulder county. Colo. and said to be
using locomotives and cars equipped
with the old link and pin couplers was
liable to the government for violation
OF the law. III 50 the COUIl flC1u
that 1t was not necessary to order to
bring a connecting carrier within the
safety appliance acts for 1t to have an
for continuous transpor-
tation or shipment With the preceding
carrier The courts had always held
that such had been necessary to bring
carrier within the interstate COM
merce act OF 1887
The United states district court for
northern Alabama went even a step
further Tt held that the United
States was entitled to penalty from
the Southern Railway company for an
alleged violation of the safety appli-
ance law in a case where q shipment or
iginating and ending within the state
OF Alabama, was carried in a car notfI
properly equipped. The court held that
this was a violation OF the law because
the car was used sometimes for inter-
state commerce. and therefore was an
fundamentally of interstate COM
merce.