The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-01-29
Death of F. o. MeIcher a Great
Loss to the Country.
A Man Skilled i'm Dealing With
Legislation.
PIERCE WAS A POWER.
Intimately Familiar With In
terstate Commerce Plan.
Other Items Of General Interest
in Traffic World.

Railway publications all over the
country are devoting columns to the
death of prominent officials in the
wreck on the Illinois Central recently
The work of f. o. Melcher and +.
B. PIERCE of the Rock Island can be
appreciated in the following editorial
from the Railway Age-Gazette;
mo railway accident since that IN
which Samuel Spencer was killed has
so shocked the railway men OF the
United States as did that on the I'M de
nois Central, which cost the lives OF
J. Z. Harahan, F. o. Melcher. e. b.
PIERCE and E. E. Wright Messrs-
Harahan, Melcher and Pierce were
widely known, the first as a former
president of the Illinois Central Mr.
Melcher, besides being a prominent
operating officer, had achieved great
and deserved reputation and prestlge
by his work as chairman of the special
committee on the relations OF railway
operation to legislation
He had retired from the chairman
ship of the committee, but was sun an
active member Mr.. Melchers oeat I'll
because of the important work Tor all
the railways that he had been DOING
and was still engaged in, was an esPe-
cially great loss to the railways OF TINS
country. AS chairman of the speclal
committee on relations of railway
operation to legislation he developed
remarkable breadth of view regard
ing regulation of railways, and great
lawmakers and the representatives OF
the railway brotherhoods, and in
bringing about a good understanding
and healthy cooperation between
them and the roads at time when
such understanding and cooperation
were peculiarly needed.
HE was thus successful in many
cases, not only because he was skill
full diplomatist, but because he was
also a clear-headed, honest one,
who saw and contended that the rail-
ways could not consistently ask and
could not hope to receive square
deal from others unless they were Will
ing to give a square deal in return.
Mr. PIERCE was probably more in
timateIy familiar with the work of the
interstate commerce commission than
any other lawyer in the United States.
He was the author of the Digest of
Decisions Under the Act to Regulate
Commerce which digest the commits
sion uses as about its most important
text book He not only tried cases be-
fore the commission, but in many cases
was of great service to the commission
itself, having the confidence of the
commissioners, and being recognized
by them as an unusually broad
minded traffic expert, as well as a
mr. Peirce had that unusual quail
ity which we recognize almost in
stantly in certain men, of being able to
attack delicate matters in straight
forward way that precluded the pos
sibflity of giving offense He was in
the position of constantly having to
tell the traffic men Of his own COM
pany what they could not do, and this
| in cases that were of greatest import
ance, and yet he succeeded in retain
ing both their sincere regard and their
entire confidence Unusual quality in
a lawyer, he was an advocate OF
frankness and practiced it.