Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-08-25
WORTH 70 pARENra
WILL NOT d pRgsvmsp
UNDER FEDERAL srArurE.
PARENTS MUST SHOW ACTUAL
VALUE TO COLLECT DAMAGES
Iowa Supreme Court Will % Asked TO
Back Up In Old RuIs-ceurt With
he'ds censtruins o. Employers 81.
ability Law Until Pending Rehear.
ing Of Mccullough Case From Har.
din County.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican
Des Moines, Aug. 25-Pecuniary
value Of q son to his parents will not
be presumed in Iowa in applying the
federal employers liability act in set
tlement of damages for railroad acci-
dents. The fact that q son. whether n
minor or adult, may be an expense and
. burden to the parents rather than
aid is recognized. Anyway the parents
unlike surviving wife or children. must
snow actual value of the son to them
De1ore they can claim his death was a
loss
At least this Is the law until the
supreme court backs up. as Judge
Wade and others will ask IL to do when
1t reconvenes In September. The de-
cision OF the court constituting the fed
eral employers liability act has been
held up pending argument for. re-
nearing. 1t is one of the most tmport.
ant decisions Of the court in wears. as
1t affects the new federal act which is
to govern in all damage cases on the
railroads. The decision was in the case
OF r. w. Mccullough vs.. c., r. ]. & p.
railway from Hardin county. The ad-
ministrator was awarded $4,000 dam
ages on behalf of the parents Of a
brakeman killed.
Rule An Ancient One.
Attention is called to the fact that
once before the Iowa court held that
this federal law gave Jurisdiction to
the state courts for its enforcement
and this was questioned. but since then
the federal courts have 80 held and
congress has amended the act specifi-
cally to give state courts authority.
Regarding the history OF this act the
court said. Justice Evans writing:
This act Is modelled in it's principal
features upon an English statute
known as Lord Campbelrs act, enacted
in 1886 and which. with some amend
ment. has been In force In England
ever since. This act does not provide
for survival Of the cause of action
arising to the decedent In his lifetime
because Of the injury which resulted in
his death. 1t creates a new cause Of
action. not in favor Of the estate Of
tn edeceased, but in favor of certain
specified classes of benehciaries. The
cause Of action is based. not upon the
injury to the deceased but upon the
fact Of his death by wrongful act Of
the OeIenOdnt. Inc extent or the DAM
age in each case is to be measured by
the pecuniary loss sustained by the
particular benefciaries rather than by
the loss to the estate of the decedent
as such. Similar statutes have been
enacted in thirty five or forty states
of the union and have been In force in
some of them for many years. Iowa.
however. Is not one Of such states. Our
statute is survival statute. That Is to
say. the cause of action which arose to
the deceased in his lifetime because of
the injury is made to survive after his
death. to his administrator"
In this. Hardin county, case. the jury
gave a verdict for $1,000 but there was
practically no evidence that the de-
ceased contributed to the support Of
his parents. hence the court declares
the verdict to have been mere guess
at the loss sustained. II would be pre-
sumed that a wife or children had
sustained some pecuniary loss. but not
SO with parents, and 1t is necessary
to furnish evidence Of an actual loss as
the basis for q judgment.