The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-12-20
TO ENFORCE SERVICE Law.
INVESTIGATION OF INTERSTATE
COMMERCE COMMISSION
SHOWS MANY VIO-
LATIONS
Railroads Must Conform to Present
to New RegulatiOns-Nany Worked
Continuously for Over Twenty
Hours.

washington, Dec. 17.-Apparently
as forerunner of new demands from
the Interstate Commerce Commission
that the railroads of America prove
their efficiency of management or
submit to new regulations, the Com
mission today issued a report show
ing that the roads haze violated the
Hours of Service law for trainmen in
261 1892 instances during one year.
That is 1918 members Of train
crews had been forced by traffic de-
lays which the report declares were
wholly preventable to work more Than
the legal limit ot 16 hours continu-
ously. Great pains are taken to set
forth the argument of the Commits
sion that since these violations of the
statute were avoidable, the public will
expect them to cease.
The investigation leading up to this
summary has been under the direction
of Commissioner McChord. 1t has
gone into the record of every delay
of any train in the country, SO far as
shown on the books, and has brought
vigorously to the attention Of many
railroad officials the failure of their
companies to report some Of these de-
lays. One Of the points emphasized
is that the accidents leading to the
working Of the trainmen frofn 18 to
65 hours continuously have as q rule
occurred early enough in the period
of the run to allow the sending Of re-
lief crews. This has heretofore been
denied by the roads. Another discov-
cry is that while some lines have vio-
lated the law in a wholesale manner,
others in the same territory ahd with
similar traffic have avoided more than
a slight percentage of delays
The four worst offenders as shown
by the report, are the Baltimore and
Ohio, the Illinois Central, the Penn
sylvania lines west Of Pittsburgh, and
the New York Central. On the Balti-
more and Ohio, 5,253 men were kept
continuously at work on trains from
16 to II hours; 1913 men from II to
Is hours, $500 men from Is to t9
hours. 1000 men from 19 to 20
hours; 1900 men from 90 to 81
hours and Is from As to IS hours in
this measured year.
Causes for the delays range from
derailments in the instances of S.
317 men, to collisions in the case of
9,910, with landslides and floods
credited with 1895, and coupler and
drawbar defects, 1880. Miscellan-
eous car defects account for 1873
Of these violations of the law. and
congestion Of traffic 1882.
Not only have the trainmen been
compelled to stay on duty past the IL
hour limit, but the Commission de-
clares that railroad teiegraphers anG
train dispatchers have in 3{,lg2 eases
been worked past the legal maximum
Of hours The totals would be high
er but for the fact that roads having
less than 25 violations per year arc
excused from reporting.
Commissioner McChord, after show
ing that the degree to which zach
road has lived up to the Hours of
Service Law, has had no apparent re-
lation with anything except ito own
policy, points out that the inquiry has
already brought good results. The
past six months have seen a remark
able decrease in the number OF vio-
lations of the statute, in spite of a
certain percentage of traffic delays.
He concludes that the companies have
only to realize the situation and they
will remove the last factors leading
to the law breaking. These roads
have paid to the government during
the year. in fines on this score alone,
$156,OO0.
The Hours of Service Act was sign
ed March 4th, 1907, bu: was not fin
ally upheld by the supreme Court to
its enforcement until May. 1911,
when it was decided that the rail-
roads must report all violations. To-
days report is the first showing of
full fiscal years work. since the
facts as TO overwork were made avail
able