El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-17
Commissioner Declares the Violations by 269 Railroads
Go to the Very Heart of Efficiency and Safety
Of Train Operation; Derailments Are Given
by Investigators as Greatest Cause.
yAsHINGTON, D., G, Dec

ASHINGTON, D., C., Dec IL
w violations Of the law linn
iting the service Of train
employees on American railroads to
IS consecutive hours go to tho very
heart OF the efficiency and safety OF
rrain operation said commissioner
Charles c. McChOrd, commenting upon
a statement issued today by the inter
state commerce commission analyZ1ng
the monthly reports Of interstate rail-
roads on hours Of service during the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1913.
Nearly 800, 600 violations OF the Is
hour law were reported by 269 rail-
roads during the year, the roads sub
hitting various reasons why such viO-
latiOns were necessary The commits
siOn's analysis points out however, that
while this figure may appear abnOr-
nal TO the lay mind, 1t must be remem-
bered that PSI, III men were employed
in handling trains during the year and
that the excess service probably would
not exceed one instance TO each en-
8dThe difference in efficiency and
safety Of operation between various
railroad systems" Mr. McChOrd said,
as shown clearly by the commissions
tween the ratio Of excess service to
mileage between railroads serving
practically the same territory. For in
stance, one Of the eastern roads, oper-
ALluE more Lndn DoUU miles OF LrdCkSr
reports 5zZ4 instances in which train
men were on duty for periods longer
than those provided by law; while an
other road in the same territory, with
q mileage Of less than $500 miles, re-
ports 2, 669 such instances.
In the Southwest.
IN the southwestern territory, one
road, operating less than $500 miles Of
tracks reports approximately 100 in
stances Of excess service. while an
a p rtn1
1caly, reports only $50 instances on a
mileage of more than 1904 miles. A
corresponding comparison between two
roads in the northwestern section of
the country shows a mileage Of approx
1mately 5000 miles with less than 500
instances Of excess service while an
other road with less than 10000 miles
OF line reports nearly 5000 instances
OF excess service"
Commissioner McChord. within whose
supervision comes the actual admins
tration Of the Hours of Service act"
directed the preparation of the analy-
sis.
The law provides a maximum Of Is
hours as the limit Of continuous ser
vice for trainmen engaged in the ply
steal operation Of trains. This law ad-
nittedly is being violated continually
Dy me rallrOauS-many times unaVOid-
ably The carriers are required to re-
port each instance IN which an en-
pioye served more than 10 hours con-
SecuuFely, 1l1e OF $500 being the
penalty for failure to report.
DeraiImenfs Greatest Cause.
The analysis shows that derailments
the most prolific cause Of ex-
cess service, 88,317 cases being attri-
buted by the carriers to that generic |
cause. In 1880 instances, the relays
were due to coupler and drawbar de-
tects, 1873 cases were attributed to
miscellaneous car defects. Landslides, |
high water and fire were reported by
the carriers involved, as responsible for
1855 cases, and congestion Of traffic
resulted in 1875 employees exceeding
the limit of service. In 10,620 in
stances the excess service was caused
by track defects and distractions not
resulting in collisions or derailments:
while 1910 cases were due primarily to
collisions.