Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1914-10-29

accidents cause by derehction of duty
by the employees involved. By far the
greatest number of our serious train
accidents are due to the failure of
some responsible employee to perform
an essential duty at the critical time.n
Out of 81 train accidents investigated
recently by the Commission, So per
cent were caused by the mistakes of
employees-and in view of these facts,
will not the legislating of hundreds of
"extra brakemen" onto the RAILROADS
increase rather than decrease the
number of accidents? In the light of
the above statistics can there be any
other result?
In this connection, is it not strange
that the advocates of the "Full Grew
Bill" have not cited statistics from
the several states in which this law
has been in effect for number of
years to prove their case? Doesn't any
intelligent reader know they would
have done 80 if the records we're not
against them? AS matter of fact, the
ratio of accidents on every railrord in
the country regardless of "FuIl Grew"
laws vary in proportion to the lumber
of men employed-for just as you can
not regulate the amount of rainfall by
law so you cannot eliminate the hu-
man element of carelessness in men.
Taking Care of Present Employees
To make long story short, the
whole "Full Grew" propaganda is
nothing more or less than a cleverly
conceived appeal to the sympathy of a
naturally sympathetic public-a house
of cards which falls to pieces the mo-
ment it is brought in contact with the
cold facts of past experience.
In their frantic efforts to curtail ex-
penses during the last several years,
the railroads have been compelled to
lay off thousands offormer employees
and at this moment hundreds of
clerks, section men and others are
given ''furlough" of several days per
month in order that they may not be
left withouta position entirely. Instead
of legislating hundreds of "extra
brakemen" into useless jobs would it
not be better to put the railroads in
position to re-employ many men
whom they have had to lay off and
keep all employees working full time?
lSumming the whole matter up, Prop
osition No. 8 deserves to be emphatic
ally defeated for the following con-
crete reasons:
\ B6eavsa, tits Just as wroa1g to try to
lreguiate by law the nGz4sssef os nsoa
a railroad shall hire as it would be
to attempt to regulate by law the num-
Der of farm hands or clerks which a
farmer or merchant shall hire.
Because, we have Public Service
| Commission which has full power to
compel any railroad in Missouri to
hire additional brakemen or any 9TH
er kind of workmen if, after due in
quiry, it deems them,necessary for the
, good of the public or of the employees
themselves-a Commission created for
this specific purpose and which is in
! position to discriminate between the
different conditions which exist upon
the different railroads.
, Because, before the advocates of the
"Full Grew Bill" had any right to ask
the people of Missouri to fasten this
, unfair burden upon every railroad in
;, the state, large and small, they should
first have presented their grievances
a to the railroads themselves or to the
Public Service Commission-neith
! of which they did.
! Because, every additional burden
i visited upon the railroads at this time
q will finally have to be borne by the
3 people who in the end must either put
i up the added expense or consent to
see the railroads financially wrecked
. "a condition which would mean par
q alysis to Agriculture, Commerce and
Industry throughout the state.
4 Because, when the people took over
the complete control and regulation
y of the railroads they at the same time
n assumed the implied obligation to pro-
n tect them against unfair and arbitrary
q assaults upon their revenues.
4 Because, labor, as well as the EN- :
q ployers of labor, owes profound duty
y to society not to levy tribute upon it
,s which is greater than the traffic will
"a justly bear.
Because, our great commonweal lth
! Is still little more than in its infancy
J. in Agricultural and Commercial de-
J. velopment--a state which needs hun
ts dreds of miles of additional railroad
% mileage before it can make the most OF
" it's matchless resources and these i'm :
q provements cannot be had if we con
tinualiy advertise to the outer world
Ia that invested capital cannot get a
" "square deal" in Missouri.
Il Because, passing as we are through
,r d series Of bad crop years, a universal
= depression in all lines Of business and
De the most tragic war in the Worlds
IN history it is no time to assault the
ID railroads which are day confronted
Of by the greatest financial crisis in theil
he history.
ar In conclusion, the reader should re.
), ,,,ap,har that tha dafaot 80 +ha ttI7uI