Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-03-02
CLAIM FULL CREW
LAW SAVES LIVES
Legislative Boards of Organized
Trainmen Resent Petitions
Signed by R. R. Employees

Legislative representatives of the
Order of Railway Conductors and
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, in
a statement to-day, reiterated their
stand for safety first"
Members of the legislative boards of
these two brotherhoods claim that the
expensive literature sent out by the
railrads falls to eXemplify in a single
instance the desire to stick to this
slogan.
To-days statement from the con-
ductors' and trainmen also calls at
tention to the petitions for a repeal
signed by many railroad employees as
having been resented by the railroads,
and gives notice that all unfair argu-
ments made by the railroads will be
retuted. The statement in part
follows:
organized railroad employees of
this country, especially in Pennsylva-
MIA, where the legislative and executive
bodies will soon be asked to consider
| the repeal Of the full crew law are
massing in force in one preliminary
stand to acquaint their fellows and
their neighbors with the real issue.
Arguments Fail
"If humanity has more friends now
than it ever had and these railroad
men are now claiming that it has.
then the organized railroads much
adopted slogan. safety first, fails to
be eXemplilied in a single instance in
the tons of costly literature sent out
Tor the purpose of repeating this hu-
name measure; and because this liter
ature has been sent to the members of
the Legislature through various chan
nels, as well as to businessmen of the
State, who are the real potent force
back of all car wheel movements here
a thaGn hoN
decided to jump on the vehicle of
publicity 10 properly present their
side of the case.
"These organized railroadmen vehe-
mently resent a line of so-called petit
tions circulated, which tend to show
railroad employees names as in favor
of the repeal of the full crew law.
They claim that many of these sign
ers are clerks directly or near Off
cials of the railroads and hundreds of
female and foreign help, some of the
latter unnaturaliZed and employed at
excavation or in entrenched work.
BrotherhoodS Hope For Fair Play
whatever hurtful work this litera-
ture or these petitions may do in their
circulation. throughout the State, the
organized railroadmen have set about
in vast numbers to refute, by sensible
argument with the grocer the baker
and the candlestickmaker as they be-
lieVe that a reasonable presentation
of their case before the real court of
public opinion will keep their full
crew law on the statute books of
Pennsylvania for all time, and where
it justly belongs.
They argue that the full crew law
in principle or in fact has not killed
a single man, but with abundant rail-
road operating statistics, they show
that innumerable lives have been con-
served. on the other hand, the rail-
roads have only killed or injured
about 206 human beings per day for
the past quarter of a century.
"OrganiZed railroadmen are hu-
namely arguing to-day that the opera
tion of the full crew law in this State
| is relieving Pennsylvania, at least,
of this terrible total of human lives.
"They claim that this full crew law
stands for greater humanity and for
man before money; that it takes ac-
count of the lives of the railroad wage
workers as well as the lives of all
men, women and children who are the
millions of paid passengers every day
in the year.
Are the men who operate the
trains the best judges of tneir own
safety and the safety of those entrust-
ed to their care?' is the vital question
being asked by organized railroadmen
to-day in this State from Erie to
Delaware, and many of these railroad
employees vitality concerned in the en-
durance of the full crew law. who
have consigned some of the railroad
companys literature to their rear
gardens, claim that they know more