The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-02-02

G. w. K0uns Said Anti. Railroad
Bills Hit Companies Hard.
Other Items of General Interest
in the Traffic World.

The senate and house committees
on railroads last night held a joint
meeting in the senate chamber to hear
arguments for and against the extra
train crew and train limit bills. Sena-
tor Harry Mcmillan, chairman of the
senate committee, presided, with L. }.
Pettyjohn of the house committee at
his right hand The meeting opened
at 7:3O O'Clock and closed at lO'9V
o'clock The committees Will ho,u
separate executive sessions AT an ea a,,
date for the consideration OK the DIS
and make reports to their respeoe
bodies. r.;,-
r. v. Snyder of the order OF ran
wav trainmen was the first speaker IN
support of the proposed leglsla.o44
He said that either bill wouid De sa.-
isfactory to his peopie-x 90
d,t;"rai hrakeman on every freight
train now served by two brakemeh'
or the measure limiting freight trains
to sixty cars. :. .or.
..rned Mr.. SNYDER said, there is no
difference in the bills. Either Will
smell SAFETY and that is what we are
after" long or
through freight trains. the auua' onn-
ductor in case OF accident, the otner
two brakemen being busy protecting
tho front and rear Of the train from
other trains. He said that the onIy
way to bring about railway reIorH, !,
was to force it by legislation. Tor
he declared, the railroad officials al
ways oppose it"
General Manager Kouns's speech.
G. w. Kouns, general manager OF
the Santa Fe, made the main speech
in opposition to the bills on tne s!os
Mr.. Snyder's statement that the COM
NAMES opposed railroad reform:
:"rhere is no safety appliance required
by law which was not tried out by
some railroad and found to pc 1000
thing before congress or any legisla-
ture ever thought of 1t" Mr.. kOuns
II agree with Mr.. Snyder" Mr..
Kouns continued, "tha. the objects OF
the extra crew and trcin limit bills
are the same. but he tells the JOINT
committee that they are for safety
and 1 tell you that they are to force
the railway companies to employ a
large number Of unnecessary men,"
Mr.. Kouns quoted j. A. Culp. a ma
tional official of the engineers order,
a. saying in a recent address that the
extra crew bill should be supported
becaus, lit means the employment of
more men and that means more
IN -ney."
Mr.. Kouns offered the report of the
Interstate Commerce commission
showing the cause Of 1,431 train ac-
cidents. In not a Jingle case was the
failure to employ an extra brakeman
given as a cause. The Santa Fee gen.
eral manager introduced statistics to
show that in 81 collisions where three
brakemen were employed during the
year ending June 80, 1914, there were
20 employees killed end 624 injured
and property to the amount Of $685..
$50 was damaged. These citations
were intended to answer Mr.. Snyder.
safety contention.
Only Fifteen per cent of Employees
Mr.. Kouns declared that Mr.
Snyder and the other men favorint
the bills represented only fifteen per
cent Of the railway employees o.
Kansas; said that the train limit bill
would increase the number Of trains
run 20 per cent. and insisted tina
either measure would impose q finan
cial burden of hundreds Of Thousand
OF dollars upon the railroads which
they could not carry without an in
crease in rates or a decrease in tn.
efficiency of service.
L. E. Goodrich, representing tn,
firemen. spoke in favor of the bills
insisting that the employees wanted
them solely on account of their safet,
feature. He said a sixty car trail