New Britain herald., 1915-12-13
CONGRESS RECEIVES
 REPORT OF 1. [. [.
Legislation for Control Over Rail-
 way Capitalization Urged

Washington, Dec. 13.-Early en.
 largement of the membership of the
 interstate commerce commission, with statutory power to act through sub-
 divisions and Appropriate and ade-
 quate" legislation for control over railway capitalization were among the
 important recommendations made to congress today in the commissions
 annual report.
 The commission suggested that it should have express authority of law
 to have access to the letter files of carriers; that the use of steel cars in
 passenger trains be required and that
 the use in passenger trains of wooden
 cars between or in front of steel cars
 be prohibited. It was recommended that the minimum penalty for viola ttions of the hours of service act be fixed at fine of $1O0 and that pro- vision be made that all actions relat ing to transportation charges should be brought within three years.
 Spent $3,933,925 in Year.
 For the fiscal year which ended June 30 last the commission spent S3,933,925 including $2,131,925 for physical valuation work It estimates for the year which begins July i. next already have been submitted to con- gress.
 The report is largely devoted to presenting the commissions work for the year. Under physical valuation work It reports that since June there nave been twelve roadway and track IT iyp fI~ a~J
 districts into which the country has been divided and that their total aver age has been about 4,OOO miles per month. By January 1, the report says surveys of nearly 5O,00O miles of rail- road will virtually be completed. The total railroad mileage of the country IS put at 250,O00 and the report says that the 100000 miles left at the be- ginning of the year should be sur veyed in the four following years un- der the present arrangement
 It is doubtfuP' it adds eff under the present organization, work can be prosecuted more rapidly than it is now proceeding." l
 Survey of Railroad.
 Thereport states that the survey of l 7,5o0 miles of the Chicago, Rock Is- land & Pacific will be completed by January with the exception of g. few hundred miles in the south. Surveys of the Boston & Maine. also will be Completed this year. Before applying the test of actual cost to roads, how ever. the report declares that much more infoSmation must be obtained and has determined to defer the ap- plication of prices and the final state 11eynf <J I1-~
 duction anew.
 Tt should be noted,'' explains the report, that this will not involve de- lay in the final completion of the work, since as soon as the application Of prices can be properly begun, the work can be speedily brought up." .a Decrease in Collisions.
 The commission expresses gratifica- tion at the decrease in the number of collisions but says that individual in- stances of unsafe operating methods and violation of rules 'are still too nu- merous." It suggests a standardiza- tion of operating rules/to assure safe ty of railway travel, to be obtained through federal legislation. It shows that derailments have been on the in- crease and that in 1915 there were 3,538 collisions and 6,S49 derailments, compared with 5,O42 collisions and 3r.533 derailments in 1902.
 Track conditions which are unsafe for the operation of trains at the rate of speed permitted are too com mon," says the report. "In several of the derailments investigated the track conditions were found to be so | bad as to be actually unsafe for the l passage of trains even at moderate speed, yet no special speed restric- tions were in force, and it was com. l mon practice for trains to be operat- l ed at unsafe speed over such track" | Definite Information.
 The commission suggests the need l of definite information as to the phy- sical properties of wheels, rails and 1 other materials used in track and equipment and the strains and stresses they are required to sustain in ser vice Derailments caused by malici- 1 ous tampering with track or switches 1 are reported to be on the increase and present a problem difficult to solve, better policing of tracks and a | rigid enforcement of trespass laws l being suggested as remedies. l
 1Up to June 30 plans for AIS auto mat1c train control devices had been l presented to the commission for ex- animation of which 342 had been ex- amined and 251 found impracticable and crude and twenty-five foud pos sessed of meritorious features but re- uuired further development before be- ing entitled to serious consideration. l Block system of operation is declared to- have proven it's superiority over any other. l
 The report contains a report of the important court decisions affecting findings of the commission