Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-06-21
FULL CREW LAW TO
STAY ON THE BOOKS
Governor Vetoes the Repeater
Which Attracted So Much At
tention in Legislature

The full crew law approved by Gov
ernor John X. Tener in 1911 Will re-
main on the statute books for two
years at least. Governor Brumbaugh
last night announced that he had
vetoed the bill to repeal it.
The Governors action on the bill
was kept an official secret until b
o clock last night. 1t said that he act
ed on it Friday. but did not desire the
veto to be made public until released
for Monday morning newspapers,
During the afternoon in this city II
is said that word had been given out
in various organizations OF railroad
men that the bill had been vetoed.
The trainmen were very jubilant last
evening.
The Governors veto in interesting
because of the manner in which he
takes the railroads to task.
The message is:
"This bill empowers the Public Serv-
ice Commission to require railroad cor
porations to employ an adequate mum
ber of men upon trains. 1t repeats the
Act of June 1s, 1911. 1t is known pop
ularly as the full crew repeater. There
has been bunch discussion of this bill.
An extensive and systematic puphclty
campaign was inaugurated to secure
its The The me e were
subjected to the pleadings OF large
and persistent lobby until the bill had
passed. Thousands of letters and oth.
er literature came to them and to the
Executive. Employees In the onices or
one corporation stated to me frankly
that they were very anXiously WORK
ing for the repealer-because-th
spokesman put tiff we help the COM
pany get this repeater we will get an
Increase of salary All the discussion
the public mind that there are now,
under law. great army Of unneces-
sary employees carried on the trains.
AS a matter of fact there is only one
additional employe required by the
present law, above the number neces-
sarily and willingly carried by the COM
panies. This one extra man has caus-
ed all this discussion and legislation.
This statement the companies assent to
quite as freely as do the employees.
This one man is then the significant
factor. The companies assert that he
is not needed. The employees assert that
he is needed. In arguing the matter
passenger and express trains that make
few il any stops between division ter
minals, whereas the employees refer TO
the large number of Increasingly long
freight trains made up of 10 to 126
cars. each of heavy tonnage There
has been no common basis of facts for
the arguments for and against. In the
meantime 1t has been proclaimed that
the loss of life has. since this present
law become operative, been substantial
1y reduced If not eliminated so far as
is due not so much to the manning
of the passenger trains as to the fact
that freight ira ms do not menace pas
Senger traffic. In other words, the ad-
ditional man on the freight crew has
added to the safety of passenger traffic.
just as trackmen. signalmen and other
employees not on a passenger train add
to the safety of passengers on those
trains.
'It is claimed that this additional
man on the crew is menace to the
other members of the crew. II so =
and it is a challenged assertion - the
corporation knows well how to secure
and enforce discipline among its en-
ployes as do all other companies and
corporations employing men for definite
services. This additional man is the
not always busy. The same fact is
true of other members of the crew.
But he is needed when the unusual
occurs, and his presence may save life
or property or both. In fact the rec
ords show this to be the case.
within one year the railroad COM
rate by action OF the Interstate Com
merce Commission. A potential argu-
ment of the companies for this increase
was the fact that the full crew law
service. They had scarcely secured the
increase rate until steps were taken to
This situation has definite bearing upon
the action now taken.
ITO deny these corporations their
petition is a serious matter. They are
public carriers acting under law They
have rights as such that the Common
wealth must and should conserve. They
perform vital service to all the peo-
pie. They deserve fair consideration-l
the same that is guaranteed to the
humblest citizens and no more. 1t has
not been shown me that they are de-
MED any equal protection under the
present law and If they can demon
strate in the next two years that n
law now in operation is not fair to them
and to employees, 1t will be the duty of
all officials to do justly by them Until
then the matter should remain as II is"
Mr.. and Mrs. J. Frank Hutchinson,
22T Forster street, have opened their
home at Overview, where they will
spend the summer
Mrs. Charles Heller and daughter
Hilda of 335 North Front street, Steel
ton, have gone to Washington, d. c., to
see her niece. Miss Lillian Weisenberg,
graduate from the Washington high
school,
Robert M. Bettesworth, of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, is the guest of Edmund
Mather. 204 Walnut street.
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