Interstate Commerce Commission; W. S. Garber, of Nebraska; Henry R. Shorter, of Alabama; Samuel E. Pingree, of Vermont, and George M. Woodruff, of Connecticut. The committee was granted leave to sit again and report at a future session of the convention. A report was heard from the committee on uniformity of railway accounts, and Prof. Henry C. Adams spoke briefly on the "Territorial assignment of statistics of operation." On the announcement that the subject of "safety appliances for railroad cars" was before the convention, the following resolutions were reported by a committee specially appointed to consider that topic: (1) That a committee of five be appointed by the chair to urge upon Congress as soon as possible after the opening of its next regular session the imperative need for action by that body calculated to hasten and insure the equipment of freight cars throughout the country with uniform automatic couplers and with train brakes, and the equipment of locomotives with driving-wheel brakes, and present and urge the passage of a bill therefor. (2) That the committee, before presenting the bill to the appropriate Congressional committee, be requested, after public notice, to give a hearing to accredited representatives of such organizations of railroad officials or employés as may desire to be heard. (3) That the secretary of this convention act as secretary of this committee. The resolutions were adopted. A resolution was passed continuing the committee on reasonable rates and instructing it to report to the next convention. On motion two additional members were added to this committee. After the passage of a resolution that the committee, to which had been referred the subject of automatic couplers and continuous train brakes, be requested to report to the next convention on the expediency of requesting national legislation upon the lighting and heating of passenger cars, it was resolved that a committee of five be appointed to call the next convention, the call to be made for the second Wednesday of April, 1892, at Washington, D. C. Inquiry was made as to the action of the Commission concerning ticket scalping, and Chairman Cooley called the attention of the convention to the report of the Interstate Commerce. Commission, which treated that question very fully. He said there was quite a body of testimony on the evils of the whole system of railroad ticket-scalping, and a strong recommendation that legislation should be had. The convention then adjourned. UNIFORMITY IN SAFETY APPLIANCES. The subject of safety appliances was very fully considered in the Third Annual Report to Congress, but no definite recommendations were made at the time. The increased ratio of casualties for the year ending June 30, 1890, as shown by the Statistician's Report, which has just been issued, considered in the light of the sentiment which has been expressed by the different organizations of railroad employés through their representatives and by themselves directly, make it incumbent to again call the attention of Congress to the great need of uniformity in all safety appliances used on railroad cars and engines. This was first touched upon as a national question at the First National Convention of Railroad Commissioners held in Washington, March, 1889, when a resolution was offered by the Hon. George G. Crocker, of Massachusetts, and unanimously adopted as follows: Whereas thousands of railroad employés every year are killed or injured in coupling or uncoupling freight cars used in interstate traffic and in handling the brakes of such cars, and most of these accidents can be avoided by the use of uniform automatic couplers and train brakes; and Whereas the success and growth of the system of heating cars by steam from the locomotive or other single source largely depends on the adoption in interstate traffic of an uniform steam coupler; and Whereas these subjects are believed to be of pressing importance, and within the proper scope of the powers of the Congress of the United States, while attempts on the part of the individual States to deal with them have resulted, and must continue to result, in conflicting regulations: Resolved, That we do respectfully and earnestly urge the Interstate Commerce Commission to consider what can be done to prevent the loss of life and limb in coupling and uncoupling freight cars used in interstate commerce, and in handling the brakes of such cars, and in what way the growth of the system of heating passenger cars from the locomotive or other single source can be promoted to the end that said Commission may make recommendations in the premises to the various railroads within its jurisdiction and make such suggestions as to legislation on said subjects as may seem necessary or expedient. In compliance with the above-mentioned resolution the Commission endeavored to obtain from the different organizations of railroad em ployés, railroad officials, and others directly interested in the subject, their views upon the advisability of federal regulation of safety appli ances, the result of which inquiry was submitted to Congress, as already stated, in the Third Annual Report of the Commission. No definite action was taken by Congress though several bills were introduced both in the Senate and House of Representatives, and the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce in April and May, 1890, heard many prominent railroad men and representatives of organizations of railroad employés, upon the subject. In May, 1890, at the Second Annual Convention of Railroad Commissioners the subject was taken up at greater length than at the previous meeting, and a resolution was adopted as follows: Resolved, That the respective States should require, either directly by law or indirectly through the instrumentality of their railroad commission, each railroad S, Mis, 31-22 337 corporation subject to their jurisdiction to place driving-wheel brakes and apparatus for train brakes on every locomotive constructed or purchased by it, and train brakes upon every freight car hereafter constructed or purchased by it, and also upon such cars and upon every freight car owned by it, the coupler or drawbar of which is repaired by it, an automatic coupler of the Master Car Builders' type at each end of the car. It appears from the figures shown in the Second Annual Report of the Statistician of the Commission, for the year ending June 30, 1889, that during that year there was one death for every 357 employés, and one injury for every 35 employés; or considering the trainmen only, engineers, firemen, conductors and other trainmen, it is shown that railway accidents are the occasion of one death for every 117 employés and one injury for every 12 men employed. While the report for the year ending June 30, 1890, shows an increased ratio of deaths of employés, showing one death for every 306 employés, and one injury for every 33 employés. The increased ratio among trainmen only, engineers, firemen, conductors, and other trainmen, shows one death for every 105 employés, and one injury for every 12 men employed. Comparing these figures with the figures for the preceding year it is shown that, for the year ending June 30, 1889, there was one death for every 357 employés, while for the year ending June 30, 1890, there was one death for every 306 employés, an increase of 14.29 per cent in the death ratio for 1890 over 1889; and one injury for every 35 employés for the year ending June 30, 1889, as compared to one injury for every 33 employés for the year ending June 30, 1890, an increase of about 5.71 per cent for the year 1890 as compared with 1889; or, considering the trainmen only, for the year ending June 30, 1889, there was one death for every 117 employés, while for the year ending June 30, 1890, there was one death for every 105 employés, an increase of 10.26 per cent in the death ratio in 1890 over 1889. The ratio of injuries to such employés for the two years is the same. This fearful increase is worthy of serious consideration. Among no other class of organized labor is it so great or the risk incurred so hazardous. One of the chief causes of the deaths to railroad trainmen in the pursuit of their occupation may be attributed to the great variety of couplers used in coupling cars. The last report of the Statistician shows the use of thirty-seven different styles of couplers in constant use; this, it is believed, does not begin to cover those being experimented with; this, in itself, is a strong factor in favor of uniformity in safety appliances on railroad cars. By the same report is shown a total of 2,451 employés killed and 22,396 injured; of those killed, 369, or 15.05 per cent of the deaths were caused by coupling and uncoupling cars; while of the total of 22,396 employés injured, 7,842, or 35.02 per cent of the injuries resulted from the same cause; 561, or 22.89 per cent of the deaths, and 2,363, or 10.55 per cent of the injuries, resulted from falling from trains and engines. So that 37.94 per cent. of the deaths and 45.57 per cent. of the injuries resulted from causes, the effects of which would be rendered much less disastrous by the use of better appliances for the safety of railroad employés. The item "Falling from trains and engines" may well be attributed to the necessity of being on top of cars to handle brakes. It may be assumed that a large per cent of the lives lost from this cause could have been saved by the use of continuous brakes, and that fully 90 per cent of the lives lost and injuries incurred through coupling and uncoupling cars could have been avoided by the use of a uniform automatic coupler. The Third Annual Convention of Railroad Commissioners held in |