Show SAFETY appliances ON CARS on march 12 1893 congress passed what is known as the safety appliance act which provides that it shall be unlawful atter after jan 1 1898 tor for any railroad engaged in interstate commerce to operate trains not supplied d with the safety appliances specified tn in the act locomotives are required require df ti to be provided with power driving wheel brakes and trains must embrace a sufficient number of cars equipped with train brakes to enable the engineer to control the speed of the train without requiring brakemen to use the common handbrake hand brake for that purpose 11 cars must also be fitted with auto automatic matle couplers that will couple by impact any railroad which has fitted up its engines and cars in the manner required by the act may refuse to receive from connect connecting connection in g lines cars not so fitted up after jan 1 1898 cars axe are also required to be provided with secure grab irons or handholds hand holds in the ends and sides of each car for greater security to men in coupling and un coupling cars the american railway association te is authorized by the act to designate interstate commerce commission within ninety days after the passage of the act the standard hight of draw bars for freight cars alid add to fix the variation of the same between empty and loaded cars the commission to is required to give official notice of the standard to all railroads in the country doing interstate business the penalty for violating the law is a fine of one hundred dollars for each car or locomotive hauled or used without being properly fitted up the interstate cova coth merce commission is authorized to extend the time tor for equipping the rolling stock of any road upon full hearing and for good cause section 8 thelast of the act is as follows sec 8 that any or of any such common carrier who may be injured by any locomotive car or train in use contrary to the provision of this act shall not be deemed thereby to have assumed the risk thereby occasioned although continuing inthe in the ern em of such carrier after the unlawful use of such locomotive car or train had been brought to his knowledge 11 e the law is a measure designed for the protection of the lives and limb of railroad employed emp loyes in particular and of the public in general and alm to secure such uni uniform forin construction and equipment of rolling stock as wilt best conduce to this end but corn com aliance with its provisions is entailing heavy expense on raAl railroads roads as a large proportion of the rolling stock in use at the time the law was passed required remodeling to make the draw bars the proper night hight many roads have not yet made the needed changes in their cars and engines and have petitioned or will petition the interstate commerce commission for more time I 1 in view of the premises the commission under date of oct 8 1897 made an order fixing dec as the time for hearing all such petitions filed on or before nov 15 the place of hearing being at the office of the commission in washington D C the order specifies the facts which must be set forth in a petition and requires each road filing one to publish a notice to the effect that it has done so the notice must be posted at terminal and junction points and must be printed in some newspaper having a general circulation in the largest town on the line N no doubt the petitioning roads will be given a reasonable extension of time in which to equip their rolling stock as required by the act but all roads carrying interstate traffic must do swithin thi the time fixed by the commission the result will be great additional protection both to passengers and employed emp loyes especially the latter the danger of loss and destruction of freight and other property will also be greatly reduced though this feature does not interest the general public as much as it does the railroads as such losses fall mainly upon the roads themselves |