International Polar Commission. ELECTRICAL PROGRESS IN 1913-Continued. 189 placed in operation on the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railroad. The locomotives were furnished by the General Electric Company. Radical changes have been made in ventilated railway motors. A forced circulation of air through the interior parts was obtained, thereby securing a higher rating for the motors. An improved portable rail grinder was developed by the Cincinnati Traction Company. The Important features are the cupped carborundum wheel, which is attached to the armature shaft, and the manner of supporting the motor on the grinder truck. A novel departure from previous electric traction practice was made by the Norfolk and Western Railroad. The equipment of its Elkhorn Grade, Bluefield section, will consist of a single phase transmission line, with polyphase motors on the locomotive. An improved trolley catcher was placed on the market by the Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohlo. One of the important features is the elimination of the stepping up of the trolley pole after the rebound which follows the sudden stopping of a flying pole. A simple thermostatic system for the regulation of electric heaters in trolley cars was developed by the Railway Utility Company of Chicago, Ill. An electric train order signal with two arms, one for each direction of traffic, was brought out by the Union Switch and Signal Company. Only one lantern is needed. The London County Council Tramways placed in use gas-electric double deck-cars. The motors can be supplied with current either from the overhead or conduit supply as an alternative to the self continued generator, so the cars can be run either purely electric or gas-electric. At a meeting of the standardization committee of the Central Electric Railway Association a standard trolley wheel was recommended to be adopted. POWER AND TRANSMISSION. One of the largest hydro-electric enterprises in the world is being constructed in the district of Catalonia, Spain, by the Barcelona, Traction, Light and Power Company. The company has under construction plants which will develop a total of about 140,000 H. P. Construction work was started on the permanent electrical transmission line across the Isthmus of Panama. The line will run from Cristobal to Balboa, permitting distribution of electricity both ways from Gatun. In addition to the lighting of the canal, electricity for light and power will be furnished to the towns and cities within the Canal zone. Work was started on a large hydro-electric station in Valais, Switzerland, which will utilize what is claimed to be the highest fall in the world. Water will be supplied from Fully Lake, about 5,360 feet above the Rhone Valley. Electric trucks and electric cranes of the storage battery type were installed on several steamship piers in New York to relieve congestion and expedite the handling of freight. What is claimed to be the largest turbo-generator in the world was built for the Commonwealth Edison Company of Chicago, Ill., by the General Electric Company. It is of the horizontal type, 60.5 feet long, and will generate 30,000 kilowatts. A new apparatus was brought out for threading condults pneumatically. A traveller to which the wire is attached is inserted in the conduit, the end of which is sealed by a plug. By means of compressed air the traveller is forced through the condult. In the Calabria region of Southern Italy hydro-electric developments are planned of upward 50,000 H. P. Electricity will be furnished for use in large fertilizer works, and for light and power purposes throughout Calabria. A line of adjustable speed, reversible direct current motors for machine tool drive was developed by the General Electric Company. The same company also brought out electric furnaces for tool hardening. With the completion by the Mexican Light and Power Company of Its light and power plants in Mexico, another great hydro-electric development was put into service. The main power plants have an aggregate capacity of 127,500 H. P., and the auxiliary plants bring up the total horsepower to about 150,000. Single electric motors for driving reversing rolling mills are now being built up to outputs of 15,500 H. P. by a German company. The motor is cooled by means of compressed air. The 150,000 volt power transmission system of the Big Creek development of the Pacific Light and Power Company is reported to be the first system using 150,000 volts. Electricity will be delivered to Los Angeles, Cal., 275 miles distant, at this voltage. An improved automatic feeder voltage regulator for outdoor service was placed on the market by the General Electric Company. Improvements were made in the horn gaps for aluminum lightning arresters. Two discharge paths to the cells are provided, one of which is through the main gap and the other through an auxillary gap with a low resistance unit in parallel with the main gap. Among the recent developments in high tension circuit interrupting devices, the chemical fuse has proved successful under severe operations. An installation on a 66,000 voit system gave satisfactory results. The completion of the Mississipp! Dam at Keokuk, Ia., owned by the Mississippi River Power Company, Inaugurated the commercial service of the world's greatest hydro-electric power plant. By means of long-distance transmission lines electricity will be available for light, power and traction over a radius of more than one hundred miles. Enternational Polar Commission. ORGANIZED at Brussels, Belgium, May 29, 1908. President--M. Tschernyscheff, membre de l' Académie impériale des sciences de St. Petersbourg (Russie). Vice-President-D. Ortto Nordenskjold, Sweden. Secretary-Rear-Admiral Robert E. Peary (U. S. N.) MEMBERS-Prof. E. Bruckner, Prof. G. Trabert, Prof. E. Oberhummer and Prof. A. Grund, Austria; Baron Roland Eötvös, Rear-Admiral A. Gratzi, Proi, R. de Kövesligethy, and Dr. J. Kepes, Hungary; Capt. A. de Gerlache de Gomery, Brussels, and Prof. Georges Lecointe, Uccle, Belgium; Rear-Admiral Louis A. Goui, Chile; Capt. Holm, Capt. Koch, Capt. Amdrup, and Dr. la Cour, Denmark; Rear-Admiral Robert E. Peary, U.S. N., and Herbert L. Bridgman, United States; Capt. Cagui, R. N., Prof. G. Cora, Capt. Roncagli Giovanni, and Cavalli Molinelli Pietro, Italy; Dr. Van der Stok, Capt. Phail, Dr. Van Everdingen, and J. L. H. Luymes, Netherlands; Prof. Mehedinti, Prof. Coculesco, and Prof. Stefan Popescu, Roumania; Prof. Rudmose Brown, Dr. Bruce, Dr. Bartholomew, and Dr. Richardson, Grande Bretagne; Dr. Tschernyscheff, de Schokalsky (legénéral), and Dr. Knipovitch, Russia; Dr. Baron de Geer, Dr. De Nordenskjold, Dr. Hamberg and Dr. Andersson, Sweden; Prof. Von Drygalsky, Prof. Penck, A., Dr. Supan and Dr. Wiechert, Germany. Interstate Commerce Law. Enterstate Commerce Law. THE following is a synopsis of the provisions of the Interstate Commerce law and acts amendatory thereof, prepared for the Official Congressional Directory: Under "An Act to Regulate Commerce," approved February 4, 1387; as amended March 2, 1889; February 10, 1891; February 8, 1895; the "Elkins act" of February 19, 1903, and the amending act approved June 29, 1906, the Interstate Commerce Commission is composed of seven members, eac i receiving a salary of $10,000 per annum. the transportation of oil or other commodity, except water and except natural or artificial gas, by The regulating statutes apply to all common carriers engaged in means of pipe lines, or partly by pipe line and partly by rail, or partly by pipe line and partly by water, and to common carriers engaged in the transportation of passengers or property wholly by railroad (or partly by railroad and partly by water when both are used under a common control, management, or arrangement for a continuous carriage or shipment). The statutes apply generally to interstate traffic, including import and domestic traffic, and also that which is carried wholly within any Territory of the United States. Only traffic transported wholly within a single State is excepted. The Commission has jurisdiction on complaint, and, after full hearing, to determine and prescribe reasonable rates, regulations, and practices, and order reparation to injured shippers: to require any carriers to cease and desist from unjust discrimination, or undue or unreasonable preference, and to institute and carry on proceedings for enforcement of the law. The Commission may also inquire into the management of the business of all common carriers subject to the provisions of the regulating statutes, and it may prescribe the accounts, records, and memoranda which shall be kept by the carriers, and has authority through its special agents and examiners to inspect the same. must file annual reports with the Commission, and such other reports as may from time to time be required. Various other powers are conferred upon the Commission. Carriers failing to file and publish all rates and charges, as required by law are prohibited from engaging in interstate transportation, The carriers and penalties are provided for failure on the part of carriers or of shippers to observe the rates specified in the published tariffs. The Commission appoints a Secretary and clerks, whose duties are not specifically defined by the act, and also appoints attorneys, examiners, and special agents. By amendment of June 18, 1910 ("Mann-Elkins law"), telegraph, telephone and cable companies are made subject to the Commission. The jurisdiction of the Commission is increased as to through routes and joint rates, freight classification, switch connections, long and short hauls, filing or rejection of rate schedules, investigations on own motion, making reasonable rates, suspension of proposed rates, and other matters. An important section authorized the President to appoint a special commission to investigate issuance of railroad stocks and bonds. The act of February 11, 1903, provides that suits in equity brought under the act to regulate commerce, wherein the United States is complainant, may be expedited and given precedence over other suits, and that appeals from the Circuit Court lie only to the Supreme Court. The act of February 19, 1903, commonly called the Elkins law, penalizes the offering, soliciting, or receiving of rebates, allows proceedings in the courts by injunction to restrain departures from published rates, and makes the Expediting act of February 11, 1903, include cases prosecuted under the direction of the AttorneyGeneral in the name of the Commission, Under the act of August 7, 1888, all railroad and telegraph companies to which the United States have granted any subsidy in lands or bonds or loan of credit for the construction of either railroad or telegraph lines are required to file annual reports with the Commission and such other reports as the Commission may call for. The act also directs every such company to file with the Commission copies of all contracts and agreements of every description existing between it and every other person or corporation whatsover in reference to the ownership, possession, or operation of any telegraph lines over or upon the right of way, and to decide questions relating to the interchange of business between such Government-aided telegraph company and any connecting telegraph company. penalties for failure to perform and carry out within a reasonable time the order or orders of the Commission, The act provides The act of March 2, 1893, known as the "Safety Appliance act," provides that railroad cars used in interstate commerce must be equipped with automatic couplers and standard height of drawbars for freight cars, and have grab irons or hand holds in the ends and sides of each car. is that locomotive engines used in moving interstate traffic shall be fitted with a power driving-wheel brake and appliances for operating the train-brake system, and a sufficient number of cars in the train shall be equipped with power or train brakes. A further provision proper District-Attorneys information of such violations as may come to its knowledge, The Commission is authorized upon full hearing and for good cause to extend the period within which any The act directs the Commission to lodge with the common carrier shall comply with the provisions of the statute. The act of March 2, 1903, amended this act so as to make its provisions apply to Territories and the District of Columbia, and to all locomotives, cars, and other equipment of any railroad engaged in interstate traffic, except logging cars and cars used upon street railways, and also to power or train brakes used in railway operation. By act of April 14, 1910, the safety appliance acts were supplemented so as to require railroads to equip their cars with sill steps, hand brakes, ladders, running boards and grab irons, and the Commission was authorized to designate the number, dimensions, location and manner of application of appliances. The act of Congress approved July 15, 1913, provides for mediation, conciliation, and arbitration in controversies between railroads and their employés in the following sections of the act: SECTION 2. That whenever a controversy concerning wages, hours of labor, or conditions of employment shall arise between an employer or employers and employés subject to this act interrupting or threatening to interrupt the business of said employer or employers to the serious detriment of the public interest, either party to such controversy may apply to the Board of Mediation and Conciliation created by this act and invoke its services for the purpose of bringing about an amicable adjustment of the controversy; and upon the request of either party the said board shall with all practicable expedition put itself in communication with the parties to such controversy and shall use its best efforts, by mediation and conciliation, to bring them to an agreement; and if such efforts to bring about an amicable adjustment National Association of Railway Commissioners. INTERSTATE COMMERCE LAW-Con inuel. 191 through mediation and conciliation shall be unsuccessful, the said board shall at once endeavor to induce the parties to submit their controversy to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of this act. In any case in which an interruption of traffic is imminent and fraught with serious detriment to the public interest, the Board of Mediation and Conciliation may, if in its judgment such action seems desirable, proffer its services to the respective parties to the controversy. In any case in which a controversy arises over the meaning or the application of any agreement reached through mediation under the provisions of this act either party to the said agreement may apply to the Board of Mediation and Conciliation for an expression of opinion from such board as to the meaning or application of such agreement and the said board shall upon receipt of such request give its opinion soon as may be practicable. SEC. 3. That whenever a controversy shall arise between an employer or employers and employés subject to this act, which can not be settled through mediation and conciliation in the manner provided in the preceding section, such controversy may be submitted to the arbitration of a board of six, or, if the parties to the controversy prefer so to stipulate, to a board of three persons, which board shall be chosen in the following manner: In the case of a board of three, the employer or employers and the employés, parties respectively to the agreement to arbitrate, shall each name one arbitrator; and the two arbitrators thus chosen shall select the third arbitrator; but in the event of their failure to name the third arbitrator within five days after their first meeting, such third arbitrator shall be named by the Board of Mediation and Conciliation. In the case of a board of six, the employer or employers and the employés, parties respectively to the agreement to arbitrate, shall each name two arbitrators, and the four arbitrators thus chosen shall, by a majority vote, select the remaining two arbitrators; but in the event of their failure to name the two arbitrators within fifteen days after their first meeting the said two arbitrators, or as many of them as have not been named, shall be named by the Board of Mediation and Conciliation, In the event that the employés engaged in any given controversy are not members of a labor organization, such employés may select a committee which shall have the right to name the arbitrator, or the arbitrators, who are to be named by the employés as provided above in this section, The act of March 3, 1901, "requiring common carriers engaged in interstate commerce to make reports of all accidents to the Interstate Commerce Commission," makes it the duty of such carrier to monthly report, under oath, all collisions and derailments of its trains and accidents to its passengers, and to its employés while on duty in its service, and to state the nature and causes thereof. The act prescribes that a fine shall be imposed against any such carrier failing to make the report so required. By act of May 6, 1910, the prior Accident Reports law was repealed and a new statute passed giving more power to the Commission as to investigating accidents, and is more comprehensive than the former law. The act of March 4, 1907, makes it the duty of the Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce the provisions of the act wherein it is made unlawful to require or permit employés engaged in, or connected with, the movement of trains to be on duty more than a specified number of hours in any twentyfour. The act of May 30, 1908, directs the Interstate Commerce Commission to make regulations for the safe transportation of explosives by common carriers engaged in interstate commerce. A penalty is provided for violations of such regulations. By act of May 30, 1908, it is made the duty of the Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce the provisions of the act wherein it is provided that after a certain date no locomotive shall be used in moving interstate or foreign traffic, etc., not equipped with an ash pan which can be emptied without requiring a man to go under such locomotive. A penalty is provided før violation of this act. Public resolution No. 46, approved June 30, 1906, and the sundry civil appropriation act of May 27, 1908, direct the Commission to investigate and report on the use and need of appliances intended to promote the safety of railway operation. The act of February 17, 1911, confers jurisdiction upon the Commission to enforce certain provisions, compelling railroad companies to equip their locomotives with safe and suitable boilers and appurtenances thereto. The Panama Canal act of August 24, 1912, amends sections 5 and 6 of the act to regulate commerce by conferring upon the Commission jurisdiction to enforce a provision prohibiting a railroad company subject to the act, after July 1, 1914, from owning, leasing, operating, controlling or having any interest in water carriers operating through the Panama Canal or elsewhere; gives the Commission power to establish physical connection between the lines of a rail carrier and the dock of a water carrier; authorizes the Commission to establish through routes and joint rates over rail and water liues, and to determine all the terms and conditions under which such rail and water routes shall be operated; authorizes the Commission to establish maximum proportional rates by rail to and from ports to which traffic is brought by water carriers; authorizes the Commission, where a rail carrier has entered into arrangements with a water carrier operating from a port in the United States to a foreign country, for the handling of through business, to require the railway company to enter into similar arrangements with other water lines. The Post-Office Appropriation act of August 24, 1912, empowers the Commission to co-operate with the Postmaster-General in reforming, from time to time, the classification, weight limit, rates, zones, or conditions, in order to promote the parcel post service created by the act, and requires the Commission to furnish data to a Congressional committee appointed to investigate the subject of a general parcel post. National Association of Railway Commissioners. President-O. P. Gothlin, Columbus, Ohio. First Vice-President-Laurence B. Finn, Franklin, Ky. Second Vice-President-Clifford Thorne. Des Moines, Ia. Secretary-William H. Connolly, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, D. C. Assistant Secretary-William Kilpatrick, Springfield, Il. 192 Railroad Commissions. INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. Edgar E. Clark, of Iowa, Chairman; Judson C. Clements, of Georgia; Charles A. Prouty, of Vermont; James S. Harlan, of Illinois; Charles C. McChord, of Kentucky; Balthasar H. Meyer, of Wisconsin; John H. Marble, of California; George B. McGinty, Secretary. Mississippi Railroad Commission-Jack- Alabama Railroad Commission-Mont- Commission-Little Arkansas Railroad California Railroad Commission - San Colorado Railroad Commission - Denver. Connecticut Public Utilities Commission Florida Railroad Commissioners-Tallahassee. R. Hudson Burr, Chairman; N.A. Blitch, Royal C. Dunn; J. Will Yon, Secretary. Georgia Railroad Commission-Atlanta. C. M. Candler, Chairman; George Hillyer, Paul B. Trammell, Dalton; J. A. Perry, Lawrenceville; Joseph F. Gray, Savannah; Campbell Wallace, Secretary. Idaho Public Utilities Commission-Boisé. J. A. Blomquist, Axel P. Ramstedt, D. W. Standrod. Illinois Railroad and Warehouse Commission-O. F. Berry, Chairman, Carthage; B. A. Eckhart, Chicago; J. A. Willoughby, Belleville; Wm. Kilpatrick, Secretary, Springfield. Indiana Public Service Commission-Indianapolis. Thos. C. Duncan, Chairman; John F. McClure, Frank E. Payne, Jas. L. Clark, Chas. J. Murphy; J. L. Riley, Secretary. Town Board of Railroad Commissioners -Des Moines, C. Thorne, Chairman; N. S. Ketchum, David J. Palmer; Geo. L. McCaughan, Secretary. Kansas Public Utilities CommissionTopeka. Henderson S. Martin, Chairman; Meyer Hurley, John M. Kinkel; W. P. Feder, Secretary. Kentucky Railroad Commission-Frankfort. Laurence B. Finn, Chairman, Franklin: Wm. F. Klair, Lexington; H. G. Garrett, Winchester; Richard Tobin, Secretary. Louisiana Railroad Commission-Baton Rouge. Shelby Taylor, Chairman, Columbia; Henry B. Schrieber, New Orleans; Burk A. Bridges; Henry Jastremski, Secretary. Maine Railroad Commissioners-Augusta. Maryland Public Service Commission- *May resign if elected Mayor of New York City Missouri Public Service CommissionJefferson City. John M. Atkinson, Chairman; F. A. Wightman, Wm. F. Woerner, John Kinnish, Howard B. Shaw; T. M. Bradbury, Secretary. Montana Railroad Commission-Helena. D. Boyle, Chairman; J. H. Hall, E. A. Morley; R. F. McLaren, Secretary. Nebraska State Railway CommissionLincoln, H. T. Clarke, Chairman; H. G. Taylor, Thos. L. Hall: A. B. Allen, Secretary. Nevada Public Service Commission-Carson City. H. F. Bartine, Chairman; W, H. Simmons, J. F. Shaughnessy; E. H. Walker, Secretary. New Hampshire Public Service Com mission-Concord. Edward C. Niles, Chairman; Thos. W. D. Worthen; John E. Benton, Clerk. Commissioners-Trenton. Ralph W. E. Donges, M. S. Groves, O. L. Owen: Edwin F. Coard, Clerk. New York Public Service Commission- sion bus. O. H. Hughes, Chairman; Edward W. Doty; Oklahoma Corporation Oregon Railroad Samuel W. Pennypacker, Milton J. Brescht, sion-Providence. Wm. C. Bliss, Chairman; South Carolina Railroad Commission- South Dakota Railroad Commissioners for which office he was nominated. Railroad Statistics. RAILROAD COMMISSIONS-Continued. Virginia State Corporation Commission | N. Ogden, C. H. Bronson, W. C. Kilmer; W. W. Washington-Olympia. A. M. Godman, Chairman; Arthur A. Lewis, Frank R. Spinning; Frank M. Larned, Secretary. West Virginia Public Service Commission-Charleston. Lee Ott, Chairman; Howard Railroad Statistics. MILEAGE, ASSETS, LIABILITIES, EARNINGS, EXPENDITURES, AND TRAFFIC OF SURFACE STEAM RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. (From Report of Interstate Commerce Commission for 1912.) Mileage of Railroads, single track Total Track ......................... 44 Company's Service.. Total Revenue Cars. 240,238.81 Passengers Carried... 356,418, 51 114,924 Trafic Earnings. Passengers. 2,368,658 Miscellaneous................................. Investment in Road and Equipment. The figures include returns for investment in road and equipment, shown by the operating roads, as well as by their subsidiary nonoperating roads (leased, operated under contract, etc.). Investment to June 30, 1912, $15,895.657,969; investment to June 30, 1911, $15.518,264,612; increase 1912 over 1911, $377,393,357. Expenditures for additions and betterments, $336,256,985; expenditures for new lines and total expenditures extensions. $188.109, 282: during fiscal year 1912, $524,366, 267. Credits-Property retired or converted, $67.371,604; adjustments, $17,290, 466; difference between record value of grantor and purchase price of grantee in case of roads sold, merged, consolidated, etc.. $62,310,840: total, $146,972,910; net increase during year, $377,393,357. 994, 158, 591 33,034,995,806 1,818,232, 193 262,955,605, 123 Total Traffic Revenue............ $2,826,917,967 $868,991.995 255,611, 495 Total Available Revenue......... $1,124, 603, 490 Taxes.. Deductions. Dividends, Appropriations for $113,122,509 609,661,490 289,098,464 $1,011,882,463 $112,721,027 Interest on Dividends Paid COMPARATIVE STATISTICS OF RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES, Bonds. (Dollars). Operated Capital Stock. 1908 228, 28587,641,913,086 88,788,518,045 82.407,019.810 8717,802,167 8371,390,070 267,574,060 1909.234,885 8,030,680,963 9.118.103,813 2,513, 212, 763 852.153, 280 353,162,228 295,362,049 1910.239.991 8,380,819,190 9,600,634,906 2,804.580,939 919,060,312 364,232,495 305,399,797 1911. 244,089 8,582, 463, 256 10,989,608,551 2,848, 468, 965 903,219.137 377,973,479316,402,684 SUMMARY OF RAILWAY MILEAGE IN THE UNITED STATES. On basis of 2.973,890 square miles for 1910, and 2,970,038 square miles for previous years, which covers land surface only, and excludes Alaska and Hawaii. † Based on an average an nual increase of 1,597,769, the population of the United States being 75,994,575 in 1900, and 91,972,266 in 1910 (which excludes Alaska, Hawaii, and persous in the military and naval service stationed abroad). Excludes mileage in Alaska and Hawaii, which in 1911 was 403.98 (unofficial) and 175.76 miles respectively. Does not include mileage of switching and terminal companies. On basis of 93,572,266, population for 1911, which is reached by adding to the population in 1910, 91,972, 266 (which excludes Alaska, Hawaii, and persons in the military and naval service stationed abroad), an estimated annual increase of 1,600,000 for 1911. |