James Clark McReynolds

“ Power is no less essential than tracks or bridges to the movement of cars. The accident under consideration occurred while deceased was wiping insulators actually supporting a wire which then carried electric power so intimately connected with the propulsion of cars that if it had been shortcircuited through his body, they would have stopped instantly. ”

“ Generally, when applicability of the federal Employers' Liability Act is uncertain, the character of the employment, in relation to commerce, may be adequately tested by inquiring whether, at the time of the injury, the employe was engaged in work so closely connected with interstate transportation as practically to be a part of it. ”

“ He 'received an electric shock while wiping insulators, which caused him to fall from a steel power pole, producing injury which proximately caused his death.' At that time the company a common carrier by railroad, maintained a power house at Fruitvale, California, where it manufactured the electric current which moved its cars engaged in both interstate and intrastate commerce. ”