Joseph McKenna

“ They require telegraph operators to report the time of departure and passing of trains. This is absolutely necessary for supervision. The business is hazardous. Trains may be rushing towards each other upon a single track. All may go well. The observance of time alone may be sufficient for safety. But something may occur to one of the trains, with or without fault of anybody, which may endanger the other. May a train despatcher know it and not guard against it? A negative answer would be revolting.
There can be no doubt of the duty of the train despatcher in such case. ”

“ It contradicts a concession elsewhere made in the argument, that it is the duty of a railroad company to promulgate adequate rules and regulations for the safety of employees engaged in the dangerous duty of operating trains, and at times telegraph orders for the movements of trains. It is the duty of a master to furnish safe places to work in and safe instruments to work with, and of this there need be no discussion. The duty is a continuing one and must be exercised whenever circumstances demand it. It may indeed often be discharged by one exercise. ”

“ Plaintiff in error excuses the train despatcher by a defect in the clock of the telegraph operator at Yucca. The engineer of No. 3 excuses himself by virtually condemning the clocks of the company by which he had tested his watch. He is sure if No. 4 had been running on time he would have met her at Haviland, the station between Yucca and Franconia. A system which permits such confusion and the endangering of human lives is wrong or wrongly administered. We need go no farther in the present case than to say that it was wrongly administered. ”