United States v. Great Northern Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 09 July 1913
• Docket Number: 442.
• Citation: 206 F. 838
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. GREAT NORTHERN RY. CO.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Idaho

206 F. 838

UNITED STATES v. GREAT NORTHERN RY. CO.

No. 442.

United States District Court, D. Idaho, Northern Division.

July 9, 1913

Action by the United States against the Great Northern Railway Company. Judgment for plaintiff. C. H. Lingenfelter, U.S. Atty., of Boise, Idaho.

Chas S. Albert, of Spokane, Wash., Herman H. Taylor, of Sandpoint Idaho, and Thos. Balmer, of Seattle, Wash., for defendant.

DIETRICH District Judge.

The action is brought to recover the penalty prescribed in what is popularly known as the 'Hours of Service Act' (Act March 4, 1907, c. 2939, 34 Stat. 1415 (U.S. Comp. St Supp 1911, p. 1321)). The act is entitled 'An act to promote the safety of employes and travelers upon railroads by limiting the hours of service of employes thereon. ' The term 'employes' is therein defined as meaning 'persons actually engaged in or connected with the movement of any train'; and common carriers are thereby prohibited from requiring or permitting any employe to remain on duty for a longer period than 16 consecutive hours. The government charges that in the year 1912 the defendant permitted one of its locomotive firemen, Ed. Burgen, to remain on duty continuously from 6 o'clock a.m. of July 10th to 6 o'clock a.m. of July 11th, upon a train running from Hillyard, in the state of Washington, to La Clede, in the state of Idaho.

From the written stipulation of facts upon which the cause has been submitted, it appears that the defendant is a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce by railroad in and through the states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Upon July 10, 1912, it directed Burgen, one of its locomotive firemen, to fire its locomotive engine which was to pull, and did pull, a freight train carrying commodities moving in interstate commerce, from Hillyard to La Clede, over what is known as the Spokane division of the defendant's railway system. He began firing and the train left the station of Hillyard at 6 o'clock a.m. on July 10th, and he continued to discharge his duties as fireman while the train was moving to La Clede, at which point it arrived at 9:59 o'clock p.m. of the same day, a period of 15 hours and 59 minutes. Upon the arrival of the train at La Clede it was run into the siding or side track leading out of and into the main line of the defendant's main track, and thereupon it occupied only the side track, leaving the main line clear for the unobstructed movement of trains approaching and passing through La Clede station. The switches at each end of the side track were thereupon locked, and thereafter remained locked in such position that the train could not leave the side track, and no other train could pass from the main line to and upon the side track. The brakes were set so that neither the train nor the engine could move without first releasing the brakes. After the train was thus 'tied up,' as the process is called, at 10:30 o'clock p.m on July 10th, it remained stationary on the siding, and no member of its crew, including Burgen, received or was obliged or permitted to receive any order with reference to the future movement of the train or engine. Burgen, however, was permitted and required to remain upon the engine continuously thereafter, until 6 o'clock the next morning, during which time he was on duty as an engine watchman, charged with the performance of no other duty or work than that of engine watchman. These duties consisted of watching the quantity of water in the boiler of the engine and in replenishing the same so that the engine would always have an adequate supply of water whereby steam could be efficiently and promptly generated, so that when the engine was again to be moved it could...