4. 



that the welfare of the company affects their employraent. 

 ilany railroads have to pay thousands of dollars of dam- 

 ages every year because of the negligence of some of its 

 employees. At least twelve states have laws which de- 

 fine the duties of employees of railroads. Employees 

 must (1) do all in their power to prevent fires, (2) re- 

 port fires as soon as discovered and (S) extinguish fires. 

 The state or the railroad company should inflict a penalty 

 upon the employee for neglect of duty in regard to rail- 

 road fires. 



ilassachusetts has a good law concerning the duties 

 of railroad employees. It reads: ''liny engineer, conductor 

 or other employee on a train who discovers a fire burning 

 uncontrolled on lands adjacent to the tracks shall forth- 

 with cause a fire signal to be sounded from the engine, 

 which shall consist of one long and three short whistle 

 blasts repeated several times, and shall notify the next 

 sectionipen whom the train passes, and the next telegraph 

 station, of the existence and location of the fire. 

 Sectionmen or other employees of a railroad who receive 

 notice of the existence and location of a fire burning on 

 land adjacent to the tracks shall forthwith proceed to the 

 fire and shall use all reasonable efforts to extinguish it; 

 provided, that they are not at the time employed in labors 

 immediately necessary to the safety of the tracks or to 

 the safety and convenience of passengers and the public. 

 Railroad corporations shall inform their employees as to 

 their duties under this act and shall furnish them with the 

 appropriate facilities for reporting and extinguishing such 

 fires." The New York law adds that "Ho ^corporation or 



