Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad v. United States

Citations

• 241 U.S. 344
• 36 S. Ct. 668
• 60 L. Ed. 1037
• 1916 U.S. LEXIS 1714

Syllabus

<p>Exceptions from the general policy which the law embodies are to be strictly construed, and are to be so interpreted as not to destroy the remedial purpose intended..</p> <p>The exception contained in § 6 of the Safety Appliance Act of March 2, 1893, as amended April 1,1896, and March 2, 1903, exempting from its operation cars which are used upon street railways, does not exempt cars used in regular interstate traffic which are also to some extent used on street railways. Such cars are covered by the general provisions of the statute.</p> <p>Cars used on an electric railway doing an interstate business on a standard gauge track according to standard railroad rules held, in this case, to be subject to the Safety Appliance Acts in regard to grab-irons and hand-holds, notwithstanding they were used at the terminals of the roads upon street railways.</p> <p>The Safety Appliance Acts may not be violated with impunity by omitting grab-irons and hand-holds from cars because the railroad company operating them deems the provisions of the act onerous or because it considers that it has adopted methods to protect the. employees in coupling the cars that are more expedient than those required by the statute.</p> <p>Whether methods substituted for grab-irons and hand-holds in coupling ears used in interstate commerce other than those prescribed by the Safety Appliance Acts offer the same, or better, or adequate protection to employees, is not a question for expert testimony.</p>