COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, 1908. The committee met this day at 10.30 o'clock a. m., Hon. William P. Hepburn (chairman) presiding. Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Chairman, General Humphrey and several other gentlemen are here present in reference to the bill to regulate the transportation of explosives, which is made a special order for to-day. Mr. MANN. That is bill H. R. 7557. Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Chairman, Doctor Dudley is also here, to explain the provisions and purposes of the bill, H. R. 7557, as to the transportation of explosives. The CHAIRMAN. Very well. Doctor, give to the stenographer your full name and address. STATEMENT OF DR. CHARLES B. DUDLEY, OF ALTOONA, PA., CHIEF CHEMIST, PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY. Doctor DUDLEY. My name is Charles B. Dudley. I am the chemist of the Pennsylvania Railroad and president of the bureau for the safe transportation of explosives. I think that covers the ground. My residence is Altoona, Pa. Mr. EscH. Did you appear before the committee at a former hearing on this subject, two or three years ago, with Mr. McCrea? Doctor DUDLEY. Yes. Will you prefer, Mr. Chairman, to ask questions, or The CHAIRMAN. If you will go on in the first place and state what you have in mind it will be agreeable to us, and then we may ask questions afterwards. Doctor DUDLEY. I would like to say that the necessity for this bill seems to be, very briefly, as follows: First, there is quite a body of legislation in the statutes of the United States that is antiquated, that is not applicable to the present conditions of the manufacture and transportation of explosives; legislation that carries a serious penalty with it for the violation of the law; and one of the purposes of this bill is to ask you to substitute this legislation, which is believed to be up to date, for all previous antiquated legislation. That is one of the purposes of the bill. Second, uniformity in the regulations applying to the different railroads has been found to be of the utmost importance in securing the enforcement of such precautions as are necessary to produce safety in transportation. If one railroad has one set of regulations and another railroad has another set, or if one has none and another has good regulations that are essential for its safety, the one having 3 |