He must pay for his uniforms until he has been in service for ten years. Moreover, he must sleep at night in the smoking compartment of his car unless a certain upper berth near that compartment happens to be vacant. He does not retire until the occupants of the smoking compartment go to bed. He is subject to call at every moment of the day or night while on service. But this is not the whole story.
Hours of service are barbarously long.
The porters are paid on a mileage basis, the basic wage being earned when they have traveled 11,000 miles per month. A survey made at the beginning of the present year indicates that on regular runs the porters put in an average of 9.2 per cent of their working time in getting cars ready for occupancy and receiving passengers, and 3.5 per cent in arranging cars after the train has arrived at its terminal. These hours of service are required by the company. Not infrequently, more than the stated time is required after a car has reached the terminal. The variations among individual porters are great.