Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1877-08-11
The Wages the Railroad Men Struck
Against.

The strikers on the Baltimore and
Ohio have put their demands in writing
and they think that the figures ought
to be higher than ever before. In fact
they demand higher wages than the road
eve paid. When the war broke out in
1851 engineers were getting from S1.33
to So, fremen Sill to 81. Is, and brake.
men 81 to $l.33. The wages against
which they struck were $2.2j to 500 for
engineers and $l.35 to Size for iircmen
and brakemen. This is a little less then
in lS6l'tor the engineers, about the same
for the tircmen and ten or fifteen per
cent. more for the brakemen. They
demand 1850 to 81 for engineers and 81
as a minimum for iremen and brakemen,
which is about One-third more than in
1861. Nice-President Kings answer,
though courteous and polite, is not
entirely candid. He refers to the panic
Of 1873 and the consequent falling of in
traffic, and says that the Baltimore and
Ohio company was the last company
which completes for the great trade of
the west which made the deduction of
ten per cent. This Is intended to convey
the idea that the Baltimore and Ohio
had since the panic been the last to
reduce the wages of its employees. This
is talIacious, During 1873 they could
make ten or eleven days a week at 50 a
day, by extra work. When the panic
came a reduction was made putting the
regular pay at $3.50, taking off extra
time and the extra half day for SUNDAYS.
In August Il further reduction of twenty
per cent. or fifty per cent. was made, and
the fremen got $l.75 and $3.50. This
shows that the reduction has amounted
TO over fifty per cent. since 1873. and
the work has been increased by length
ening the trains and reducing the num-
Der Of brakemen.
The strikes on the Pennsylvania was
against wages almost as high as the ex.
IRENE demands OF the Baltimore and
Ohio employees, and quite as much, if
their statement is true. Under the re.
duction engineers got from $48.SS to
1929. If the men on the Baltimore
and Ohio only made eighteen days in
their best months these wages on the
Pennsylvania were certainly greater
than the former asked for. The Erie
was the next road where the men BEGAN
to starve, Some of their men were
making more than the fondest dreams
OF the Baltimore men, and were doing
less work, Nevertheless they could
not "buy bread tor their families" and
they struck, The New York Central
was paying less than either of Il q
last two named roads, though more than
the Baltimore and Ohio. The run was
a )out the same, On the Lake bore the
wages were lower still, being as follows:
For hundred mile runs, engineers, 9.28;
fireman Sl.l9, and brakemen, ST. 35.
These might be increased by overwork.
On the New Jersey Central wages were
the highest known, though the road was
in the hands OF a receiver. The hands
struck for the only reduction made
since the war, and that a slight one,
three months ago. Even under that
engineers got an average of $40, fire
men 500, and brakemen $40 during
June. The Lehigh Valley was about at
an average. 1t was paying more than
the Baltimore and Ohio before the re-
duction. The Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western scale did not vary much
from that Of the Lehigh Valley. The
following gives asummaryot the average
wages on the principal roads concerned
in the strike: