Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-03-01

| know you are right, and then go ahead but
| If the facts do not warrant you in' going
ahead don't go ahead simply because some
political platform says you must vote for a
two cent fare, or that your constituency de-
mand it. Such cen 3ttuency is unworthy
Of any man in this Legislature, and l do not
believe there is a constituency in Iowa that
says to their representatives, do not inyesti-
gate facts, but 90 ahead the railroads have
robbed us, and thrust it TO them If you can.
A man that talks that way is insane, and is
unworthy of confidence.
hear this argument going the rounds.
How is it they can carry these men on mile
age tickets for two cents? / believe if you
could guarantee the railway corporations in
this State that just as many farmers would
ride as travelling men who travel on mileage
tickets, that the railroads would say, all
right, give us the two-cent fare. You would
crowd every passenger train the State. The
basis of that mileage ticket is on the ground
that these men are travelling for houses that
ship their goods over our line. That is the
basis on which these men travel thousands
CT miles in the course of year, and they
pay for their mileage in advance. 1t is not
man who rides only thirtyfiye or forty cents
worth in year who should be looked at in
order to have an intelligent opinion on the
subject; he presents different considera-
ton.
Member of Committee: You say that the
basis, the reason they give this rate to the
travelling men is because they furnish bust
ness. l would like to have you tell the COM
mittee whether they furnish any more bust
ness than the farmers do travelling over the
road
Mr.. Butler: Yes. Farmers are seeking
legislation particularly to regard TO their
grain going into Chicago.
Member of COmmittee l am asking if
you can inform the committee.
Mr.. Butler: 1t is true farmers do furnish
business to the company, but is there any
farmer in Iowa who furnishes the business
that one of our commercial do houses? 1t is
not in his power to do it, This is one of the
considerations for mileage, and l am not
prepared to retreat from that position be-
cause l believe it is true one.
MIR. HAwLEY.
DIr Chairman, and Gentlemen: / stand
almost alone in this question of the reduction
of tariff ON roads, simply for the reason that
i represent a class of men who are not even
spoken about, and that is the shopmen or
inside men. l suppose in this State we
number about four thousand. Many of the
previous speakers have laid before you the
probable results of such legislation should
the proposed bill pass the House. | do not
refer you to the past. i will pass by the
question as to the comments of masters or
| officers to continue here, by simply saying
! that the relation as master and servant is
| Identical You will all admit that our inter
ests are identical, or, at least, should be.
| This should be so in all cases, and if it were
more so, it would be much better
| for both master and servant than it is
| to-day. 1t is for that reason L am here. l
| must say, Mr. Chairman, that | am working
| for the Central of Iowa, in Marshalltown,
| In the latter part of 1884 there was reduc-
| ton of the force there in the shops, taking
| away about one-fourth of the men in the
machine and car department. The time
was reduced to eight hours day. which
made material reduction to US as working
men. We went along at this rate until
| March, and then there was an effort made to
| put the men on full time, giving the men
| ten hours, which went along for a few weeks
| in March, 1885.
| Then came another reduction TO eight
| hours per day, which lasted until the month
| of August. Then we were again two months
| on full time, August and September. After
| that they made the reduction again, and
| from that time until now, the men in the
shops of the Iowa Central have not had full
| time. Now, can you understand when a
bill of this nature is before you, how it is to
the interest of every working man to make
some endeavOIs to move it as much as pos
| Sible in the interest of the wOrkingmen.
| will say further, that last fall, in the early
| part of the fall, the machine hands were cut
down and carpenters reduced one-half. The
| painters in the department of the Central
of Iowa, at Marshalltown, were reduced one
half also, and Furthermore the
carpenters and painters were put on half
| time. OF about fifteen men in the car de-
partment one-half worked one week and the
other half the other week. So far as the
painters are concerned this status has been
obtained since that time-they have never
worked more than half time. The carpen-
tiers, after, about two months, were put on
| eighthours per day, afterwards was added
| another hour making nine hours per day,
and then men were discharged to the
amount of ten or twelve carpenters. There
| has been very little trade at this part of the
year-dull most of the time, Most of these
men had families. You can well understand
we are all interested in a measure, of this
nature, and we ask this honorable body to
consider these matters, in legislating upon
this bill, in order that as little harm as pos
| sible as may come from it.
In looking at this matter from another
standpoint as TO the question of rates, it
seems to me we can not take as a criterion
| the railroads in the eastern States.
| You will understand that their towns are a
| great deal closer together, and the pOpula-
ton for the passenger traffic is especially
| large. They do three times the amount of
| business that we do, and consequently they
are able to run at reduced rates. | will say
furthermore that the car service and engine
service, so far as rolling stock is concerned,
with respect to the stock of the Central Iowa.
| it has been run down very materially, more
because they do not have the revenue to
employ the number of men they should have
in their shops. We find here complaint in
this State about the state of the road beds
and that the bridges are unsafe and that we
are continually liable to accident; that
something will happen one of these days.
and whole train load will go through some
bridge into the river because of these de-
| fects. Such complaints arise. 1t seems to
| to me if we had not allowed the railroads to
have enough revenue to maintain suffic-
iently large force of men in order to equip
the road and keep the bridges in proper con-
ditiOn, we are liable TO certain extent for
these complaints.
There is another question which arises.
There has been good many complaints
about the insuflicency of cars for transpor-
tation purposes. Now think am warrant
ed in saying that at Marshalltown on the
side tracks there are at least three hundred
bad cars on the sidetracks waiting an oppor-
tunity when the revenue of the company
shall be so increased as to warrant them in
putting a sufficient force on in order to gel
these cars in proper shape for service. This
is worth considering. If the revenue is oil
such nature as to allow them to employ q
larger force of men, these cars could be put
out and do as much service as other cars auc