, 1890-04-24
RAILWAY EMPLOYEES.
Report of Commissioners OF
Labor Wright.
INSTITUTIONS
The Subject of Wages Treated
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Daily
Rate OF Pay.

WASHINGTON, April IL. Commissioner
of Labor Wright, in his annual report
deals solely with railroad labor, the sub
ject being treated at great length. Al
the end of the last fiscal year, the mum
Der of railroad corporations In the United
States approSlmated LIS, with mile
ago of lb6, 100, and tho number OF en-
ployes 6s0,0l2. For the purposes Of in
vestigatlon, tho railroads are divided
into seven geographical groups. Sixty
were selected representing all parts OF
the country and all the conditions OF
railroad labor, and employing 2il,OlO
persons.
On the subject OF the relations OF the
employees and the corporations, as to
the 60O roads by which the real railroad
business of the country is performed, 1t
was found that there were nineteen ben
ofciary institutions maintained few
of which pay hospital expenses for men
injured in the service. Very
few pay taxes for the support
of state and county institutions.
Three or four contribute To relief funds,
and several furnish club houses for GER
tain classes of employees. Six companies
assert that they pension their super
annuated employees, and also those per
munontly disabled. a few give their
superannuated employees light work, or
allow halls time pay, while a number
make settlements upon those perma-
nently disabled Two hundred and
sixty.six companies ~tain in their
service those permanently disabled, the
number oil such on the rolls at the close
OF the year 1898 being 3,i2i. A very
large number Ot the roads provide some
system Of technical education for the
men in their shops A few have tech
ncal schools for their employees, and IN
some cases for the families,
Commissioner Wright discusses at
length what he calls the obscurity OF the
common law now prevailing, which pro-
hiblts injured employees from recovering
damages from their employers, when
the injury Is the result Ufthe negligence
OF the company,
Tho wage side OF railroad labor is
treated very fully in tabulated state
ments, showing the mum ber of men en-
ployed 10y the day or month, by the
mile. trip, piece under contract or on
commission; also what proportion ot
the year the men are employed, etc.
As to wages, It Is found that over ~ per
cent. are paid at rates ranging from 81
to 81 per day. The average daily rate OF
all the employees, paid by specific time,
on sixty roads is $l6i, yet nearly 6l per
cent. of the whole number received less
than the average rate of all, while only
about 30 per cent. received above the
average for all.
The report shows the average daily
rate vi pay in each of the seven grnups
OF seventeen occupations.
The report further shows that 22i, $40
| individual mon were employed on an
average li7 days each in ayeaT, and that
they received S2i3 on an average MS their
actual earnings for the year. These
22i $40 men were employed to I'LL los, -
s07 positions. In other words, II lO5. sO7
men had been employed on full time
they would have accomplished the same
results, The commissioner, however,
states that IL should not be concluded
that the remaining l1s,76 men are out
of employment, although II is u fact
that this feature of the problem oilers q
field for discussion and investigation.