Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1890-06-11
RAILROAD EMPLOYEES.
Valuable statistlcs Collected BY tho Con
missioner OF Labor. J.

Valuable statistlcs Collected BY tho Come
missioner Of Labor. #.
Hon. Carroll d. Wright, the Com
missioner OF Labor, has submitted to the
President his Nth annual report The
single subject treated is railroad labor.
This report shows that June 30, 1889,
the whole number of railroad corpora.
tions in the United States was approxi-
mately, LIS, and the mileage Of these
roads, approximately, 1853, 400 miles.
The number Of employees on all OF the
railroads of the country on that date
was 6s9,912. Upon investigating the
subject of the relations Of employees and
corporations, which was extended to
about six hundred corporations, by
which the railroad business of the
country Is performed, it was found that
ST. companies prohibit the use of in
toxicating liquors. The remainder
either have no rules relating to the sub
ject or have modified restrictions.
Nineteen roads maintain beneficiary in
situations, and few pay hospital ex-
penses while men injured in the service
are being treated. A very. few pay taxes
for the support of State and county in
situations. Three or four contribute to
.elief funds, and several furnish club.
houses and libraries for the use of GER
tain classes OF employees. As whole,
however, it is found that the railroad
corporations Of this country do not, to
any great extent, either maintain
beneficiary institutions of their own or
assist outside institutions. 1t lis learned,
however, that fair share of the roads
assist their employees in securing life or
accident insurance. Six companies
testify that they pension their supe:an-
nuated employees and also their per-
manently disabled people. A few give
superannuated employees light work or
allow half-time pay, while q number
make settlements upon the permanent
~ disabled. The large number OF 300
companies retain in their service per-
manently-disabled employees, the num-
Der Of such on the rolls At the close of
the year 1888 being 3,12l. A very
large number Of roads also provide
some system of technical educa-
ton for the men in their shops; few
roads have technical schools for their
employees, and in some cases tor their
families. Commissioner Wright dis
cusses at some length what he believes
to be the absurdity Of the common-law
rule, prevailing in Europe and America,
which prohibits an injured employee from
recovering damages from his employer
when the injury is the result of the neg
ligence or unftness of Q co-employe.
The commissioner shows tendency not
only of Legislatures, but of courts, to
modify the hardness of the rule. The
wages side of railroad labor is given
very fully in the report. Looking at
the time employed, it is found that of
the 224,57o employees involved, So, 4o4, or
over 25 per cent, are employed rs days
or less out of the whole year; 25,6S4, or
over II per cent, of the whole num-
Der are employed from rs to so
days; s1,o24, or nearly 10 per
cent, are employed from 81 to 100
days, and 1881, or over 8 per cent,
from 101 to $50 days; 42,719, or 10 per
cent, work from s0l to S65 days, and s.
557, or 90 per cent, work more than q
full year. AS to the wages, it is found
that over 70 per cent are paid at rates
ranging from 81 to 50 per day. The
average daily rate of all the employees
paid by specific time on the sixty roads
is $1.64, yet nearly 81 per cent. of the
whole number received less than the
average rate of all, while only 80 per
cent. received above the average of all.
Der Of employees 10l, 1905 earn less than
500 per year; S3,621 earn from SOL to
5000 per year, and 81, 517 earn from SOL
to $500 per year. The average earn
ings on all the sixty roads per year is
$242, although less than go per cent of
all earn less than this average.