The oasis., 1894-09-20

| VI Nlhhiybb hldidstujcuD NdECo hdfe doubled in Belgium, increased lover l20 per cont in Germany" and are ''2i to 30 per cent higher in some countries for eight hours work than they are in this country for ten hours toil."
 Now for the facts as to the relative wages of railroad employees on the gov ernment owned roads of foreign coun- tries and upon the private owned roads in our own country. Germany, one of the countries named, may be taken as fairly demonstrating the conditions in all of them, as shown by the last consular reports to our government on this subject. But l have an added reason for selecting Germany as test of the utter falsity of the assumptions of the Altrurian. l have just inter viewed gentleman who has returned from protracted visit to his relatives in Germany, c. l.. Pancost of this city. MT. Pancost is railroad employe of long experience and prominence.
 In formulating the following com parative table of wages paid to skilled laborers on foreign government owned roads, and upon private owned roads in the United States, l use those act ually paid in Germany at this date, as confirmed by MT. Pancost, and which are substantially the same as prevail ing in all the countries in question where railroads are managed by the government. It must be understood in this connection, that the unit of a lays labor is quite different there from here. Here it is based on mile- age for trainmen and given number Df hours for shopmen aud others. If q greater mileage is made, or extra hours put in, earnings are increased for that date accordingly. But there, where 'the government owns and operates railroads in the interest of the people, the unit of a days labor is the number of hours work required in the day Cf twenty-four hours by the exigencies of the service or the cap rice of the task-master, without com pensation for 'extra time.
 COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF WAGES.
 Ger United
 many. States Locomotive engineers. per day .siOO s35O Locomotive fremen, per day. y.. 50 s25s Train conductors, per day...... so 325 Train brakemen, per day ..... 45 250 It will be conceded, without argu- ment l think, that the income of a railroad is dependent upon the densi- ty of population tributary to it, and that charges for freight and passen- gers carried should be largely deter termined by the tonnage and numbers offered for carriage upon it. With this fundamental principle in view, and before exposing the falsity of the above quoted statements, let us see what ought to be the relative charges for freight and passengers on foreign government owned roads and upon the private owned roads in the United States.
 COMPARATIVE STATEMENT or POPULATION AND
 RAILRo MILEAGE.
 pOpu- R. R. Pon. to
 Country. latiOn. Mileage. Mile. Germany .........4 .49 4t5 476 27000 fS30 Austria Hungry 4L23l342 l6,7i2 2475 Belgium .......... 6I47On 2.S3O PIP France ........... 3s348l92 20g67 l,S2s Italy. .........N. l5S,4Os 6O0O 5O96 United States .62.622.2j0 171,5O3 307 With but BOT people to maintain by the'r patronage mile of railroad in the United States, in the ownership and management of private citizens, with more than six times that number as minimum and over sixteen times