The herald., 1894-12-16
A v AGE CLIPPER.
Cutting Dollars From the
Railroad Mems
Salaries.
PROSPECT OF A STRIKE.
More Mileage, Longer Hours
And Less Pay for
Trainmen.
ECONOMY Is THE ORDER.
The Engineers Arc Up in Arms and
Some of Them Threaten to Walk
out-Dstaiis OF the
New Order.
ECONOMY Is THE ORDER.

Inc southern IhCluC IAiIUhu ehini
clipping machine was started up yester.
day and the dollars that it sliced off the
thousands of employees Of the company
will run up into the hundreds of thou
sands-that lie, if strike does not inter
vene and the company sustain a set.ofi
BY tie-up.
While on Friday many OF the railroad
boys did not believe that the cut would
be put into effect at this end OF the line.
general orders issued yesterday dispell-
ed all their doubts. On the black board
at the San Fernando street depot was
posted the ominous order. 1t is ominous
in more ways than one. To the men it
means loss Of from $40 to $40 month,
To the railrsad company, if the men do
not AGO uiese, it means another tie-up oi
the lines and corresponding loss oi
hundreds OF thousands OF dollars.
These propositions were discussed
among the railroad boys up and down
the River stations, and if what the boys
said is any criterion they will not sub
init to the reduction.
THE OFFICE BOY EXEMPTED.
The situation is a most peculiar one.
and study of the orders posted in the
ound house shows the fnesse of a mas.
or hand. The cut applies to all en-
,loyees at this end of the line. from the
general agent and division superin-
Iendent down to the Office boy, who re-.
leives only 500 a month and is ex-
)mpted. The same lucky fate fell to the
tohy nd that al
es are unaffected, for the present at
east. The exemption of the yard
switchmen is where the fnesse comes
In, for as one railroad man put it, 1.-The
switchmen hold the key to the situation,
go to speak, and without them the COM
pany would be unable to make up and
send out trains. In explanation the man
stated that it is a comparatively easy
matter to get engineers and train men,
but when it comes to handling switches
for the calling out of cars
and making up trains a man must know
the yard and each switch bar perfectly
else there is liability of heavy damage
through the smashing and dersiling of
cars.
HOW IT EFFECTS LOS ANGELES.
In this end of the state the men on
three divisions are affected by the cut.
They are the Yuma and the two hill di-
visions, one of the latter extending to
Fresno and the other to Santa Bar bara.
The men who will suffer most are those
who have the run to Yuma. In the first
place they have their lay-off in this city.
which used to be 48 hours, reduced to "a
hours, and in addition to this 400 miles
of travel was recently added to the run
this amounts to about $40 month, fol-
which they receive nothing. The men
on the main line going north, who for
merly ran to Bakersfield, now have to
carry the trains through to Fresno. and
in addition to the extended mileage
suffer reduction of $40 a month. The
Santa Barbara run is unchanged go far
as mileage is concerned. but the salary
clipper gets away with an average of $40
q month on each mans salary.
In this city the clipper was set to
work not only in the general Office but
among the train dispatchers and tele-
graph operators, and the waybill clerks
and the freighthandlers. All suffered
alike, and. as stated. with the excep tion
of the switchmen and the office boy,
none were overlooked. The head train
dispatcher, who heretofore received $175
a month, will now receive $160. The
$3.50 men will hereafter get $140. The
night operators at the stations along the
road, whose remuneration for 12-hour
watch was S65, must hereafter stay up
and take train orders, the slightest mis-
take in which might involve the lives
of thousands, and be happy on $50
month. So it is all through the line. In
conjunction with the work Of the salary
clipper the axman has been ordered to
stand by and the heads of two engine
crews running out of here over the hill
or Mojave division are to fall. This
will be accomplished by the cutting out
of two engines on the main line 20 San
Francisco. Heretofore eight engines
were required to do the work between
here and Bakersfield. Now six will
handle the trains between this city and
Fresno.
WHAT THE MEN SAY.
The men in the local Offices, including
the train dispatchers and clerks, do not
have much to say in regard TO the cut.
In fact. they decline to ne interviewed.
Not 30, however, with the motive power
men and the train hands up at River
station. They are loud in denunciation
was yesterday forenoon when Pat
Sheedy, local master mechanic, posted
the schedule of the cut in the round
house at River station. The order was
,igned by Master Mechanic H. j. Small,
whose headquarters are at Sacramento.
Then for the first time the men believed
t. There it was in black and white.
Runs extended, lay'offs shortened and
,ay decreased.
When the full meaning of the orders
we're comprehendsd there were mutter-
ngs Of discomfort and in some cases
peu threats of rebellion. The cooler
reads among the men advised caution
nd not one of tho BOYS walked out OF
lis position, although it is probable that
ONE action will be tsken in regard to
ne matter within CAV or two.
To newspapermen the engineers were
9th to talk about the matter at present.
me man who pulla a passenger train. |