Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-01-10
Number Of Hands on Railway Trains

of the order met recently n that city
and passed resolutions demanding t at
tioveruor-elect Ur1am shall recon-
| mend the passags of number of laws
affecting railway labor, and demanding
that the legislature shall carry the
recommendation into effect.
The formula of American Railway
Union legislation which was adopted
requires that there shall be not less
than one conductor and three brakemem
on any freight train; not less than one
conductor, one baggageman and two
brakemen on any passenger train; not
less than one foremaB and three helpers
for each switch e'..ne, and that all
railway companies Shall have crew of
not less than four section men for each
ten miles Of railway operated SIX days
in d week. Other requirements relate
to blacklisting, locomotive boiler state
inspection and weekly payment of
wages ''in United States currency. !"
Similar legislation will be asked in
Illinois.
Among other vagarles Of members of
the American Railway Union, they
appear to think that railways were
constructed principally, net for the
transportation of passengers and freight
but to furnish themselves with pleasant
and remunerative occupation. This is
an obvious error. Railways are not an
eleemosy institution. They are
strictly business enterprises. They
are built to carry people for pay from
one part of the country to another. and
| to transport freight on the same terms
in all directions from the point of ship
ment to the point of destination. No
other purpose nor end was involved in
their construction.
Railways are subject to public law
they are required to protect the safety
vi passengers and to carry and deliver
freight with reasonable promptitude
But the law will no more say how many
men shall be employed for this purpose
than it will say how many ianilors,
engineers fremen and scrub women
the proprietor of a ten story apartment
building shall employ Enlightened
self-lnterest will dictate to railway
managers that they shall not employ so
few men as to render property and
life unsafe on their trains. If loss of
life or damage to persons or property is
caused by their neglect of proper
precautions they are criminally and
pecuniarily responsible.
Improvements in machinery and
appliances, air brakes, electric signals,
running trains in blocks and other
methods make it unnecessary to carry
as many trainmen as were required
when trains were operated entirely by
hand work. Vast sums of money have
been expended by the railway compa-
nles in providing these appliances,
which are a more certain protection
against accidents than ordinary human
vigilance and activity. The railway
companies cannot be expected to retain
the numerous employees required before
they bought expensive machinery to
take the place of manual labor. But
the total number of employees was not
lessened by the use of mechanical
appliances in operating trains. The
number Of trains has increased rapidly
on all the railway lines and on new
lines. More employees have found jobs
on new trains than were laid off from
the old trains on receiving their new
equipments. Every improvement in
operating railroads which has enabled
the companies to dispense with one
man has made Il new job for two men
elsewhere or in other departments.
Except for the fact that the extremely
low state of railway business al the
present time has caused reduction of
railway forces everywhere, there never
before were as many men employed by
the railroads as are employed now-Or
as would be employed if the railways
We're running moderately up to their
capacity There are now nearly 200, 600
men in the employ of the railways
With their families and dependents
they constitute One-twelith of the total
population of the country. The rail
ways employ as many men as can be
useful to them and as many as they can
paw fair wages to without an increase in
their revenues There would be no
more common sense in law requiring
railroads to employ a greater number of
| train hands than there would be IN a
law requiring a farmer to hire more
men for the harvest field, or saw mill
owner to increase the number of his
mill hands. If the law should under
| take to say how many men corporations
or individuals shall employ, it would
next be asked to fix their rate of wages.
In the end the employer would find
| before him the alternative of going out
of business or going into bankruptcy
Then, the last state Of the employe-the
/ beneficiary of all these improyident
| laws-would be worse than the first, for
he would have no employment at any
rate of wages