Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1899-11-03

LAST week the LIBERAL had an
item explaining that the Southern
Pacific vas so willing to make a con.
tract with the telegraph operators,
because IL saved the railroad com
panY so much money. The item
caused considerable excitement among
the railroaders, many Of whom did
not know the inside facts before. In
talking about the matter some more
Of the inside facts came out, which
put the committee who made the con-
tract with the company in an even
worse light. When the committee
visited San eFrancisco all the etele.
graphers on the road did. not belong
to the brotherhood. In making up
the schedule the committee picked
cut the offices where brotherhood men
were at works and had the pay at
tached to those positions raised, but
did not have the pay Of the Offices that
were filled by northumberland men
raised. After the schedule was signed
and the committee had left San Fran.
cisco for home a member of the COM
mittce stopped at a station between
San Francisco and LOrdsburg to visit
an old acquaintance, who was inter
ested In railroad work. The commit
teeman told this acquaintance .what
had been done, Sand was very proud Of
his work. The acquaintance ex-
amined the schedule carefully and
discovered that the operators affords
burg had not been raised. He asked
the committeeman why this was so,
and was told that none Of the tele.
Rraphers at Lordsburg belonged to the
brotherhood, and so it was no object
to the brotherhood to get their wages
raised. The far-sightedness the com
mittee had used in allowing, the cut
ting of Of commission on local tickets
was here.exhibited. They did not see
that with the constant changes Of
positions that the t|elegraphers make
ian average telegrapher only. stays 10
town till hisscredit at the saloons is
exhausted) the chances were that
brotherhood men would soon be sta
TONED at Lordsburg, or that If the
brotherhood grew, as a decent. order
ought to grow, all the telegraphers on
the road would belong to the brother.
hood. However,, the cutting off OF the
commissions, and the keeping down Of
wages OF Offices where brotherhood
we're not working at the time
the schedule was adopted, was not the
most foolish thing the committee did.
At many Of the. stations the agent
acts as agent for the express company.
The express business Is entirely SEN
lrate from the railroad business. The
express company pays these agents a
percentage on their collections. They
are thus paid according to the amount
work they do. II the business Is
light, their pay Is small. II the bust.
less is heavy, and they have a great
ieal OF work TO do their pay is larger.
according to the schedule adopted all
who are also express agents
to DO all the express work, but If
work happens 70 be very heavy
my month, and the pay thus amounts
o more than twenty dollars the agent
as TO turn the surplus over twenty {
that he has earned by ,
working over hours Into the treasury /
I the railroad company. as Rudyard {
says in one Of his Black and Z
stories "Dray wara VOW dec :
II three are one" The cutting Of Of 7
ommissions, the keeping down OF :
ages in Offices Temporarily filed by
on brotherhood men, and the turn. /
Ia Of money earned 90 the side.
All three are one" Some agents act
postmastersr aud some OCCASION
ly earn a few extra dollars by looking
ter the bookkeeping Of buslaess men
The small stations. The LIBERAL Y