The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-02-10

appears that the number of persons en-
 titled to pensions had been very accu-
 rately estimated so that there is nc
 likelihood, at least for the present., that
 the rates paid will have to be less than
 those indicated by the above quoted
 rule. It should be remarked in this
 connection that the scheme as a whole,
 including, of course, the $300OOO limit,
 applies to all the lines controlled by the
 company east of Pittsburgh and Erie,
 on which lines, the total number of
 employees is something over 75000. The
 number of pensioners is about 1000. The
 principal companies included besides
 the Pennsylvania proper are the North ern Central, the Philadelphia, Whining
 ton and Baltimore and the West Jersey
 and Seashore.
 The company very properly makes
 proVlso that this granting of q pension,
 being purely voluntary and without any
 change in the prevailing rate of wages,
 shall not be taken as giving any person
 a right to be received in the service
 Hereafter no new help will be employed
 who are over thirty-fve (With certain
 unimportant exceptons). This age rule
 VIII probably necessitate plan, similar
 to that in force on the government rail-
 roads of Germany, of having perma-
 nent and temporary force in those de-
 partments where large proportion of
 urskilled labor is required. For exam
 pie, the number of men engaged in track
 repair work, in hauling gravel, and
 other construction work, and sometimes
 in freight-houses, will fluctuate greatly
 according to the weather, or to changes
 In the volume of business, or on account of financial reasons. The same condition
 is sometimes found in the clerical work of the general offices. The services of
 civil engineers or other professional or
 expert workmen may often be needed,
 of course, and in hiring such men the
 age limit is not to apply.
 As intimated in the opening para
 graph, the establishment of fixed age
 limit for retiring will materially i'm prove the efficiency of the employees of the company as whole. This will be through the wedding out of the old men. 1 Under ordinary conditions no superin- tendent has the courage to dismiss | promptly or to transfer to less exacting duties the engine-drivers, conductors, telegraph operators, and f1ag-men who become too old> to perform their duties satisfactorily. In the first place, it is often a delicate question whether the time for Superannuation has arrived or not. A mans efficiency may be essened materially from the superintendent standpoint, while yet the man himself honestly professes to be unable to dis cover the fact And even if the case be plain one, the majority of the men will be still ambitious to earn more money, and many will be under the ac- tual necessity of doing so; and the su- perintendent, therefore, will be deterred by his sympathies from doing justice to the interests of his employers business. One superintendent recently, remarked to the writer that for the fastest trains, the efficiency of locomotive engineer began to decline after he was about thirty-five or forty years of age This was an extreme view, as is apparent when one considers how many gray haired men he constantly sees in active service on limited" expresses; but it indicates an important truth. pen sion system that retires engineers at seventy does not enable the manager to man his express trains wholly with young fellows; but it reduces the aver age age of his whole force, and therefore greatly helps him.
 Flagmen at highway crossings consti- ute a class of railroad employees who are liable to become rusty without real izing it, and without the knowledge of | the superintendent unless he is very | watehful. Indeed, this is position | which is often filled by the appointment | of persons who have become in- i capacitated, by accident or other wise for more active work, though it is one requiring high degree of vigilance. Not long ago the responsibility for an accident to a wayfarer at a crossing i'll a New Jersey town was charged upon au attendant who was over eighty years old. Not every man of eighty can be charged, absolutely. with incompetency; and yet it would be a good thing for that road and the people of that city, and, no doubt, decided relief to the if rule were adopted all flagmen at the age of seven- ty.
 From the standpoint of the, employer a pension system would be regarded by most people as powerful Influence tending to prevent strikes, which. 2 in more exact language, means an influ- ence impelling the employees to be req sonable and conservative in their de- mands for more pay or less work. With public sentiment and publicity of rail- road management such powerful factors as they now are, it cannot be said that a workman is sacrificing his independ ence, or any important financial inter- est, by accepting service with such a as the Pennsylvania, having l pension system in force. Theoretical y his wages will ultimately be reduced 1y the amount which the company ( must save up for his prospective pen- \ sion; but if he is faithful and compe- ent, he stays in the service and enjoys he pension; while if he leaves to go to N mother road the chances are exceeding \ y small that he will better himself. K n fact, the long immunity from serious X strikes which has been enjoyed by the affords strong presump- i've evidence that that company is by just and fairminded men. 4, +o,, of, l,sr