The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-10-01
WAGES NOT HIGHER UNDER NC
KIkLEY'S PROSPERITY.

Some at least of the Republican cam
paign text books prosperity statis-
ties are disproved by an analysis made
by George A Schilling of Chicago. Mr..
Schilling was formerly secretary of the
| Illinois bureau of labor statistics.
Chairman Jones asked him to lock
into the claims made by the Mckinley
managers TO the effect that wages in
| fiftysix trades increased from 5 to 1,500
per cent during 1897, 1898 and 1899. A
first report dealing with railroad en-
ployees' wages has just been completed
by Mr.. Schilling, who says:
1t is commended by the Republican
managers that the wages of locomotive
engineers in the United States were in
creased II per cent in 1898, and again
80 per cent in 1899 This accumulated
increase would amount to 1850 per
cent. 1t is also stated that the wages
of locomotive firemen were increased
in 1899 10 per cent.
I have interviewed a. number of
railroad men in the city of Chicago
and find that their wages have not
only not increased for several years,
but owing TO the changed condition
their wages have practically decreased.
This is true of the Chicago & North
western system, and it is said that the
same conditions prevailing upon that
road are general throughout the coun-
| try"
Mr.. SchiIling finds, in brief, that
schedule of wages adopted by the Chi
cago q Northwestern in 1898 is still
in force. but because of a change in the
| type of locomotives used it is harder
work now to make the wages of 1898.
although the new engines are more
profitable to the company.
The firemen last October presented
! a statement of reasons for asking an
| increase of pay, based on these condi-
tions- Mr. Schilling says:
Two or three years ago a husky
fireman would occasionally say: I
am going to make a ringer this month
By this he meant that if his run was
good and he attended strictly to his
knitting, he would make a hundred
dollars and over. Since the larger sized
engines have displaced the smaller ones
! ringers are no longer in vogue, and
! the fireman who attempts il usually
| turns up in the hospital.
The exhaustion of nervous force
caused by firing an engine of this size
| is so great that the men cannot en-
/ dure the strain of long hours and con-
tinuous work as they formerly could;
and inaSmuch as they receive no more
I for 100 miles on the larger engine than
| they formerly did on the small one,
it follows that there has been a general
] reduction not of the scale, but of in
come all along the line. The same eff
! fort formerly bringing in 500 or more
row brings in but $50.
But the disadvantage of this change
| to the men has not only been in the
matter of wages; it likewise affects
/ their opportunity for promotion, as
well as a chance for regular work.
/ Before these large engines displaced
/ the smaller ones, a fireman was reason
ably certain of promotion to the posi-
ton Of an engineer within three or four
years. Under present conditions the
chances for promotion are exceedingly
SLIM
Mr.. Schilling also turns his atten-
ton to the wages of stage employees.
He says:
THE Republican managers also claim
that the wages of stage employees have
increased as follows:
IeSt -.-.-'.-....-...-.--. 70 per cent
1888 .......''.-...,-.... 200 per cent
1899 Observation-Disclosures 300 per cent
IF this be true, it would mean a net
increase of 1.50O per cent.
II called the attention of Lee NJ.
| Hart, secretary treasurer of the Stage
| Employees union, to these startling
figures. He said that this excessive in
crease was received by men working
in small cities, towns and out-of-the-
| way places.
Mr.. Hart cited Canton. O., the home
of President Mckinley. where, until re-
Gently, stage employees had received
no compensation. When asked why
! they gave their services gratis, he re-
piled that 1t was because il gave them
a chance to see a show without paying
an entrance fee. and an opportunity
! to learn the tricks of the trade, en-
aiding them subsequently to take the
| road with companies that played in
small places, where the influence of the
| organization had not been sufficiently
powerful heretofore to maintain union
rates of wages. To overcome this the
| union put forth strenuous efforts in
! the past two or three years, and has
| lately succeeded either in securing
.
| rendered gratis. or increasing the pay
| from 20 to 80 cents to 20 cents per
night, in a number of these small cities
and towns.
( Mr.. Hart says; so far as our met
| ropolitan cities, such as New York,
Brooklyn. Boston, Philadelphia and San
/ Francisco are concerned, there has been
no material change since 1884,"