The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-11-09
MANS
LIFE OF PERIL
Interesting Statistics From IN
terState Commission.
DEATHS, WOUNDS AND WAGES
NUMBER OF PEOPLE KILLED By
TRAINS.

A railroad employee has one chance I
in twenty-six Of being injured in a
year, and one chance il 399 each year
of being killed. Tie annual report Of
the interstate commerce commission, /
which has Just been issued and re-
ceived in salt lake. arrives at this
conclusion from a compilation OF a
mass of statistics from ali over the
United States
Death rides in the engine cab
someone has said, and certain it is
that engineers, hremen and trainmen
bear the BrUnt of danger. For every
eleven trainmen one is injured during
the year, while for every 155 men
employed on trains, one is killed within
a year.
Coupling and uncOupling cars forms
the most hazardous occupation in the
life of a railroad man, and the stalls
tics given cover the period before the
compulsory adoption of automatic
couplers all over the United States. 1t
is believed that this improvement viii
increase the chances Of railroad men
for living 10 a ripe old age.
More persons were killed by railroads
last year Khan fell i'm the Philippines.
More were injured through the rail-
roads than were wounded IN South
sAt4ltd- 1 ne AlllC4 4lLlAADF-L -ruJo OH
road employees. 2t9 passengers. and
5.O66 other persons-a fearful record of
slaughter. The figur-s of the injured
mount still higher. There were 81, CAB
railroad men. 412S passengers, and
sos other persons.
The passenger is safer than the man
who crosses d railroad track. For
every passenger killed, 2,3l6,64S were
carried, while 139 740 were carried Tor
fr5 Gefar1 N
takes a trip by rail has only one
chance in 2,316,64S of losing his life.
Sources of Revenue.
Freight men aie accustomed to speak
Of the passenger department as the
ornamental side of the railroad bust
ness" The swift locomotives, luxurious
Grains and all the other features kept
in the public mind by the shreWd ad-
Vertisers, who are always passenger
men, lead the careless observer to
think that 10 get passenger business
is the principal object of a railroad.
But no big railroad could live on pas
senger business alone. Short lines 10
resorts may survive solely on this
business, but the principal revenue in
the big systems is derived through the
quiet work of the freight solicitors,
through the ugly, clumsy trains that
lumber along in charge of men wear
ing overaus and jumpers and keeping
out of the way of the swift ana snowy
passenger trains The official statistics
Of the commission show that the pas
senger departments of the railways OF
the United States furnish PLY PEI
cent of the revenue, the mail and eX-
press service bringing this up TO 26.tl
per cent. on the other hand, the
freight departments contribute 10.lS
per cent of the total gross earnings
The balance is from miscellaneous
sources.
But the relative Importance of the
two branches Of service can not be
said to be in the above proportion The
labOrs are closely interviewer, each
working in its own sphere, the work OF
the passenger departments often con-
tributing largely 10 the success Of The
freight departments.
There are L0lI.653 men employed or
railways in the United States, and over
10000 of them are in the inter-mour-
tain country. Their pay for year az
gTegated S577, 26AS4l
Wages of Employees.
Next to the officers o. lue. roads, the
engineers are the best paid men in
the service, while the station agent
with all OF his responsibilities, is vel
down the list. The average pay o.
general officers, such as general man
ayers. and superintendent, is $l0.45 q
day, other officers receiving an aver
age Of S5.22 a day. Engineers average
$3.75. conductors SSH. and fremeI
S214. The station agents receive al
average compensation of S1.75 a day
and operators and dispatchers $196
The average for sWitchmen, hagmeI
and waJchmen is $l89. or cents high
er than Tor station agents.
In the section including Utah, Idah,
and the other intermOuntain and cOas
states. the average pay is better, bu
the proportion is maintained. Genera
officers receive S1L05. other officer
S1.62. engineers S4.53. hremen S2.6S. an,
conductors $50. Station agents re
ceive 1925. and sWitchmen S2.51. OF
fee clerks average $2.6l
One feature is left out of oOnsidera
ton BY the Interstate commerce sta
tisdcian. That is the fact that tn
staten agent is usually Western UniOl
of Postal operator and express agent
in addition 10 his -egular position. Thi
helps out his compensation. although
in spite of this the engineers, WITH theI
great responsibility of life and death
mead the salary list after the ofici-l.
CWTTCTTRT FMS STRIFE