Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-02-25
Passage of Bill Affecting Railroad
Pay Days.
MORE CLERKS WOULD BE NEEDED
Bill Is Now Before the Legislature and
Provides for semi-M onthIy Pay Days
Instead of Monthly ones-c. NJ. lie.
vey Talks.

We'll known railroad man last evening,
"the Burlington division offices in this
city will have to be enlarged or new
ones will have to be rented for the
use of the extra clerks who will be
needed to carry on the work of pre-
pairing the payrolls and the checks.
These clerks, too, will have but a
short time off each month if they do
nothing but attend to the paying off
part of the Office work and the distri-
button of the time, which is not all, by
any means, that railroad clerk Is
called upon to do"
The bill referred too, and which is
causing much discussion among rail
road men all over the state, provides
for the semi-monthly payment of the
wages due railroad employees instead
Of monthly payment, such as is now
Accorded them, and which seems en-
tirely satisfactory to them. 1t pro-
vides that the payment of wages shall
be on the first and fifteenth of each
month, or as near as possible.
The Object.
The object of this measure, it is said,
| is to assist the railroad men in keeping
their money and to keep them from
living beyond their means" as they
could better keep track Of their in
come and expenses If the income came
in twice, instead of once, each month.
Speaking Of the bill, well known
lawyer said: 1T seems to me that so
long as man is sure that so much
| is coming in each month, he should be
able to make balance. Railroad men
are sure of their pay, and if they can
not keep track Of their accounts, the
best thing to do would be to appoint
a guardian for each employee"
c. M. Levey Interviewed.
| c. NJ Levey, superintendent of the
Iowa division of the Burlington, was
seen by newspaper man recently
and in regard to the bill he said:
Eyes l have seen copy of the bill
now pending at Des Moines to require
railway companies to pay employees
semi-monthly. There is no deamnd
from railway employees for such law
In all my experience | have never
heard a complaint from an employee OF
the c., B. & O., or any other road, that
once month was not often enough te
pay off.
| "AS'' hSiS WIN 'hS1S'' 49,
/ very few people realize how mucf
labor is involved or time required tt
prepare pay rolls in all the depart
menSs of . big railroad, its employees
being scattered over 500 to 1000 o.
more miles in the state. Our practice
Is, on the last day of each month, tt
have time reports, check rolls an,
time books sent in by the various fore
men and time-keepers. These reports
are carefully examined and check b.
!; the proper officers and clerks Of eacl
subdivision, and then forwarded witt
their endorsement as to correctness o
time worked, rate of wages, etc, to tn
main division offices, where the pa.
rolls are written up and distribution o
labor made to the different accounts t.
which it may be chargeable.
"The rolls are then forwarded iron
the division Office to the general off
! Ger in charge of each particular dc
partment for final approval. The
, must then be audited and go to tn
treasury department for payment.
"The best we are able to do is |
, get the pay rolls, with checks, into tn
, hands of the paymaster by the 10th Q
18th of the month, when inmediat
! payment is commenced and all en-
! ployes are paid anywhere from tn
!, 10th or 18th to the Goth.
"You will, therefore, see how unre;
sonable it would be for the state to n
quire railroads to have two pay day
q each month, and that it would be mex
r to impossible to comply with the r.
quirements of the bill proposed, ths
is to say, payment must be made will
in five days after the 18th and end {
each month. In any event, it woul
;. mean large increase in the cost {
operation without any correspondent
benefits.
, "Any increase in cost to the railroa
!. of doing its business must necessaril
mean that the railroad must get
larger return from the public for tn
freight and passengers which it haul
Why increase the expense of oper
= ton in way that can be of so lit
s benefit? don't believe the member
s of the legislature can be misled mi
. enacting any such entirely needle:
a legislation"