Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1906-12-28
RECORDS BROKEN
IN WAGE INCREASES
2aiITOad Employees Alone Re-
Ceive 500 100000 in
Extra Money
FEARS MARVELLOUS FIGURE


NEW YORK, Dec. 2s-The Increase
% wages In the United states durins
.he year just closed have been un-
reCfdented. The sun, in REVERSING
lac record says
Ihere aas In the last quater OF s
year been added to NE wages Of raii.
Dad employees alone about sloe.Q0eN01-
Nearly ~ the roads b. the East have
announced increases OF FROM ; to o
per sent ana many Of the rres 30 81
Vest and south have followed suit
ne Lndnsltill oorprr lions h2a4
Kept pace The a1vlnles ia eha stzl
md textile industries being eapeel4rg
I noticeable. The Vases paid ~ tnc
textile mills in Rhode Island and
Nassa chusetts, for Instance, are tne
highest eyer paid in the industry, ana
At the same time the statements OF the
companies show the largest dividends
IN recent years. The census for 1900
estim4tes The vases in that year at
81 1888 s236l5 4 10 per cent increase
on a basis Of figures compiled SIX OF,
/ seven years ago would bring the
amount into bne hundreds Of millions.
I FenpSyNaniaS haise'
one uf the most important increaaes
made in the last fcw weeks was ihat.
Of the Pennsylvania Railroad Ihe
officials gave all Of The employees on.
/ the system receiving less than 5000 b.
month a. raise OF 10 per cent Tnis
affects $4,000 men and involves tho an-
nual outlay OF S42o0O,O00 Tho same.
class Of employees got an advance Of
10 per cent iu 1902. which nllkcs an.
increase of 20 per cent i'm four years.
\ Besides this The company made q re-
adjustment of salaries (Which affected
1868 men and involved the expenditure
Of an additional S5O.7S3 a month, or
S36s,796 a year.
The New York Central, the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western, the Long
Island and most of the other big East
ern roads followed the example Of ,he
Pennsylvania.
The United States steel Corporation
announekd as its Christmas gift to-
employees an increase Of 10 cents day
to all cdmmon laborers at the plants
OF the Subsidiary companies. About
10000 men are ciassed as general
laborers. This increase came unsol;cit-
ed, and iron and steel men undefstoo
it was a substantial recognition Of the
loyalty Of the men through a year in
which every department has been run
at the maximum and under conditions
! that have taxed the powers OF all
hands from top to bottom. In the de-
preston of the iron and steel trade in
1903 the corporation did not make any
considerable reduction in wages
=
rectors Of the Steel Corporation have
made their usual offer to employees Of
allowing them 10 subscribe for the
! preferred stock of the corporation DC
low she market price. This year the
subscription price has been set at los.
Last year tt.was at par, and 1885 en-
ployes took $4,000 shares.
Among the other steel corporations
which have done as the United States
\ has done IS the Illinois Steel Company.
! Theflaise there affected 1900 men and
amounted TO 100000 a year.
The STANDARD Oh Company has made
4 a general Increase without being asked
! for It. From to 10 per cent has
been added to the wages in the re-
4 hneries : of the branch companies.
| About $1,000 men have been affected.
/ The highest percentage Of increase in
/ the case of the Standard Oil goes to
the lowest paid employees, the percent
/ ago decreasing in proportion to the
salary.
4 The Consolidated Gas Company has
added 10 per cent to the pay of all It's
employees who are drawing less than
$1,000 a. year. This effects $500 of rhe
! 5000 men ON the payroll. The increase
viii add 100000 a year to the fxei
charges.
Two big express companies, the
( Adams and the American, have made
increases affecting "A large percentage
of their employees.
Many banks and trust companies have
admitted their employees into an in
crease share Of the general prosperity.
I Most OF these increases never como TO
! the knowledge of The public The
| Brownsville branch of the State Bank
i'm Brooklyn voted to the officers ana
/ employees who had seen ten years SER
Vice "A gratuity Of 20 per cent of ther
annual salaries, and to those who had
lserved less than ten years gratuities
ranging from 10 10 10 per cent. The
directors OF the Union Bank i'm Brook
/ Ign gave their employees a dinner. AZ
each mans plate was a fine new
pocketbook with two weeks salary in
it. August Belmont & Co, and many
other downtown firms viii give bonuses
ia their employees before the new year
! begins
! Among the employees OF The Itemiag-
ton typewriter works at Lion more
B than $4,000 i'm gold was distributed the
other day as bonuses. About go cm-
ployes received am average Of $50 each
While The railroads ana big eorpora-
tons have been announcing increases,
stving hunks have been offering ad-.
dcd' Inducements Tor deposits BY rais-
ing interest from 3 t-2 to 4 pcr cent.
Among tho Ncw Yurk banks That have
dome This are tho Bowery The Dry
Dock. the Metropolitan, tho irving ane
/ tho ticrman savings B1nks.
Funerals Of To-day.
Tho funeral OF Raul y BaWherEer.
lrsd 10 Years Will be held al q O'clock