The Washington herald., 1907-03-02
NO MORE INCREASES
Pennsylvania Road Unable to
Satisfy It's Trainmen.
TEN PER CENT NOT ENOUGH
Company Issues CircuIar-Letter stat
ing the Promised Advance in
That Will BE GIven-Is willing 40
Arrange an Equalization.

No further increase over that granted
on December !. 1906. and the concessions
already offered. will be given TO its en-
ployes by the Pennsylvania Railroad at
this time on any Of its lines east of Pitts
burg.
A long circular-ietter to this effect was
issued by the company yesterday.
It will be posted on all yard bulletin
boards and sent to each employe The
notice is directed to the conductors, bag
lgagemasters, hagmen. and brakemen in
road and yard service on the Northern
Central. Maryland and Baltimore and
Washington divisions, and Is in response
TO demand on the part of the men for
a still further advance in wages It was
issued by General Manager ". ". After
bury, and was received at the local Offices
Of the company yesterday.
| The notice deals with the various moves
/ made by the men to secure an increase IN
wages, and seems to Indicate that the
Pennsylvania is concerned over the action
! OF the yard employees. whose ballots as TO
whether or not strike shall be declared,
( are now being counted in Philadelphia.
/ impossible to state II is equally impOssi-
/ bic to determine what effect this circular
will have Fully 900 men in this city are
affected by the letter The Pennsylvania
/ has total Of about 600 or 7O0 men in the
/ city, but half of them are employed in
the shops on South Capitol street In adj
dition to the 200 men employed in the city,
/ there are 100 trackmen under local juris-
dicti0n who will be affected.
All Ask Increase.
/ In their demands for higher wages. the
yardmen asked for 50 cents an hour for
day brakemen and 81 cents for night
brakemen, and S5 cents an hour for day
conductors and for night men IS cents.
The general manager explains in the cir
cular that he offered the day conductors
80 cents an hour and the night men "a
cents. while the day brakemen were Of
fercd Is cents and the night men % cents.
These rates." the circular says. while
Inot entirely meeting the wishes Of the
committee, are fair and equitable, and as
high as paid on competing lines in the
same territory-in many cases higher
After reviewing the number Of confer
ences held between the trainmen's COM
lmittee and the company's officers, the &C
icasiOns when the committee failed 10 con-
ifer with the officers and the failure to
meet the concessions of the company on
an equitable basis, the circular says:
1T has always been the policy of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company TO com
pensate its employees literally for serv-
ice performed. and in all of the discus
si0ns the committee were assured tina;
inn.
The varying physical and traffic con-
ditions make II impossible TO apply any
fixed standard Of wages that would
euuitably compensate the employees for
the service. performed. each division and
territory having something peculiar TO
itself, either in character of traffic or
method OF operating. and, therefore. the
/ committee were advised that II was
necessary to adhere 70 the known policy
of the management in fixing Compensa-
ton in accordance with the work and
conditions involved, and the committee
were requested to present in detail what
ever rates. in their judgment. the COM
Ipany's attention should be called TO.
willing to EquaIixe.
"As stated by the committee in their
circular, your general manager was at
all times ready to entertain a proposition
to cqualize wages. but ne advised the
/. committee (and it was clearly so under
stood and acknowledged by them that
the equalization must be Of such a ma
ture as TO not exceed in total the 10 pei
cent increase in wages granted by the
company on December l, 1905; but the
revised rates submitted later on all occa-
| sions by the committee in no case met
this condition
The circular tells about the various
{ efforts to make a favorable settlement
: and then says:
THAT your general manager has beer
I fair in the offers made to the committed
is indicated by the above recitation ol
the facts.
In order that there may be a clear un
I Outstanding OF the financial obligations
| imposed upon the company by the vari
Gus concessions already granted an,
/ offered the following statement is sub
: mitted:
: THE voluntary increase Of 10 per cen
to all employees, effective on December /
\ 1906. resulted in an increase of SS,436, %
/ per annum, Of which S1,50l,000 is applica
i BILE to trainmen.
/ The road rates offered as adjustment
l 10 the committee by your general man
II ager will result in a further increase 0
II $4,000 per annum, or per cent, ant
/ the yard rates offered viii invoice a fur
Il Their increase of SS2S.oO0 per annum, or
II per cent"
II The company's officers believe the mat
II ter will be amicably adjusted. They d
4 not think, they say, there will be
strike.