The San Francisco call., 1907-03-01


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Washington and Mason streets, and did not reach
the power houses at Hayes street and Central
avenue or McAllister street and Central avenue
In the case of the Valencia-street power-house,
the proofs OF loss given by the United Railroads
to the insurance companies and introduced in
evidence show that there was no damage from
the earthquake. and that the only damage by fire
to the machinery necessary to operate the
whole Market-street system was to a mere con-;
trfvance for keeping the cable taut and amounted
who hold that the high position California holds
In the domain of artistic fiction will never be i'm
paired by the proofs of loss submitted to the in
surance companies In consequence of the events
of April is, but know, too, that the proofs Of
loss from the fire certainly do not suffer from uni
derstatement. When therefore we find that the
United Railroads claims that the only loss to its
cable machinery at Valencia street amounted to
but S4S00 1 am justified in holding that it would
have. cost much less money TO repair that damage
than turn all the cable roads into electric sys-
tens, and that the repair could have been ef
fected in much. less time.
For that reason 1t is clear to me that when
the United Railroads chose to run the trolley On
Market street it was acting freely for its own
reasons and therefore. that the reduction of its
rolling stock practically by one-half was entirely
voluntary on its part.
L CABLE LINE EASILY RESTORED
But as has been said again and again. 1t was
this reduction Of the rolling stock that above.
all imposed and continue TO impose the new
and more arduous conditions the men. There
fore, hold it TO be proven beyond the possi-.
bility OF doubt that such imposition on the part
Of the company was entirely voluntary. But.
the majority report states distinctly that II
'the company Imposed new and harder condi-
tions the men they would have been justified
In morals. as In law, in quitting the employment
either individually or as body" Hence we
can only conclude from the majority report
itself that the strike was not only Justified. but
that the demand for better terms had founda-
rion in the civil well in the moral law.
The argument made on page IS that the rapid
resumption of traffic and the consequent re-
employment OF the men should be taken, as an
offset 10. the "undoubted hardship OF having to-
deal with the unruly. crowds carried by the
fewer cars lin service" does not appear to me
to possess any cogency In the first place. It
a bit quicker the old cable systems by
changing them into trolley lines than II much
going In the second place the men went back
to work not objects Of charity but as wage
company was certainly much greater than to
the men themselves. In the third place. the
argument affects only the men on the old cable
roads and does not affect the former electric
lines and where the traffic and is heaviest
and the conditions far more deplorable. and;
lastly. if the argument had any merit in the
days of the bread line, it ceased to have merit
ships did not pass and have not passed and
within reasonable expectation. 1t is therefore
entirely untenable to suppose that the advan-
tage Of getting work during the period imme-
diately following the fre-a period for which
the ask no extra compensation-should be
barrier to their demand Tor their Just dues
during the fifth, the sixth, the tenth or even
the twelfth month after the ashes grew cold
On page is the majority report minimizes the
states that only one-fourth passengers
have been carried per car mile, and that in
any the increase has not exceeded 80 per
cent. have great respect for miles, car
hours, tables, diagrams and all the parapher[
MALTA of scientific economics, and l have no
doubt that all the calculations In the miles
of figures embodied in the testimony are worked
out with rigorous exaetitude. listened with
great respect to the testimony of of the
companys officials in which he stated that
each carrying only and a fraction
more n passengers per e hn ban velore ene nre.
fession of railroading is not compatible with the
magpaiVe man there IS one fact baf Patin stares pe
me in the face. and it is this: The company
has only half the number Of In operation
that it had before the fire and 1t is carrying
mean that each car is doing double work
don't know what 1t does mean.
CROWDED CARS THE RULE
That the hardships of the men do not in
crease in proportion TO the numbers carried is
a proposition to which cannot give assent. 1t
is true that starting with empty car the Ia
Dor of the men does not increase with the num-
Der Of passengers carried. 1t woul also be true
to say that up to certain point il does not in
crease at all. do not understand that the
men ask any increase for the labor involved in
taking care of a car reasonably filed. But the
testimony shows that even before the fire some
Of the lines reached the point OF saturation at
certain hours, and since the fire nearly all the
lines at a saturation point nearly all the
time. Once the car is reasonably filed every
additional passenger renders the work more diff
fcult for the men and the increase of work rap
idly outstrps the increase of passengers until at
last in some cases the platform men have TO
give up trying to work at all. That such con-
dition OF affairs is reached not now and again
but frequently, is plain from the evidence, so
that 1 cannot believe that as the majority re-
port holds the increase in the burden has in the
majority of instances been comparatively small.
Wherefore since ii is evident that the in
crease of labor actually exists, both account
and on account OF the voluntary action OF the
company In reducing the number OF cars, | be-
lieve that strict justice would demand that .he
carmen should receive Increase of wages far
beyond that of other classes of labor instead Of
falling below them.
The assertion has been made that the rates
awarded the platform are absolutely the
highest rates for this class of work in any part
OF the world, and Major Mclaughlin in his
opinion calls attention to their superiority over
IN the present demand for higher compensation
that have to be kept distinct. First, the nor
NAL reasons that would cause the granting of
higher rate, and, secondly, the present abnor-
increased compensation. Though the decision
distinctly declares that the award is ONLY for
the period between September 6. 1905, and My
l. 1907, a period which certainly is abnormal
the increase granted does not at all respond to
those abnormal conditions. That IS evident
from a comparison with the Oakland rates 10
which Major Mclaughlin has referred II is
true that those ra ties not In evidence but
there Is no question to their existence and
the arbiter for the company has referred IN
them I take At for granted that / may also
consider them. They form graduated scale
going from 80 cents hour to 40 cents. Men
under year in service get 80 cents and then
are raised a cent until those who are over ten
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