Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-04-05

A big strike of the trainmen on the
Pennsylvania railroad seemed inevitable
when the officials of the road made con-
c~essions by extending the recent Fits
burg wage increase to points within a
radius of forty-fve miles. adding 2 cents
an hour to all day or night men
The new labor union, embracing all Sec
ton hands employed on railroads west
and southwest of Chicago, have asked
the general managers committee to ex-
clude all aliens from employment in track
work. The men want a wage scale or
$75 a month for foremen and 81 for a day
of eight hours for laborers. The union
has promised close affiliation with the
other railway organizations.
As a result of recent railway wrecks
the managers of several trunk lines lead
ing into Chicago have expressed their in
tention of running trains on slower sched-
ule. 4 number Of prominent Chicago
bankers, lawyers and railroad men have
signed a petition to the New York Cen
trail and Pennsylvania arrangements re-
questing the extension of the New York
and Chicago schedule from eighteen to
twenty hours during the winter months.
One result of the recent accidents on
the New York Central and the prompt
action of the coroner and grand jury in
calling the company to account is an or
der to all trainmen on the Harlem di-
vision within the electric zone to run
their trains not over forty-fve miles an
hour on a straight track and not over
thirty-6ve on a curve. Officials of both
the Central and the Pennsylvania say
that the limited flyers will have to be
taken off if the 2-cent fare laws stand
The Pennsylvania railroad has decided
to make an exhaustive test of steel ties.
If these steel ties stand the test the COM
pany will use hundreds of thousands of
them annually, but if they fail to meet
the requirements the company will not
make any further experiments with steel
ties, but will plant thousands of trees,
with the idea of using wooden ties eX-
clusively in the future. On it's various
ines the Pennsylvania company uses
about 100000 wooden ties annually.
The interstate N commission
has recommended a law enforcing the use
of the block signal system on all passen-
ger lines and giving the commission power
to inspect and regulate. 1t holds that
the system has failed on account of bad
operation rather than from any defect in
it's design. Supervision would be made
to prevent unduly long hours of labor,
which impair the faculties of those charg-
ed with the operation of the system. At
the same time the New York State rail
road commission has recommended the
adoption Of a system which will prevent
more than one train being in a block at
| the same time. In practice, railroad men
have very generally allowed more than
| one train in a block under cautionary Or
ders.
The stock of the Great Northern rail-
road declined sharply when it became
known in Wall street that the Minnesota
| Attorney General, Young, had begun ac-
ton to compel the st. Paul, Minneapolis
and Manitoba Railroad. Company to show
cause why its charter should not be for
feited. The complaint says that the
Great Northern has been guilty of stock
watering, and that it should not be allow
ed to continue to pay dividends on water
ed stock, nor to create subsidiary COM
| panies composed of its own stockhold-
ers.
The central labor union at Omaha,
Neb., took a hand in the proposed street
car strike in that city, n after an in-
~vestigation of the claims of both sides
recommended 20 Ihe Worknen Inat tney
continue at work. The president and for
mer presidents of the labor union consti-
tuted what practically formed a court.
An agreement between the brotherhoods
of 6remen and engineers and the officers
of the Lake Shore railroad was reached
by which the men are to receive an aver
age increase of 8 per cent in wages and
a reduction in working hours from twelve
to ten in the yards, and its equivalent OF
| the road.