The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1907-05-06
MORE MONEY
IS DECLINED
Taft Gives Out Far
Reaching Decision
WAGES OF CANAL EMPLOYEES
Demands Of Engineers and Crane
men Are Refused.
In Comparing the Scale of isthmian
Salaries with Those IN the States,
Taft Thinks Them Quite
Liberal.

washington, May 5--A tar reaching
decision by Secretary Taft. affecting
rates OF pay, hours of labor, ETC., on the
lsthmus of Panama, following MS re-
cent personal investigation of the va
rious complaints received here ffom
time to time. was made public at he
White House today. after President
Roosevelt had given his approval to the
Secretary's recommendations. The de-
cfsion applies to three classes OF canal
employees. First. steam shovel men,
embracing engineerssscra ana
firemen: second construction locomotive
engineers, and third, construction train
conductors.
One of the grievances of the men was
the putting into operation on April ].
of the new regulations, restricting leave
of absence. or leave on account of sick
ness. On this question the Secretary
says
As To Regulations.
The old regulations were adver-
tised on the printed announcement sent
by the Commissions agents to induce
persons to go to the Isthmus and enter
the employment of the Commission so
that every man who has come to the
Isthmus has come there with the I'M
Outstanding that he old regulations
were to apply as part of his contract
of service.
II seems to me that good health re-
quires that the regulations as to leave
shall not be materially changed and
shall remain as part of contract. and
that while there are some provisions in
the new regulations which would make
for the more stringent enforcement of
the governments rights, and more GER
tainly avoid possible fraud. they should
not be made applicable to men who
come to the Isthmus under the old
regulations.
Taking up the subject of the sum
mary dismissal, without hearing or
giving reasons. which was complained
Of nv the canal employees Secretary
Taft says that he has given his ap-
prevail to the plan of Colonel Cocktails
whereby II Is proposed to dismiss such
cases through a committee consisting
of one representative of the craft OF
employee proposed for dismissal, one rep
resenting the foreman or higher Off
cial proposing discharge and one rep
I resenting the commission. final action
| to be taken by the commission.
Much attention is given the question
| of wages to the steam shovel men, who
on March 1. last, applied for increases
as follows:
Engineers from 1910 to 5000 per
month. cranemen from s1s5 to $3.50
per month; firemen from $S3.33 to $40
per month. In reaching the conclusion
that the present rates of pay are lib
eral ones. Secretary Taft says:
As To More Money.
"A careful examination into the rates
of pay prevailing throughout the Unit
ted states. shows that some four years
ago the usual rates of pay for steam
shovel engineers were $125 per month
and for cranemen 500, but that in
the interval since the enormous de-
mand for new construction has In
creased the wages of both. so that the
average pay throughout the country
%
for cranemen and from $3.50 to $3.50 for
engineers.
an New York. where the rate of
living is high, there are engineers who
receive SITS and proportionately less.
In work on the Mississippi as high as
5000 a month is paid shovel engineers,
and the employment agent of the com
mission at Pittsburg reported early
this year that the demand was so great
that the wages of engineers was tend
ing toward 5000 per month. In Alaska
the rate for engineers Is reported to be
5000 for cranemen $3.50.
Upon the isthmus. the conditions
under which the different men work
in respect to the character of mater-
al and the distance of the dumps are
so different that 1t has been impossi-
bio to graduate the pay or offer bo-
muses. for high yardage. The only
method Is to fix a fiat rate for the
whole class.
after giving the matter the con-
sideratiun which its Importance de-
serves, l have reached the conclusion
that the existing standard Of pay for
the shovel engineers and for the crane
men Is liberal one and ought not
to be increased. except under some
provision OF reasonable increase ap-
Iiicable to sll skilled employees of the
commission, who are paid by class
rates AS already seen the rates paid
to the isthmlan shovel engineers are
certainly from twenty-five to thirty
Ave per cent. higher than the aver
age of those paid in the States and this,
by no means. states all the difference
In favor of the isthmian terms of en-
pIcyment.
"A steam shovel man on the 18TH
mus can count on twelve months con-
slant employment in a year and steam
shovel men in the United states cam
not expect to be employed more than
nine months In the year Mr.. Stevens
estimated that every steam shovel
man in the States should count on
a loss OF four months instead of three
in each year
Second every shovel man on the
isthmus is entitled TO six weeks leave
with paw as a vacation so that he re-
ceives twelve months pay for ten and
q half months work.
Third, steam shovel men on the
isthmus work but eight hours a day.
whereas many. though not all OF the
steam shovel men in the United
States, work ten hours a day"
Taft Takes Issue.
Secretary Taft takes issue with the
steam shovel men in their contentious
that they were told that they might
count on a gradual increase In their
wages and that the one increase they
mol, TO ,,v-