The daily sentinel., 1907-12-27
THE DEMANDS OF
THE RAILROADERS
Big INCREASE IN PAY
And Many Radical Changes in Rules are
Demanded BY Conductors and Trainmen
Employed on 65 Roads-Ganvassing
the Strike Vote.

| Chicago, Dec. 27.=Members of the
executive committees of the Order of
railroad Conductors and the Broth
erhocd of Railway Traihmen. with
Garrettson, Morrissey and other Of
ficals, will meet in the Sherman
house tomorrow to canvass the vote
just cast by the members of the or
ganizations on whether they shall
affiliate in making concerted de
mands for more pay and improved
conditions of labor. All of the ter
ritory east of the Mississippi river is
affected. as is also eastern Canada.
Should the vote be favorable to maxi
ing the demands, the chairman of
each system will be notified by wire.
Then on next Thursday a simultan-
eous demand will be made on the
general Offices of all the 65 compan-
les involved. The general commit
tees of all the railroad systems will
convene on January 20 in the cities
where the railroads have their head
quarters in order to demand an
swers to the proposals.
Attempts will be made to arrange
conferences with the railroad Off
cials, but If compromise propositions
are offered by any of the railroads
the workmen will not have author
ity to agree on terms OF settlement,
but must report to the grand officials
Changes of a radical nature as we'll
as increase in pay are to be demand
ed for every branch of the service.
One of the changes asked for is the
abolition of the 'double-header'
two locomotives with only one train
| crew-the two engines to be permit
ted in extraordinary cases only. The
''double-header" was the question
which led to the famous Pennsylva-
MIA strike in 1877. which cost mii-
lions of dollars and many lives.
The vote now being taken is not
a strike vote directly but one to de-
termine the sentiment of the men as
to the proposed questions. The prin-
cipal demands are as follows:
A-on runs of $500 miles per
month, or over, the pay of passenger
conductors to be 2.75 cents per mile /:
baggagemen, t.65 cents per mile;
hagmen, 1.56 cents per mile, and
brakemen s2.25 per day
Bon runs of $500 miles per
month the pay of passenger conduct
ors to be not less than $4.25 per day I;
baggagemen, $2.55 per day; flagmen
S2S5 per day, and brakemen, $2.25
per day.
Overtime on through passen-
ger service to be based on a speed of
25 miles per hour. to be computed
from the time the men are required
to report for duty and to continue
until they are relieved at the end of
the run, and to be paid for at the
| following rates: Conductors, AZ. 5
cents per hour; baggagemen, 25.5
cents per hour: flagmen, 23.5 cents
per hour; brakemen, 22.5 cents per
hour; less than 80 minutes not to be
counted, and 30 or over to be paid
for as an hour.
The demands made by tralnmel
employed in freight service follow:
In all freight service. 100 miles or
less to constitute days work;
overtime to be considered after ten
hours. On runs of over 100 miles
overtime to be paid for on basis of
speed of ten miles per hour. Through
and irregular freight service to be
paid for as follows: Conductors,
SS cents per mile; fiagmen. 2.63
cents per mile; brakemen. 81 cents
per mile; 100 miles or less to be paid
for as 100 miles. Local and pick
up conductors are to be paid 4.O5
cents per mile; hagmen, 2.S cents
per mile, and brakemen, 81 cents
per mile. With trains of over 80
cars, exclusive of caboose, the prac-
tice of double heading is to be dis
continued, except in inclement wealth
er or to avoid running light.
1t is set forth that the Chicago
standard of rates of pay are to gov
ern all terminal, divisional or other
important yards. All other yards
are to be paid one cent per hour less
than the Chicago rate of pay. Ten
hours or less shall constitute days
work.
If these demands should be sus-
tanned by the railroad workmen and
be refused by the officials of the rail-
ways involved, it is likely that one
of the most determined strikes in
railroad history will result.
HaAa