The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-09-29
B. F. YOAK AM TALKS
ABOUT RAILROADS
Address Is Delivered to Con-
vention of Railway Employees
TOO MANY UNJUST ATTACKS
Yoakum Shows How Great Sums Are
Employed in Railroad Business
and Declares Laws Should
Give Roads Square Deal.
TOO MANY UNJUST ATTACKS

Columbus, o., September 2S.-B. F.
Yoakum, chairman of the executive COM
mittee of the Rock Island-San Francisco
lines, delivered the principal address be-
fore the eleventh biennial convention of
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen
and Engnemen today at Memorial Hall.
The convention will be in session about
ten days longer
President Yoakum said in part:
when you invited me to. address you
I at first hesitated as l am not a public
speaker, but 1 was anxious to meet with
you because of the relations existing
between us and l am glad of the OPP
portunity.
II am an employee and glad to meet
with you as SUCH We have a common in
terest. Good times for the railroads
means good times for us all. Bad times
fer the railroads mean bad times for
J US all. No good can come to this coun-
try when the hands of the clock are at
war with the dial, or when any party of
the general machinery of our social life
is out of harmony with its other parts.
To succeed we must work together.
In talking to you l realize that you
represent the 10000 locomotive firemen
who generate the power which moves the
traffic Of the railroads of the nation,
| and that hard times has resulted in a
large number of your membership be-
ing either out of employment or work.
ing on short time. Last year the fire.
mems payroll was $53, 600, but since the
panic of October it has been running at
the rate of S., 900 less per year.
Your organization is a membership of
workers who travel while they work and
burn money while they work. The aver
age mileage that each fireman travels a
year is over 25, 900 miles and he uses $25OO
worth of fuel. The Importance Of this
will be more clearly illustrated when 1
say fuei cost represents over ten per cent
of the total expense of railroad opera
ton.
Every mile each fireman travels 10
cents is spent in fuel. This Is 10 cents of
every dollar earned by the railroads. OF
that dollar the employees get AZ cents. The
AZ cents to employees and 10 cents for fuel
show where 81 cents out of every dollar
taken in by the railroads go.
when unjust attacks cause the loss
of business to railroads, there is of neces-
sity reduction of expenses. They can,
as has been the case within the last u
months, temporarily reduce maintenance
of track, engines and cars, but this is
only for a short time as the safety of
the lives CT the travelling public and the
employees become too serious a question
to allow the railroads to run down.
I'm viewing this important question we
must not look at it wholly from a stanl-
point of today. We can form a more cor
rect idea of what this vast countrys
development means by looking ahead ten
years. Most of us have been in the en-
ploy of the railroads for the last ten
years, and l hope we will continue during
the next ten. 1 shall give you a few COM
parisons to show what a magnificent fu-
ia 1rn1n
and the general prosperity of the country
If We can establish permanent regula-
lions that are mutually fair to the pub
lie and the railroads, and all pull as one
for best results.
within ten years the number of fire.
men in the railroad service has in
creased 50 per cent. During this period
the fremen's annual pay roll has in
creased from s23, 600, 600 to $4,000, 900.
ut is an interesting illustration of the
efficiency of the railroad service of our
country, which furnishes to the public
better and cheaper service than any other
country, the pay of the employees of this
country is more than double the pay of
Great Britain. The locomotive firemen of
Great Britain is paid $500 per annum,
while the average pay of the locomotive
firemen of this country is $760 per an
num- but as American citizens, consider
ing your efficiency and loyalty, the money
Is compared with the standard of en-
pioyes of any other country on earth.
I'VE have seen what has been accomp-
lished during the last ten years With
the same progress let us see what the
next tes years will bring forth If fair
treatment is accorded to the railroads OF
our country, IL its upbuilding goes for
ward
1.-THE railroad mileage Of this country
last year was 227O0o miles, which is an
increase of "a per cent in ten years,
during which period there were construct
ed 1900 miles. On this basis, within
the next ten years there should be $4,000
new miles of railroad built. In the past
ten years the gross earnings Of the rail-
roads have increased 100 per cent, and
at this same ratio of increase the gross
earnings in ten years will be $4,000, 900 OOO
as the railroad employees receive AZ cents
of every dollar earned by the railroads
their pay roll will have increased from
SO, 000, 900 per day as 1t was last year, to
81, 100000 per day, or annually to total
of $4,000, 1000, 900. The pay roll of the fire.
men alone, which last year was SIS, ZOO, 200,
will amount to s122,000.000 at the end of
the next ten years If our country is
permitted to develop as 1t should and
as 1t has for the last ten years; and the
number of firemen will have increased
from 10000 to 1901 900 men. Within the next
ten years our populatOn at the present
ratio of increase will be more than 1O0,-
900, 900 people. While these are remark
able figures, they are nevertheless true,
and all loyal Americans must feel there
is greater work Of development yet to be
accomplished in our great fertile and
productive nation In the future than in
the past with only one-half of its area
developed. With the increased business
of the railroads have shown for the
N nf
of our entire adult population will be a
railroad employe, or a total Of 1900, 600
employes-a great magnificent army of
men-and we should look forward to the
protection of these properties on fair
terms and not to government ownership,
which would be a mistake.
ANY policy that stirs up internal strife,
that prejudices one interest against an
other, that Injuries or endangers our
groundwork of cooperation, is hurtful
alike to ALL AS nation we should stand
both the public and the law-abiding cor
porations, and the indiscriminate denun-
citation of all capital of the country
should cease.
"Those who have the true interest of
the country at heart should work for
the enforcement Of the laws which have
ben made effective In the last few years,
vigorously prosecuting every volator.
I'm conclusion, wish to say that am
heartily in sympathy with you in your
work. believe organized labor and or
gfo1 1affa vrIr tI,v