Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1908-03-06
RAILROADS SUBMIT
To new nine HOUR LAW FOR
TELEGRAPH OPERATORS.
Railroad Magnates Plead Poverty and
Tell of Many Idle Cars, but Predict
Return of Trade and Prosperity in
Spring-Many Small Offices to Be
CIosed-Many More Operators.

Washington, March 2.-American
comply March 4 with the provisions of
the "nine-hour law" The observation
of the law will mean the employment
by railroad companies of several thou
sand additional operators and the
closing of large number of small
stations on the principal systems. Dis
continuing of railway service at many
points, it is thought, will cause at
least temporary inconvenience to the
travelling and shipping public. In Or
der to reduce operating expenses,
which now seems necessary, the oper-
ating officials of the railroads believe
that this is the only way that they
possibly can meet the situation with
which they are confronted. The law
requires employment of an extra oper-
ator when the work requires more
than nine hours, and is designed to
safeguard lives of passengers and
trainmen.
During the hearing of applications
for an extension of the nine-hour law
by the Interstate commerce commits
sion, some astonishing statements
were made by the operating officials
of important railways. A good many
railroads, owing to a reduction in the
revenues and to their inability to COM
mand the cash necessary to meet their
payrolls, have been forced during the
last four months, almost to the point
of asking for receivers. In the opin-
ion of railway officials expressed at
the hearing under oath and in private
conversation this condition does not
seem to have been due to the enforce
ment of regulative laws or to the in
capacity of railway management. Most
of the railroad officials attribute the
difficulty to the unfortunate banking
situation which developed last Sep
TENDER. The railways did not feel the
stringency in money until about the
first of November. In fact, the month
of October was one of the best in the
history of the business of American
railways.
Slump Sudden and Violent.
H. U. Nudge, vice president and
general manager of the Rock Island
system, said: I'VE were plunged from
prosperity to adversely. A year ago
our system could not handle the traffic
offered us. Today we have IL 900 idle
cars. Five months ago we suffered
from a congestion of freight; now we
suffer from a congestion of empty
cars"
What is true of one road is true of
scores of other roads. One railroad
official ventured the statement that in
the country today there are 10000
idle freight cars, and one line which
he instances was declared to be haul
ing empty cars backward and forward
because it had not yard room or sid
ings to accommodate them.
Expect Quick Recovery.
Not a single official of single rail-
road line who appeared before the
commission, however, expressed the
belief that the present industrial de.
preston would be lasting. In the tes-
timony of nearly every witness before
the commission there was a note of
confidence because near.y every one
of them practically believed that the
strlngency in the money market from
which the country has suffered is not
due to fundamental causes. They point
out that the crops last year were good;
that prices were excellent; that indus
trial enterprises throughout the coun-
try were fiourishing. 1t was merely
the inability to command ready cash
and the boarding of money by panic
stricken individuals which produced
so suddenly the remarkable depression
from which all have suffered.
They practically uniformly express
confidence that the return of prosper
ity will be almost as sudden as was
the coming of adversely, and in their
arguments as to the enforcement of
the nine-hour law they pointed out to
the commission that such return of
prosperity might seriously embarrass
them in complying with the law, be-
cause it would render it difficult to
command the services of competent
operators in sufficient numbers to
meet the needs of prosperous condi-
lions.
Few Reduce Wages.
With four or five exceptions, no i'm
portant railroads of the country have
indicated an intention to reduce the
wages of their employees. AS Chair
man Knapp of the interstate commerce
commission expressed it: 80 far as
l am informed, there is no concerted
action on the part of the American
railway companies to reduce wages.
Instances of an intention to change
the scale of wages have been given