Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-21
PREDICT BIG STRIKE
Labor Men Say Railways
Must Raise Wages.
UNPRECEDENTED RECEIPTS
Dividends Due January l Larger
Than Ever Before.
TAFT MAY BE CALLED UPON
Expected That He Will Act Prompt
1y in Case Of Trouble-Roads Say
Salaries Have Been Increased.
TAFT MAY BE CALLED UPON
BY WILLIAM T.. CURTIS.

the Brotherhood of Railway Tralnmen
| will strike, as predicted In the papers,
| if their wages are not increased and
their hours of labor diminished. Some
go so far as to say that a general strike,
| involving all transportation lines, is like
| ly to occur unless the railway companies
| yield to the demands for a 10 per cent
| advance all round and a ten-hour day.
| with double pay for overtime. They
represent that the statements in the pa
pers daily about the extraordinary In
| crease in earnings and the unusual dfvi-
| dends that have been declared. Secre-
tary Wilson's figures about the increase
| in the cost of living and other facts that
| have been published recently concerning
the industrial and financial condition OF
the country have convinced engineers,
firemen, conductors. brakemen, switch
transportation companies that they are
not getting their share of the good things
of this world. and that the vote recently
| taken as a referendum among the lines
| east of the Mississippi river shows an
almost unanimous disposition to de-
mand 1t.
1t is also argued that neither the rail-
way companies nor the general public
can object to at least an agitation of this
subject. because the impetus gained by
commerce, industry and trade Is SO great
| that no interest can be endangered now.
Everybody comedies that the people of
| the United States were never so pros
| porous as they are today; that they
| We're never so rich, and the big corpora
| lions. under these circumstances, cannot
| justify increased payments to their
stockholders without treating their en-
ployes in the same way.
Railway Earnings Unprecedented.
The dividends that will be paid Janu-
airy to the stockholders of railways and
| other corporations will average larger
than ever before, and the earnings for
the last quarter of 1909 will be unprece-
dented. If they continue to increase dur
ing the first six months Of next year as
they have during the last six months OF
the present year it is difficult to see
how the demand of labor can be refused.
On the other hand the managers say
that all Of the railway companies wnich
cut down wages during the financial de-
preston two years ago have restored
them to the old figures. and that an av-
erage increase Of 10 per cent has been
enjoyed by every class of railway labor
during the last ten years. This advance
has brought the pay of trainmen. particu-
larly, up to the maximum of wages paid
any class Of workmen, and while II is
| true that there is unprecedented pros
perity among the transportation lines. 1t
is caused by the efforts Of the manufac-
turing Industries to catch up for the
| time they lost during the financial de-
preston and hence 1t is not likely TO be
permanent. They also assert that the ad-
vance in the price of construction ma
terials, rolling stock, supplies and main
! tenance will leave very little margin when
the books are balanced. Furthermore, II
there is to be an advance OF ~ per cent III
the wages of trainmen. the machinists,
shopmen and laborers will demand the
same, and the earnings of the companies
will not be SUFFICIENT to meet the demands
without an increase in freight and pas
Senger rates.
There are a few railway managers who
favor a complete readjustment of the re-
lations between the companies and their
men. They believe that an adjustable
scale can be arranged by which the en-
ployes of a railway can share the profits
and the losses with the stockholders as
business f1uctuates, and in case of q
strike they will attempt to secure its
adoption. The idea is to have fixed stand
ards for the different classes of employees,
like the graded pay of officers and nom
commissioned officers in the army and
navy, based upon certain earnings per
mile. When the earnings are reduced by
the falling off of business, are in
creased by commercial and Industrial ac-
tivity, the rates of wages shall be ad-
vanced or reduced in proportion.
Taft Will Act Promptly.
1t is expected that President Taft will
act promptly in case of threatened
strike He sent Chairman Knapp of the
interstate commerce commission and Mr..
Neill, commissioner of labor, to st. Paul
very promptly when trouble broke out
there.
Great Britain has narrowly escaped
general railway strike, but the differences
in regard to wages and hours of work.
which were the cause of controversy, have
been settled by arbitration, with con-
cessions on both sides. There has been.
however, general advance in wages.
the amount of which would seem too
small to quarrel about by the railway
| men of the United States But 1t means
a good deal to the members of that occu-
patton in England.
The award of the arbitratorS fixes $50
train miles and nine hours work a day
as the maximum to be required of loco
| motive drivers and firemen. The wages
Of firemen, which by the present scale
begin at "a cents day and in eleven
years reach maximum of $1.3O per day
by gradual annual increase. are altered
so that the maximum amount can be
reached in eight years. although the
rate per day has not been changed.
| Cleaners and oilers are hereafter to begin
at $2.43 per week and can rise to a maxi
mum of $486 a week instead of $4.37, and
| days work is to be nine hours. No
| engineer fireman, guard, oiler, cleaner
| or other train hand IS to be called out
| for duty without an interval OF nine con-
secutive hours between the finish of
one shift and the commencement Of an
other. The wages of switch and round
house engineers are reduced from $1.S2
| to $145 per day. This reduction is not
| to apply to present employees, but future
appointments, and the time of labor has
| been reduced from ten to nine hours
| day.
Wages of Brakemen Raised.
| The wages Of goods and mineral
guards" which means brakemen upon
| freight and coal trains, are raised from
$7.29 to $7.7S per week. Car cleaners
| and sweepers will hereafter be paid a
| minimum of S2.43 per week when first
employed, with a 10 per cent increase
annually until they reach a maximum of
| 1885 a week. Signalmen. swttchmen,
| porters at passenger stations and freight
| houses who have heretofore received a
maximum of $7.29 per week. will now
| receive &7.54 per week. and veterans,
| who have been receiving the maximum
| for five years, will be entitled to SITS
These increases seem Insignificant when
compared with the wages paid In the
| United States, but they have already
been accepted by $4,000 railway serv-
ants in the United Kingdom.
| tn the Increased cost 0f rnaipfo-