The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-07-26
RAILROADS. WAGE ARGUMENTS
PRESENTED
viii Attempt to Show Why Locomo-
i've Engineers Should Not Have
S7,5OO,0OO Increase in Pay.


Manhattan Beach, N. Y, July 25.
The Arbitration Commission to de-
eide whether the Eastern railroads
are to increase the wages of loco
motive engineers some $7,5OO,0O0
annually, met Monday to resume ses-
sions, when railroad officials began
the full presentation of their case.
The Commission arbitrating the
present wage controversy is compos-
ed OF Oscar S. Straus, formerly
United States Secretary of Commerce
and Labor; Charles Richard Van
Hise, President of the University of
Wisconsin,; Frederick Newton Jud-
son, one of the leading lawyers of
st. Louis Otto NJ. Eidlitz, formerly
President of the Building Trades AS
sociation of New York; DR.. Albert
Shaw, Editor of the Review of Re-
views; p. II. Morrissey, formerly
President of the Brotherhood of Rail
road Trainmen, and Daniel Willard,
President of the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad.
They were chosen by Chief Justice
White, of the United States Supreme
Court, Martin A. Knapp, Presiding
Judge of the Commerce Court, and
DR.. Charles P. Neill, United States
Commissioner of Labor. Mr.. Nor
rissey and Mr.. Willard, the represen-
tatives of the engineers and the rail-
roads respectively, who were to have
chosen the other members of the
Commission, had been unable to agre
on the remaining five TO complete
the Board.
Last week was taken up with a
preliminary presentation of the rail-
roads case, and the full presentation
of the engineers arguments for an
increase.
A careful analysis of the demands
presented by the locomotive en-
gineers shows that they are demand
ing
(D The adoption of the principle
that wages and rules of service shall
be standardized throughout the East
ern territory.
CD The adoption of certain stand
ard rates of pay and certain standard
rules of service, resulting in increas-
ed compensation to the engineers.
(3) The adoption of the princi-
pie that locomotive engineers shall
have the right to operate the motive
power when it is changed from steam
to electricity or other motive power,
erned by the schedule covering rates
of pay and rules of service in steam
service.
(4) That locomotive engineers
shall have the right to operate elec-
trio or multiple unit trains when the
same enter upon steam tracks or
tracks formerly operated by steam,
or where trackage rights are leased
to holding companies.
The railroads, on the other hand,
are rejecting the demands of the en-
gineers as above set forth, upon the
ground that existing rates of pay are
full and liberal, that existing rules
of service bear some relation to local
conditions, that Standardization of
either rates of pay or rules of SER
vice are not justified by conditions,
and that electric service is not en-
titled to be paid upon a steam basis.
In arguing the railroads side of
the case, B. A. Worthington, Presi-
dent of the Chicago & Alton Railroad
said:
a. In nearly every instance stand
ardization will have the effect of i'm
posing a very heavy burden on very
weak road.
" The railroads claim that the ex-
isting wages are fair and liberal"
says Mr.. Worthington, because
railroad employees are as we'll, if not
/ better, paid than labor in other en-
ployments. Engineers constitute the
highest paid class of employees in the
railroad service.
" The existing differential in the
rate of pay in favor of the engineers
against the conductors, growing out
of the wage adjustment of 1910, cor
responds in a majority of cases with
the differential Heretofore existing
for number of years in favor of the
engineers. The 1910 adjustment OF
engineers wages was made, except
ing in three or four instances, on the
fifty-two railroads involved, subse-