Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-11-25

even so it will he immeasurabiN net
ter than il would be under condltiohS
,iieh as the board propose ! ne pea
that would satisfy such an ldeal con-
ditien as that had in mind ny those
making the accommodation, Woula pe
too dearly bought even IL It couia De
attained. To insure the permanent m
dustrial peace so much desired VIII
require a broader craftsmanship than
that which would shacli1e the rights
Of q large group of our citizens.
The arbitration resulted from concert
ed movement begun by the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers in January last
when the brotherhood presented to the
raill roads a series of requests involving
uniform rates of pay, uniform classiii-
cations of service, and uniform working
rules throughout the Eastern district
Refusal of the railroads to grant the
requests in part or in whole resulted in
a strike vote by the engineers which in
dictated that over 93 per cent of the men
we're prepared TO go ont upon approval
of Grand Chief Warren 5. Stone. Judge
Martin A. Knapp of the United States
commerce. court and DIR. Charles Pr Neil.
United States commissioner of labor,
urged an amicable settlement A con-
ference with these two officials brought
about an agreement between the rail-
roads and the engineers to submit the
dispute to a board of arbitration.
The board began its deliberations in
July, but only today was able to an
nounee its conclusions. Hearings were
given more than a score of engineers,
whose case was presented by Grand
Chief Warren : Stone, and the railroads
were represented by W. NJ. Duncan, re-
ceiver of the Wheeling & Lake Erie,
and b. A. Worthngton, now president
of the Chicago & Alton. Each party
presented an abundance of statistical
material and of documentary evidence In
support of its CONVENTIONS
The engineers presented as arguments,
in favor of their claims, the following
The nature of their calling, they stated.
involved heavy and increasing RESPONSE
bility. great skill and efficiency, long
preparatory training, acute mental strain
much hazard. and limited years of earn
ing power. They held that on account
of the increase i'm the size of engines
their responsibility and productivity were
steadily increasing. They held that the
wages of engineers had not kept pace
with other classes of train service and
that the wages of the engineers in the
Eastern district We're not so high as III
the Southern and Western districts.
The railroads on their side held that
the engineers now receive not only 4
fair but liberal compensation for the
work performed being the highest paid
class of employees in the railroad service;
that the hours of duty were limited and
other conditions of service so arranged
as to relieve the engineers in the normal
course of work of excessive strain; and
that there had been no change in work
ing conditions. since the last wage adj
justment, now requiring adjustment.
Also the railroads held that they were
financially unable to meet the increased
compensation asked.
These requests upon one side. and
their general refusal upon the other side.
with no proposal for modification OF
existing rates of pay Or rules of service.
placed the problem before the board of
determining whether an increase should
be granted. and If so how much for each
class of service for each of the 81 roads.
The boards Investigations led them u
consider the broader aspects of the prob
lem Never in the history of the United
states has there been a strike on all the
railroads of a great section of the eonn-
try. The present arbitration, involving
as II did a concerted movement affecting
- roads, represented a new phase of de-
veopment. The railroads involved OPP
Grated 66,S76 miles of main tract in 1910.
or more than one-fourth of the total
mileage OF American railroads. Their an
nual operating revenues exceed sl000.00
GOO, or nearly 40 per cent of the total
for all American railroads. They carried
nearly one-half of the freight traffic of
the United States, and over two-ffths of
the passenger traffic Excluding general
officers the annual pay roll of their en-
ployes amounted to S466 900 and the
annual compensation of the engineers
alone was nearly s3s, 100000 or Al per cent.
of the total compensation paid all rail.
road engineers in the country.
The railroads comprise nearly all of
those i'm New England, New York, Penn
sylyania, Delaware, New Jersey, Mary
land Ohio, Indiana. Michigan and part
of Illinois, or practically all lines east
of Chicago and north of the Norfolk &
Western Railroad They serve about 81
6O0,000 people, or more than 40 per cent.
of the total population of the country.
II an effective railroad strike had oc-
CURED in the Eastern part of the United
States, it not only would have been dis
astrous to the railroads and resulted in
great losses to the engineers, but would
have meant loss to the public vastly
larger than that of both parties to the
conflict successful general strike in
the Eastern district would have put that
great section of the country in much the
same situation as France was placed
few years ago, when there was a gen.
eral strike in that country