The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-09-13
ONE TRAINMAN
KILLED AN HOUR
So A. B. GarretsOn, Representing
Conductors, Declares At
New York Hearing
ATTACKS PRESENT METHOD
3 Counsel For The Railroads Pleads
For The Standardizing
Of Rates

New York, Sept. 13-That one man
was killed every sixty-seven minutes
and one MANNED every nine minutes
on the eastern railroads was asserted
by A. B. Garretson. representing the
Order of Railroad Conductors, before
the second days session of the arbi-
tration commission meeting in the
Hotel Manhattan to listen to the de-
mands of delegates of the eastern rail-
roads and their trainmen. Elisha
Lee, counsel for the railroads., chal-
Ienged this statement, but Garretson
said that he would prove it from the
records.
cuSSion of several kinds of railroad
duty, the scheduled pay of which he
will request to be changed in the di-
rect demands to be made later in the
hearings He urged changes in the
railroads mana gement of labor, and
explained railroad t+piece-work.'
assignment trainmen are assured
q given amount of pay for the month, "
he said. "A 4piece-worker, who is
an emergency worker, may hold him
self in readiness all month for work
and devote as much time to the ser
vice as the assignment man, and not
get equal compensation. He will be
paid for what he has actually done,
not for the time he is in emergency
for work
81 Dead-head crews are subject to
an abglse we desire to have corrected.
'Dead@head' crews are men who have
run a loaded train to a given point,
and on returning to the home start
ing point have no work to do and
are not paid for the time lost in re-
turning
Misunderstanding, another railroad
practice was attacked by Mr. Garrett
son. Misunderstanding is placing two
engines on a train. He added that
this practice had become general on
railroads, and that often when two
engines are not necessary they were
used in order to give employment to
more men Garretson declared that
this practice caused the pay for each
man to be reduced, and often at the
end of the run, caused the men to be
laid off at frequent periods. without
pay
The subject of the loss of life among
trainrnen was brought up by Garrett
son. Every day, he said, trainmen
were being disabled by the breaking
Of air brakes suddenly applied in
emergency cases. Doubling the num-
Der OF cars in a freight train, Garrett
son declared, doubled the risk and re
sponsfbility. Some Of the working
economies introduced by railroad man
agements he added, really increased
the risk encountered by trainmen, who
pay for the railroads economies in
disability funds Then he contin-
ued:
.tOn the eastern lines one man is
killed every hour and seven minutes
One man is MANNED every nine min
utes-" "a
pIIted this statement.
IT have seen some of these evils
corrected" said Mr.. Garretson- .@These
evils do not exist without a, reason.
The idea of the railroads. officials is
TO use a man to the legal limit
William Lee. counsel for the Broth
erhood of Railroad Trainmen, made a.
plea for an increase in tn epay Of
men for overtime work 4
I'VE are really before this commits
sion to complete what we started in
our case in $780, said Mr.. Lee. 1--WE
want standardized, pay There is no
reason why a railroad should pay one
salary for a given service at a ter
ninaI and different salary for the
same service at another place. The
south is standardizing it's rates by
slow stages. We want standard rates
throughout and that includes the
black man If he does the work of
the northern railroad man, we would
be willing to see him receive equal
pay