The Washington times., 1914-03-30
CONSUMERS ATTACK
TERMINAL COMPANY
Miss Constance Leupp Fights
Rate Increase on Eight-Hour
Law Charge.

That the Washington Terminal Com.
pany. which cares for the Union Sta,
tion and the passenger cars of the
railroads using it, is actually making
money out of the eight-hour law;
That it has reduced the pay Of its
women employees through the oper,
alton of the law to a point where i!
is difficult for them to subsist;
That it is sighting the work OF
cleaning cars because it has not taken
on any more employees and is trying
to do seventy hours work in forty
eight hours every week.
These things and several other
20 pointed statements are contained in
letter Of objection to the proposed
per cent freight rate increase which
Miss Constance I.eupp. president Of
the Consumers' League, sent to Chair
man Harlan of the Interstate Com
merce Commission this morning. Her
letter to the Commission is based on
the fact that the Terminal Company
is controlled and directed by the
railroads using the Union Station.
Perfectly Outrageous"
TT is a perfectly outrageous thing
that the Washington Terminal Com
pany is actually making s1.722 annually
as a result Of the eight-hour law. They
ought to thank us for getting it through
for them" she says.
The situation, SO far as I have been
able to learn, is this: They have not in
creased the number of women they had
IN their employ before the eight-hour
law went into effect; they are attempt
ing to do just the same amount Of work
in six eight-hour days as they former
1y got out of seven ten-hour days. and
year LESS for 1t!
I'VE do not pretend that the efficient
work performed in eight full working
hours Is less than in the former sched-
ule of ten hours. But We do contend
that the same amount of work is not
means, and that the burden Of
II. where we can get the facts,
Company at ali but on the cleaning.
women who are now earning S7.20 as
against former $l0.50 a week, and the
travelling public, which must, of neces-
ITO Indicate the Importance Of the
reduction to the women, I wish to call
attention to the fact, that l learn
through the charitable societies of the
city that q number Of these wcmen
cleaners are widows with children, and
that they are the widows of men who
have been killed on the railroads. The
char1ties are eking out the reduced
wages. 1t would seem that railroads
which are extracting the widows mite
OF VIZ year do not need an endow-
shippers.
Excuse for Niggardly. Economy"
'The eight-hour law Is a health meas
ure: II, however. railroad employers use
It as an excuse for a niggardly economy
which reduces wages below the amount
on which their employees can live de-
Gently. and at the same time make it
the OCCASION for giving the public dirtier
cars to travel in, It Is defeated as a
public health measure; the employers
who do this are. in our opinion. entitled
70 no consideration from the Interstate
Commerce Commission
The public and the employees seem
TO be getting II continuously and reg
uiariy in the neck with regard to the
WORKING out OF the eight-hour law, and
as an officer of the Consumers League
1t IL going to be my duty to see that
TIE facts are presented to it, and to
TIE officers of the public whose busi-
ness II Is to look after these matters.
The health department is interested
In dirty cars and in poor laundry
work. And these are two of the things
that have come to our attention 1t
must not be thought for a single min
ute that the Consumers League or that
l. personally. have any quarrel with
the head Of the Washington Terminal
company or any of its officers We
haven't We simply want to set the
actual actual facts that we find before the
II We are wrong. we want both the
puoiic and the people We complain of
TO set us right. But we're sure of our
seves In this particular instance and we
intend to let Just such bits of infor-
nauon percolate through the press to
the pubic whenever we can"
Mss Leupp sent a copy of the let
Yer she mailed to Chairman Harlan TO
heaith Officer Woodward and intends
To follow up each <1th BIT of per-
scnal talk to each Of these gentlemen
Superintendent Replies.
Superintendent A NJ KeppeI. of the
Washington Terminal COMPANY does
not agree with the statements of Miss
L-eupp regarding the savings that are
being made by his concern in connec- |
ton with the matter OF wages to en-
ployes. and he absolutely denies that
the cleaning of the cars has been |
siighted-so far as the inside of the cars !
is concerned.
We are cutting down on the clean
ing of the outside of cars" he said. !
We formerly washed all cars on the |
outSlQe ana lately We have not been ,
doing that The interiors have been |
cleaned just as faithfully and as care
fully as they ever were. There is no |
ground for complaint there. |
with regard to the wages OF women !
there has been no change. We left them |
the same as they were before the eight |
hour low was put into effect. We have |
Changed some women who worked at |
nirht to a day shift, and have been |
compelled to put men on in their places
al night These men are extra en- |
pioyes. and their wages should be ,
charged against the law. or at least |
against the changes the law necess.- |
tafed ir the terminal company.
so far as general economies go, the |
railroads and their constituent organi- |
zations throughout the country have |
been compelled to retrench. and We |
must bear our share of the burden. We
have made some changes already, and |
We are now contemplating more. They
are a part of a general plan.
could not say at this time just how
many people will be affected, or how
much Of a saving Will be made. But
we VIII save, because we must.
Il voulc not say that the eight-ho