Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-12-23
.F|REMEN and
T. " H0STLERS TESTIFY
National Railroad Arbitration
Board at Chicago Have a
I | Busy Week.

the scoop shovel, and mis- hardships
and poverty, was under the spotlight
at the arbitration hearing, in which
$1,000 employees of Western roads fig
ure. in Chicago last week. The man
in the locomotive cab who shovels
coal into the fiery, red NAV Of his pet
engine hour after hour and day after
day. sometimes as many as thirty tons
q day, told his story for the benefit of
the arbitrators.
And beside him at the hearing was
the railroad hostler. The hostler is
the lnconspicuous fellow who grooms
and oils and cares for the locomotive
while it rests in the roundhouse. 1t
is said that few people ever hear of or
see the railroad hostler but, according
to testimony at the inquiry, if the
hostler is incompetent or ignorant and
turna the locomotive over to the engi-
neer. in an unsatisfactory condition at
any time, serious disaster may fol-
low.
1t was the scoop shovel artisan, who
perhaps attracted the most attention.
There was Henry Rose, fireman on
the Chicago and Northwestern road,
running out of Escanaba, Mich, who
told the story of frequent lay-offs, loss
Of seniority, long and tedious trips re-
quiring a vast amount of shoveling,
and low pay. It was Rose who said
he had not been able to get work for
a month or six weeks and if it had
not been for aid given him by rela-
tivesS he and his family would have
been lin a starving condition.
A typical hostler was P. J. McClory
who works for the Chicago Junction
Railway. He told Of laboring twelve
hours a day and getting 16 1-3 cents
an hour, or $500 for days work. He
wanted more money and needed it but
was forced to work twelve hours each
day to obtain his meager 5000.
Andther hostler, Frank Holloway,
of Chicago, working for the Burling-
ton road, testified that he receives
$3.0o*ses day but is forced to work
twelve hours to acquire that sum.
EMr, Holloway said that in 1918 he had
worked every Sunday but three and
had kept on the job all holidays in
Guiding Christmas day that he might
support his family. This witness said
he had tried to keep up the pace this
year, that the strain had been too
great of late, however, and had
caused him during 1914 to lay off a
total of thirteen days.
An epitome of the points made by
the fireman and hostler witnesses fol
lows:
Their occupation is exceedingly pre-
carious insofar as steadiness of EN-
ployment is concerned:
They are under paid even during
the periods when they do work.
The installation of heavier locomo
tives has reduced the earnings of in
dividual firemen and likewise has Gu
down the firemen's working force b!
from so to go per cent.
During the last two or three year.
the cost of living has materially in
creased not only at home but ava.
from home where firemen must b.
when their work keeps them out OF
the road.
Three instances of enginemen en-
countering surprise tests were men
toned during the weeks testimony
B. P. Young, half-breed 1ndial
and engineer on the Union Pacifi
road in Kansas, told the story Of rur
ming into the unexpected red switc
light on two occasions about yea
ago. Once he was running his trai
near New Cambria, Kans., and tn
other time it was near Salina, tn
same state, where the test was sprung
! Both times his engine was going at
good rate Of speed when the quic
| flash of red startled the engineer an
caused him to put on the emergenc
brake. The first time he was With
fifty feet of the switch, he said, whe
the red light was turned on him. Bot
these tests were fakes and given
see if Mr.. Young had his eyes ope1
The witness said that he was unds
the impression that the Kansas la
against surprise tests was in force
the time.
| 1t remained for o. F. Modenbach,
fireman on the Oklahoma division I
the Rock Island Railroad, to relate a
even more impressive story. On tt
stand Saturday Mr.. Moderbach sa
the surprise test was given his engir
crew at two o'clock in the morni1
during a heavy snow storm and wi
thick haze obstructing the vie
The red light flashed up at passil
track where there was switch al
apparently thrilled the engineer al
fireman with horror, for Modenba'
said they gave the engine the 'b
hole" and with death ahead of the
as they thought, the engineer and fiji
man leaped from the cab.
| Modenbach went head foremost in
| a ditch, skinned his nose and receiv
many bodily bruises. Luckily he
capped with his life. The engineer W
thrown violently against part Of t
locomotive and tossed out upon t
hard ground, breaking his collar bol
1t was a surprise test after all b
this did not allay the hurts Of eth
men. The engineer lay PROSTATE
q hospital for several weeks and
ceived no pay from the company d
his idleness. The witness also stat
that this surprise test had been inst
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