South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-03-13
ROADS ASK RATES
INCREASE; REDUCE
EMPLOYEES WAGES
Interstate Commerce Commits
sion May Be Asked to Con-
slider Letter From Underpaid
CharWOman.
By gibson GARDNER.

worked and underpaid charwoman
may be presented To the interstate
commerce commission as a reason
why the railroads of the country
shall not have an increase of five per
| cent in freight rates.
Miss Constance d. Leupp. secretary
OF the district branch of the National
Consumers league, is contemplating
an appeal to the commission to take
into consideration the treatment OF
its women employees by the Washing
ton Terminal Railroad Co in deter
mining the freight rate question. The
Washington Terminal Co. is a corpo-
ration composed of the numerous
railroad companies which enter the
\ city of Washington. including the
| Baltimore & Ohio, the Chesapeake q
/ Ohio, the Southern and others-all OF
| which are appealing TO the interstate
/ commerce commission for PERMISSION
TO increase freight rates at the eX-
/ pense of the country generally.
Here Is the Letter.
The Consumers league was main
/ ly responsible for the passage OF an
/ eight-hour law for women employed
| in the District of Columbia, which
/ was signed by the president three
weeks ago. The immediate cause OF
Miss Leupp's proposed action is "a
| letter from q woman who is employed
by the Washington Terminal Co, TO
clean railroad cars in the Union sta
ton at Washington. Here il IS:
| Dear Madam: Since the eight
hour law was pasted, as we are IN
/ favor of it: we are cut down from
$50 to $120 per day. l am a wld-
I ow with a family; | have worked for
| the Washington Terminal CO. for
many years Before our wages were
cut down / got along very good
! Would YOU please try TO intercede for
%
they were before the eight-hour law
pasted? AS expenses are SO high
and il is so hard for a poor widow
with a family To get along off Sl2O
per day. Will you please TO DO you
all you can for me? Truly widow
! Employed of the Washington Ierml-
nal Railroad CO.
The general manager of the. Wash
/ ington Terminal Co. Mr.. y. M. KEEP
pei. told the Consumers league OH
/ cials that he was merely "Obeying the
] law" The company he explained,
could not afford to pay women $l50
for an eight hour day. They had
been paving that amount for ten
hour day. Therefore, eight hours Is
worth only $1.20.
The telephone operatives of the
Washington Terminal Co. get theirs
in another way. They were already
on an eight-hour basis. but were
week. Now they work only six days
/ a week under the new law, but Mr..
/ Kennel states that they used 10
/ have all their vacations at one time
but now they have lost that because
I of this law" The railroads compoS-
ing the terminal company are steal
ing the telephone girls vacation by
charging their one day IN seven 10
\ vacation
PulImans Also Employ Women.
! The Pullman company, which also
/ employs women car cleaners, has not
yet decided whether they will reduce
\ the wages of these charwomen or not.
II The manager of that company stated
that he was awaiting orders from
\ Chicago on this question.
n These same railroads are appealing
To the interstate commerce cOmmlS-
sion for permission to increase
freight rates. ION account OF the IN
creases of wages the "bettermehls
and 'imprOvements i'm the service,
and so on. which they claim has tax
en- so much money and increased the
cost of railroading. Meantime stock
holders and bondholders of these
roads draw their dividends regularly
while General Manager Keeper re-
duces charwomen's wages from Sl'ou
TO $1.20 a day.
For the purpose of supplying labor
10 the unemployed it has been sug-
gested that men and. even women anu
children might be put TO work re-
foresting lands in western states. Inc
government department OF agrlcui-
ture has figured recently that there i
a profit of six per cent compound IN
terest in he growing of white pine
The trees thus grown may ne GU
when not more than 80 years OF age
The original white pine forests are
RAPIDLY approaching exhaustion
Material for making matches sells loi
from SIT TO SIS a thousand rect
sash. doors and blinds materla
brings S35 a thousand feet.
Persons interested in the new en-
larged homestead act and the lano'
which have been opened TO settlement
under il can get information as &C
Utah lands from the local land Once
at Salt Lake City. and from othel
land offices in Montana, where theT'
il land in Musselhall and Fergus
counties. and in Oregon IN BAKE
and Union counties. and from th'
geological survey in Washington as t'
lands in Nevada and in Idaho, OF non
irrigable character suitable for culu