The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-12-18

Railroad Wage Case Still Con.
tinues Before ArbitratOrs.
THEY CAN'T ENTER POLITICS
Enginemen Say That SuperiOrs
Order Them to Keep Out.
Other Items of General Interest
in the Traffic World.

Chicago, Dee. 1&-The .brawny, clear
eyed engineers, out of their overalis
and very spruce and business like In
the garments of their leisure hours,
who have been testifying for week
before the railroad wage board OF ar
bitration passed from the scene today
and the humber stories OF the firemen
and hostlers began Testimony OF SAL
aries ranging from $3.50 to 1920 month
ceased entering the records and go
down to a more modest plane-the two
dollars a day of a Chicago hostler and
the three a day of Texas fireman who
Eaid he got most of it shoveling COAL
Politics. in which it was intimated
that the railroads curtail the civic
rights of the men. figured sporadically
in the proceedings.
Warren s. Stone, representing the
engineers counsel, read into the rec
ord the case of ]. G. Conklin. a railroad
employee of Tucson, Ariz. Conklin'S
friends wanted him to run for sheriff.
Stone said, but he was compelled to
withdraw when he received letter
from superior stating that if he de-
sired the Office he must resign from the
a Southern Pacific engineer had been
a member of a school board for fifteen
years. but was compelled to resign by
his employer
That Stone said twas in the days
when the Southern Pacific carried Cal
state wriggled out the railroad con-
cluded they did not want any of their
men in the game either
8 o. Martin. fireman of Clovis,
Tex. and employed by the Santa Fe.
testified that officials Of the road pre-
vented one Nichols. a conductor on the
Pecos division of the road from seek
ing election to the Texas legislature by
telling him it was against the rules.
John Hanley of Chicago, was the last
ari 10 06 n
Aconditions on suburban runs. He is
actually in the cab of his engine ten
hours. he said, but by reason of rush
hours he is on duty sixteen hours and
earns s141 a month. He leaves his bed
at $40 o'clock. in the morning every
week day, he said, and gets back home
around o'clock at night.
Frank Holloway of Downers Grove,
Ill. introduced A. n. Mills from Chi
cago. where he is employed as hos
tier by the Burlington. P. J. McClory,
Chicago. a hostler employed by the Chi
cago Junction and Chicago River and
Indiana railroad, and Martin, the fire.
man from Clovis. Tex, were the first
of the new line of witnesses.
It is commended that they should be
paid the same as engineers when 4hey
have to run engines out on the main
track. or $4.15 a day of ten hours, or the
same as firemen, 1886 a day ifAtrans-
ferred from firing to hostler service. In
smaller terminals the hostlers' work is
now done by engineers and it is further
demanded that at all points where six
or more locomotives are handled with
in twelve hours hostlers shall be en-
ployed. There was much technical
discussion of this point between Carter
and James NJ. Sheehan. representing
<he railroads.
Martin told of the experiment of the
Santa F'e in putting in an assistant fire
man to help one of their big engines
up a Il mile grade in Texas. He said
that the company saved money by 1t,
as the assisted trains were rarely de-
Lived and overtime money saved on the
whole crew more than offset the wages
Of the assistant.