Omaha daily bee., 1914-07-26

lowed them by arbitration be given them,
one western road, concerned In the pres
ent controversy has for nearly -four
years persistently declined to live up 70
he terms of an arbitration award These
are the reasons the men declined TO sub
nit to arbitration.
Greater output, Less Pay.
TO support their request for more
wages, the enginemen submit the in
creased cost of living during the last
four years, and back It up by showing
that their wages have actually been re-
duced by reason of the increased size OF
locomotives, the heavier tonnage hauled
and the consequent fewer miles travelled
bv engines These figIrCs, which are
taken from tho reports os the railroads
20 the Interstate Commerce commission,
show that the unit cost o' engnemen
per ton mile TO the western roads has
been greatly decreased.
Great Northern Experience.
y The circular uses four Of the great
western railroads to illustrate this point.
For the Great Northern It says:
I'm 1900 tho Great Northern trans
ported 1,722, csc zoe ton miles and in 1918,
T,G34, ,O6G,449 ton miles an increase Of
accomplished by increasing the troctivo
power of its locomotives. the capacity Of
It's freight cars and the movement Of a
larger number oc loaded cars per train.
Tho net result or this rema rkable prog
ress in operating efficiency was the
growth Of the average revenue freight
trainload from 22l tons in 1900 to 6S5 tons
in 1912. or an increase Of 9S per cent. Dur
ing this period the number of freight
train miles advanced only 40 per cent.
Measured in terms of traffic handled,
the productive efficiency of flremen and
engineers employed by the Great North
ern during this same period also showed
a gain of A per cent. In the face of this
remarkable operating performance, how
ever. there was an actual decrease in
the revenue train miles made by each en-
gineer of 1,25S miles, or per cent and
by each fireman of forty miles. or 27.27
OF / per cent The effect of the oper-
ating achievement of the Great Northern
was attended by decline in the earning
ability of its firemen and engineers The
modern locomotive is an intricate piece
of machinery which requires a high
standard of mechanical skill i'm the men
who operate it as well as great physical
endurance on the part of the firemen.
Notwithstanding the fact that each en-
gineer and fireman hauled more ton or
passenger miles in 1918 than 1900, owing
to the development of train loads and
the increase in the arduousness and du-
ration of their labors, their earning
power actually declined in the face of
:, greater output per man because they
were not able to make as many train
miles in 1913 as in 1900"
on the santa Fe.
In the case of the Santa Fe. the circu-
lar shows that the ration OF total trans
portation expenses to total operating ex-
penses in 1910 was $50 and in 1913 IT had
declined to ALI. For the same interval
the total cost of engineers to total op-
Grating expenses had decreased from SIG
in 1900 to 4.35 in 1913; and the total cost
of firemen from 3.19 to 266. and the COM
bined cost of engineers and flrmen from
S35 to 70l
THE ratios to total labor cost OF op-
Grafton reveal some interesting results.
Total labor cost of transportation TO total
labor cost OF operation i'm 1900 was 45.T7.
In 1918 1t had advanced TO 46.H. For the
same years the total cost of engineers
TO total labor cost of operation decreased
from s.s4 in the former year to 7,30 in
the latter, and for firemen from 5.47 to
4.4G, and the combined cost OF engineers
and firemen from i431 to 117e"
What the Union Pacific shows.
The showing made by the Union Pa
cific according to the circular, is that
the volume OF freight traffic or ton
miles transported by the Union Pacific
railroad during the period 1900 to 1913 in
creased 149 per cent. In this interval
the number of engineers employed by
the Union Pacific railroad advanced only
40 per cent and the number of flremen
only 80 per cent. This enormous increase
in the volume of freight traffic was
moved with an increase in train miles
of only % per cent The remarkable
performance of the Union Pacific was
the result of increased productive eff
cheney on the part Of the engineers and
firemen in handling locomotives Of
greater tractive power hauling larger
cars with greater tonnage capacity.
During the period 1900 TO 1918 the trac-
tive power of its locomotives increased
more than 100 per cent, There was also
a decided increase in the tons of freight
per loaded car and the average number
OF tons in each freight train increased
from 239 tons in 1900 to 442 in 1913, or S5
per cent. The effect of these increases
has fallen in a great measure upon the
enginemen. Greater mechanical skill is
required of both, especially the engineer,
in the handling OF these complicated ma
chimes. That the firemens labors have
increased proportionately is shown by
the figures on coal consumption submit
ted by the company TO the Interstate
Commerce commission. Computations
from these figures show that the amount
OF coal consumed per locomotive mile In
1900 was 100 pounds, and in 1913 PA
pounds. an increase OF eighty-fouc
pounds, or, in other words. a fireman
has had to handle "a per cent more coal
for each mile Travelled by his locomotive
The unfavoTable effect upon the
earning power OF engineers and firemen
is no less significant. Owing TO the de-
velopment Of train loads in freight traf-
fic, and the increase in the arduousness
of their labors, the earning power Of
each engineer and fireman actually de-
clned in the face OF a greater output per
man. They were not able TO make dur
ing a specified period as many train
miles in 1913 as in 1909. Heavier trains,
longer runs and more arduous work