Willmar tribune., 1915-01-27
BROTHERHOOD CLOSE
DIRECT TESTIMONY
Railroad Managers Make Open
Ing Address at the Great
Arbitration meeting g,

Chicago. Jan. 25-Confiscation of
the homes and savings of Western
railroad employees through arbitrary
action of company officials who sud-
denly transfer a terminal from one
point to another was Illuminated dur
ing the past week in testimony Of
fered by the engineers and firemens
brotherhoods in the railway wage ar
bitration proceedings. In the words
of Warren S. Stone, Grand Chief En-
gineer of the Brotherhood of Loco
motive Engineers: 'If an official, by
stroke Of the pen in the interests
Of so-called economic operation, can
destroy the homes and savings of the
men, to say nothing of the hardships
imposed by starting life over again
under these conditions, then the busi-
ness demanding these sacrifices
should bear the cost, and not the en-
ployes."
While this disclosure came early in
the week, it was regarded by many
observers as among the most sensa-
tional that the inquiry has produced.
Following this exhibit the brother
hoods closed their direct testimony
after having been in the saddle twen-
ty-eight and one-half days, having ex-
amined sixty-five witnesses and offer
ed fifty-six exhibits. Next came the
opening address for the companies by
James NJ Sheean, their nimble witted
counsel, who said that of 5000 "typi-
cal men" in every class of railroad
service in the West there is a maxi
mum of $3,725 for passenger service
engineers, $3,342 for freight engineers,
$1,752 for passenger firemen and ST.
$50 for freight firemen" in annual
wages.
Mr. Sheean, possibly with an eye
for striking contrasts and consequent
publicity, added that against these
maximum wages the governors Of sew
en- states, which he did not mention,
receive $4,000 a year while the COVER
nors of seven other commonwealth
receive $4,000 annually, or slightly
more than the hypothetical allow
ances the attorney made for the en-
ginemen.
The attorney also claimed that the
additional cost to the railroads by rea-
son of the request of the two brother
hoods would be $40,SS6,7O9. He ex-
planned that this was an estimate bas-
ed upon an investigation the Western
railroad companies had made of wag-
es during the month Of October, 1913.
The increases had been applied to the
men working at that time and the per-
centage of additional cost for that sin
gle month to the actual payroll OF the
whole year, which resulted in the TO-
tai of over $4O,OO0,OOO. Later in the
week J. H. Keefe, one of the wit
nesses for the companies, admitted
that these figures were merely esti-
mates and were not at all accurate; ;
that a much fairer way would have
been to obtain the monthly average
increases, to have assembled them and
added them to the actual payroll Ot
the year 1913.
Returning to the real news of the
week-the havoc worked among engi'
neers and firemen by the arbitrary
moving of terminals from point to
point, Grand Chief Stone in his ex-
hibit made the following showing:
New terminals have been in recent
years established by the Santa Fe
Railroad and branches seven times
terminals have been moved by the
Canadian Pacific Railway twice; the
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
mad one notable transfer to it's credit;
he Chicago and North Western Rail
way made four terminal moves; the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy made