Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1915-01-13
WHY The cost OF 0P-
GRATING RAILROADS
HAS Been INCREASED
STRUGGLING AGAINST INCREASED COST
OF LABOR, SUPPLIES, ETC, ON ONE
HAND REDUCED RATES ON THE
-, 49, s44$ - OTHER ~% &sE= &s :

xxCxt %'h - 80 ~
from SO to $12, now now sells for
from $40 to $25. Nobody who knows
anything about present land values or
the farmers cost Of production will
contend that he is not entitled to these
increased prices. At a matter Of fact,
unless he is an exceedingly good man.
ager and utilizes the best Of modern
agricultural thought he is by no means
getting rich at present prices-high
as they may seem to people in the
cities who do not understand the
cost attached to present-day farming.
To go back to the old prices he
used to receive would bankrupt, in a
little while, every farmer in the
cohntry-and the tendency Of the fu-
ture will be for the prices Of farm
products to- go still higher rather
than lower. Agriculture is the ma
TONS greatest fundamental industry
and society must make the farm game
sufficiently profitable to justify the
man who Is on the farm today and
the farmer boys Of the future to stay
by the pillow. Much has been said
recently about the fact that the farm
er does not receive enough for what
he produces-that there is too big
a waste In the channels through which
his products pass before they reach
the consumer, and that he has some
cause for complaint In this respect is
undoubtedly true. However. the rail-
roads can face such an inquiry with
clear conscience-1or an exhaustive
investigation conducted by the Le-
high Valley railroad some time ago
shows that the farmer gets 507s cents
out of the average dollars worth Of.
products he sells; the packers, local
shippers, distributors and retailers get
AN cents between them; while TIL,
railroads receive only 5 cents, or one
twentieth of the dollar, for the trans
portafion services they render.
So, too, there has been steady ad-
vance in practically the entire realm
Of merchandise and manufactured pro-
ducts, whatever their nature, and the
ever increasing toll In the cost OF
labor, steel products, lumber, cars, To-
and other supplies have lev
led tribute of untold millions upon
the railroads, which have not only
been forbidden to increase theirrates.
but, on the contrary, in many in
stances, compelled to lower them. s>>s
Big Increased Cost Of Labor. ,ss +.
To give the reader an exact idea
Of how the cost of labor has advanced
in the operations of y railroads we
quote the following increases In the
daily wage from 1900 to 1914-a per-
lod of only fourteen years: In the
case OF engineers it increased from
1868 per day to 1915. or an increase
Of Sc per cent; fremen from 1921
to 1852, or "a per cent; conductors
from 1891 to $4.S3, or As per cent;
station agents from $1.9S to $2.16, or
3 per cent; other station men from
1852 to $3.50. or II per cent; ordt-
nary trainmen from $1.97 to: 1885,
Or 70 per cent; machihists, from $2.72
10 1852, or 20 per cent; carpenters
from 1921 to $3.50, or IL per cent;
,ther shopmen from $1.93 to 1920,
or IA per cent; section foremen, from |
ISL to $1.S3, or 81 per cent; track
men from $1.15 to 1852, or 80 per
cent; telegraph operators and dis
patchers from $2.25 to $2.65, or; II
,er cent. This means a general aver
lge increase in wages of 80 29-100
,er cent. and all other classes Of
operatives and employees in
| more or less similar degree. While
hese advances have proven great
,oon to the nearly two million em-
lloyed in the railway service and In
creased their capacity to buy from
merchant and farmer, they have I
'xacted many millions annually from
he railroads themselves-all Of which
made the general public richer, bur
he roads poorer. In 1900 the rail-
oads paid $1.44 per ton for coal. Now
hey pay $1.S1. They they paid 3Sc
or ties. Now they pay SIC. ;;ta
4 4, Other Increased Costs. ,,sstl
But there are many other items
which have enormously increased the
ost of railroad operation which we
annot go into because Of a lack OIL
pace. The public is constantly de-
banding more efficient and q safer
ervice, and hence the railroads have
ad to spend vast sums in installing
lock signals, steel passenger cars, do
ng away, with grade crossings,
lines, heavier locomo-
Ives, better roadbeds, and supplying
lany other precautions protecting
9th their operatives and the public
II things very necessary, yet very
ostly. So, too, numerous states have
assed Full Crew. laws which, with
ut benefting the public, have COM
elled the railroads to pay toll of
billions to useless employees.
Now, while labor, farm products,
and manufactures and
upplies of all kinds have steadily in
reased in price, the railroads, as
tated before, have been compelled to
educe their rates in the face of this
valanche of ever-advancing cost of
that all but the most
owerful lines find themselves in an
xceedingly critical condition is not to
e wondered at. The farmer, the mer-
hant, the manufacturer and the la
orer justly insist that they would
OF be able to get along on the prices
hey received ten or fifteen years ago.
,S,I, i