Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1915-09-16
The Railroads
And the People
CONTINUED from Page Six.)


Let the policy-holder bear this in
mind. ! will not dwell upon fire, ac-
cident or other insurance, since sim
liar relation exists with respect to
them.
AS already stated there are $780,
600 miles of steam railroad in the
United States, with roster of about
1,75O,OOO men.
This is a vast army, even in these
days of vast armies that affect us
with awe. This army of the people
relies directly upon the railroads for
its livelihood. II has the right to
adequate consideration by the gov
ernment. This consideration it has
only in part received.
There has been no recognition Of
the fact that working hours may be
shortened, conditions of labor may
be made IDEAL safety may be at
tanned, crews may be stuffed full to
overflowing, and yet the prosperity
of this army of the people fail sim
ply because the railroads lack the
ability to earn enough to keep the
man at work, much less to expand,
improve and extend the lines and
the service.
1t is to the direct interest of the
employees and the millions dependent
directly upon them for their subsst-
ence that the railroads have prosper
Gus earnings.
1t is to the further interest of the
employees that the shareholders also
have prosperous returns, for the en-
ployes can not safely forget that
averaged over the American system
of railroads one shareholder means
three employees. To maintain and
operate the railroads takes not the
shareholder alone or the employees
alone, it requires them both, and
they stand as to numbers only in the
ratio of three to one. Theirs is in
reality a common interest in obtain
ing adequate earnings.
1t is not exaggeration to say that
danger to the railroad as employer
cannot forever, or for long, be avert
ed by the employe.
No matter who own the railroads,
earnings and expenses, or income
and outgo, are two blades of a
shears. One blade can not for long
cut into gross earnings without
bringing into activity the other
blade which cuts expenses.
OF expenses over 45 per cent are
for wages. In fact, 70 per cent OF
all the disbursements of the railroads
'(even when taxes, interest and divi-
dends are included) are for the three
items of wages, fuel and supplies.
The railroads give good wages un-
grudgingly. The contentious are
rarely upon the wage schedule itself, |
but upon needless and embarrassing
and complicated incidenta|s
What the railroads have to con-
tend and urge, Notwithstanding
their desire to pay their employees
well, is the plain fact that the rail-
roads have not adequate income out
of which to pay these wages.
In the two decades from 1884 to
1914 the revenues from operation OF
=, the steam railroads increased 1873
per cent, but the expenses of opera
tion increased 200 per cent. The
number of employees increased 11S
per cent, while the compensation of
employees increased 219 per cent.
| will state in another way: With |
the rates of 1904 as unit the rail-
roads would have earned about
$16O, 100000 more than the earn
ings of 1914.
While the railroad revenues were
thus reduced in the sum of $780,
100000, the compensation paid to
employees was in the same time in
creased by something over $1OO,OOO,-
900.
This process can not continue in
definitely. As an economic question
it is impossible that the compensa-
tion of employees can continue to in
crease while the compensation Of the
employer continues to decline. There
are in consequence millions of peo-
ple consisting of railroad employees
and those dependent upon them, VINO
can justly insist that the interests OF
the railroads be nurtured rather than
ignored in the adjustment of trans
portation questions.
So we could move along into the
various phases of human activity
only to find that the railroads and
the people have interests common TO
an extent the people do not yet real
ize. When they do realize 1t they
will wake up in their midst to the
fact that the railroads prosperity is
their prosperity. The people Will