The Sentinel=record., 1915-04-07
THE S2750 PER MONTH WOULD NOT KEEP PULLMAN PoRTERs
 ON THE JOB.
CONDUCTORS MUST GRAFT
Evidence Before Commission Shows That Big Sleeping Car Corporation Expects Public to Support It's Elm. ployes Instead of Paying Wages.

Chicago. April 6.-Pullman sleeping ear porters went on the witness stand befor ethe United States com. mission on industrial relations today and told the commission just what the tipping system means to them
 lt means bread and butter. They could not pay expenses on the road with the salaries. to say nothing of paying rents and maintaining fami. lies, they said There was other interesting te ti. mony, including statement that Pullman car conductors do not con sdder it dishonest to knock down on seat sales enough to pay their expen- ses on the road. These average $3O month. and come out of salaries ranging from SEQ to S95 a month. The witness who made this statement was H. H. Seweall of Chicago, a former conductor.
 The first of the pUrters to testify was Tom S. Crenshaw. who works on sleeper running between St. Louis and Savannah, Ill.,, and has done so for 2l years His salary is SIP a mon'h.
 Well, what do you make in tips?" asked Prank r. Walsh. chairman of the commission
 About $75 a month" replied Cren. shaw
 '7So altogether you get about Sl17 a month";" calculated the chairman.
 Have you family?"
 Yes, sir; wife four children; two married, and take care of my mother. The children not married are in school
 "You have been frugal, them"
 No, sir; we have lived pretty we'll"
 But at first the tips were not so generous, perhaps went on Mr Walsh
 No, sir; but as soon as they found out the kind of a man 1 was"
 Laughter interrupted the witness at this point and he did not finish He explained that there were many wealthy people living along the line he travels
 Treat them right and handle them right and they don't foI get you," he said.
 ''Do you think any porter would get along as well as you do On this ruu?" asked MT. Walsh.
 No, sir, Mir. Walsh, some men would starve on that run"
 The witness considered his fair average run except that the layover l hours were advantageous.
 The next witness was C. 1T Sy.yes. | ter of New York. a porter on the | Twentieth Century LimNel, of the | Lake Shore and Michigan Souuhera road,
 Sylvester wore a check pattern suit and two diamond rings glilter,d on his little finger His salary, he said, is S27.50 a month, and tips ave. se about v a month He is veteran and has been on the present run for l3 years. His train leaves New York in the afternoon and arrives in Chi cago the next morning, and under the rules he is not entitled to any sleep except what he gets during the lay over
 But don't let any of them tell you he don't sleep he said with a grin. The man that tells you ne don't sleep is dangerous man. | don't mean that we go to bed. but We nod when We are supposed to be on guard in the aisle. All the superintendents here know that
 But it is against the rule" sug gested MT Walsh
 They don't care about that, all they care about is that we don't get caught at it. and a breath of air will awaken an experienced porter. It's instinct, and the car really is guarded
 And yet charges have never been brought against you?"
 No, because l always figure that there is spotter on every train."
 But wouldn't the spotter catch you when you nap?"
 q never do until everybody is asleep"
 Commissioner O'Connor asked what l would be the effect if congress passed | an anti-tipping law.
 Why. the 2orters would simply | quit. You can see that for yourself | They couldn't live on $27.50 a month.