Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1915-01-28
RA|[R0ADS C0NF|SCAJE LIFE SAVINGS
BY SCHEME OF CHANGING TERMINALS

ern railroad companies had made Of
wages during the month of October,
1913. The increases had been applied
to the men working at that time and
the percentage of additional cost for
that single month to the actual pay
roll of the'whole year, which resulted
in the total of over $4O,O0O,06O Later
in the week j. H. Keefe, one of the
witnesses 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 of
the year 1913.
Returning to the real news of the
week-the havoc worked among en-
gineers 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 Rail-
road and branches seven times; termi-
nails have been moved by the Canadian
Pacific Railway twice; the Chicago
and Eastern Illinois Railroad had one
notable transfer to- it's credit; the Chi
cago and North Western Railway
made two changes; the Chicago, Mil
Waukee and St. Paul transferred its
terminal three times; the Chicago,
Peoria and St. Louis, once; the Chi
cago, Rock Island and Pacific Rail-
road, twice; the Colorado and South
ern Railroad, once; the Great North
ern Railroad, twice; the Illinois Cen
trail Railroad, once; the Louisville and
Arkansas Railroad: This railroad
has changed its terminals so often
that engineers and fremen are con-
tinually kept on the move" the Min
tneapolis and St. Louis Railroad, once;
the $500 Railroad: the frequently
mentioned oscillation Of terminals be-
tween Chippewa Falls and Stevens
Point, then to Abbotsford and finally
back again to where the first terminals
were located one Of the interesting
stories in Western railroad history;
Missouri Pacific, twice; Missouri and
North Arkansas Railroad, once; the M.
' K. & T., five times; the Northern Paci-
fic, three times; the St. Louis and San
Francisco Railroad, five times; the
Southern Pacific Railroad, three
times; the Union Pacific Railroad
various instances given in the exhi-
bit show that this company is the
only one in the West which ever made
restitution to the men for losses sus-
tanned by moving terminals and caus-
ing employees to abandon their homes;
Wabash Railroad Company, four
times.
gay OuVStatS 6CuGlIkSO
Besides the uprooting of home ties,
the abandonment of residences in
many instances just completed and
paid for, the testimony disclosed that
engineers and firemen had often been
compelled to transfer their families to
lonely and desolate spots where ther,
wer no conveniences or improve
ments. Moreover, it was shown that
not infreQuently officials of railroads
industriously lining their own pockets
at the expense Of the workingmen
had obtained options or had actually
bought the so-called town lots in these
new terminal settlements. For in
stance, in regard to the Atchison road
the exhibit says: The lots in Calwa
sold for the same price as lots in the
city limits of Fresno and it Is persist
emily rumored that local officials of
the company bought up this land be-
fore the change was made"
Men Even Had to Build. J.,
Another. instance of this nature in
which the same company figured was
related with respect to moving the
freight terminal from stockton to
RiFerbank. Riverbank was new
townsite with ne houses for sale or
rent so the men were compelled to
a
buy lots and build as there was no
other way to get home. The exhibit
adds: .Eupt J. W. Walker and Gen.