The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-24
RAIL WAYS TO FIGHT 8 HOUR DEMAND
WITH A GREAT PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN

rank II ME OF the railroad service,
many of them earning more than their
division officers"
According to this statement the wages
of the men on the trains vary all the
way from $500 "A year. paid to green
brakemen. ITO the $500 to $4,000 Il
year piled up by the 'arietocrats OF
the rail- the engineers on the best pas
scnger runs" Thousands Of the on
glneers. II Is stated. earn upward OF
$1,000 u year. and monthly pay checks
Of 5000 to $3.50 are common on roads
whose stockholders have forgotten what
a dividend check looks like. Many OF
the engineers. the railroads assert. are
paid more than bank presidents In the
smaller communities through which
they run.
Explaining the manner in which
wages are now paid. the railroads point
out that the present schedules provide
ma the mon shall BE- paid by the mile
or the hour, whichever gives them the
larger earnings. the prevailine basic
day for wage fixing being a hundred
mile run or ten hours on duty. II a
train Is delay ed and the crew makes
only nifty miles In ten hours the pay
10 for ten hours, the equivalent In time
Of the hundred miles. II 100 miles are
made IN the ten hours the pay is on
the mileage basis. the equivalent OF the
tSll AL III IN VI SAtIh
miles Is paid pro rata.
The effect Of the demand for an eight
hour basic day would be to increase
the freight speed basis from ten to
twelve and a half miles al hour. or
25 per cent. With tho proposed over
time rate fixed At time and 4 half. the
now higher rate. there would be an In
crease In the overtime rate now paid
Of S71S per cent
Nh~ rolfroad( nolp< o,,S tNaS -barA
sn engineer. for example, 10 now paid
IS for a hundred mile run In ten hours,
or at the rata of so cents an hour. the
proposed schedule would allow him IS
for the first eight hours, or say cents
q hour. For the next two hours he
could charge ut the rate OF e3N cents
~ hour. or $1.s7 for the overtime. max
ing the railroads s.. This would be an
increase Of 37h per cent
PaSseaEer Mes Excepted.
while the demands says the rail-
soads' statement, will be made by the
400. 900 members Of the four train
brotherhoods, the higher rates would be
received only by the men IN the freight
and yard service More h a million
and q half other employees Of the rail-
roads would get no beneft. m the car
vers, II compelled to add these many
millions Of dollars to their payrolls.
would have to Ind the money In one of
o ways-reduce the wages Of the mil
lion and a half men outside the train
service. reduce payments for interest and
dividends TO their security holders. cur
tail the betterment expenditures for new
stations. reduction Of grade crossings
and other non-productive Improvements
AnNraadAd nv TIA nuhliS or aSl the t.nv.
eminent to allow a proportionste increase
In freight rates. The owners OF the rail-
roads-ths stockholders-now number
more than 500. 900. and their share OF
the gross earnings is less II : per
cent, as compared with ~ per cent.
paid the employees. For every dollar
paid the stockholders $50 ~ paid the
employees"
Explaining why the men in the pas
oenger service had been excepted from
the proposed demand, a railroad manage
pointed out that since the so-called
Clark orrissey award on the New York
Central in 1907 the passenger men had
virtually had An eight hour day: This
award was made as a settlement OF de-
nands made OF the New York Central
when II was the custom for the en-
ployees to proceed against individual
roads. II was a preliminary 10 the
Standardization idea. inasmuch as follow
ing that settlement they compelled the
other roads In most cases to bring up
their rates TO those fixed for the New
York Central in cases where they hap
pened to be lower.
In the through passenger service the
men are paid on a mileage basis Of loo
miles. Some OF the conductors are able
to make more than 200 miles In a five
hour run and thus nave virtually a five
or six hour day at the most. earning on
this mileage basis $50 d week and more.
suburban Service.
In what is known In railroad parlanct
as turn around" service. such as sub.
urban trains. the men are supposed &c
work eight hours In twelve. II they work
continuously more than eight hours OF
the twelve they get overtime. II they
are on duty, though not continuously OF
a train. for more than twelve hours the.
get overtime over the twelve hours,
These passenger men feel fairly vel
Oh. II Ii the men In the freight service
who are the grumblers and who are be
hind the present movement. On all large
railroads. with the single exception OF tn,
New Haven. these men preponderate.
According TO one OF the best railroad
managers In the country. an eight houl
day In the freight service Of he rail
roads 10 an economic impos sibility. Thu
principal resson for this IL the difference
in speed between the freight train anc
the passenger and the fact that II doe,
not run on schedule like the passenger
train. Consequently freight runs
be arranged to bring men within a tint
limit. Their runs are arranged between
division points, which are the deternin
ing factors. and these must be located
In large towns where there are thu
proper terminal facilities.
Something like an eight hour ia,
might he brought about possibly. rail
road operators say, II the distances be
tween division points were very muci
shortened. Al least, II the new rul'
should go through, this would help II
keeping dow the enormous amount o
overtime, but to relocate the division
points on the Eastern roads In accord
Ance with any such system would entail
an expense upon the railroads for new
terminal facilities too enormo 10 o
template. Because OF the price OF lant
no Eastern railroad has changed IL
division points In years, the cost bein;
prohibitive. at would be better TO pa,
this overtime until we went into bank
ruptcy and had to shut up shop re
marked one railroad operating ma
Whe this solution was put up to him.
An Example cited.
As to the effect of the proposed oigh
hour and time and a half rule Oh freigh
runs. here for Instance II an exampl