The commonwealth., 1916-05-30

S4.Z9 per day, the less fortn,..
class CT tenders and watch.ion ha,
to stand a reduction from 81
$170 per day.
If the cost of living has been sto,s
lily advancing for conductors SO u
justify an increase Of II per ceai
their wages, it seems difficult n -
plain why that same cost Of li,.;re
should have fallen sufficiently 70 wan
rant a decrease Of 8 per cent in -.
wages Of switch tenders, crossin.
tenders, and watchmen.
Take the single classification -
general office clerks There U,aro
S7,106 Of these according to the of
fetal report. A much larger nnmbor
than of either engineers, firemen q,
conductors.
These general office CLERKS wero
paid an average of 1921 per day IN
1908, and of $3.50 in 1912. an !,
crease of only IS per cent in the ton
year period.
General office clerks, without av,
ception, are compelled to live in
cities, where the cost of living i
high
Engineers Better Off
Engineers, on the other hand ara
distributed between large towns ana
small towns; on the average. their
living circumstances ought to mako
their expenses average considerable
less than those of office clerks vot
the statistics show that engineers
have received in the ten-year period
an increase Of "a per cent in their
wages, making them average exactly
S. per day, While general office
clerks have received an increase Of
only 13 per cent, making them aver
age $3.50 per day.
One of the worst underpaid cIassj.
fications OF railway employees is than
Of the station agents. There are ins,
about 10000 of these in the country
or nearly as many as the number of
conductors
In 1903 station agents averaged
$3.50 a day, and in 1912 they haa
been raised to only 1920 a day, while
in that same time conductors had
advanced from 1898 to s420.
That is, the station agent in 1912
was getting just about half the WAGES
Of the conductor, and in ten years he
had had an average increase of Il
per cent, while the conductors mi
crease had been q per cent
Here are two of the most numer.
GUS classes of railway employees:
Trainmen, other than engineers
firemen, and conductors, numbered
136,SO9, while trackmen numbered
337, ,451. The statistics show thar ,ha
trackmen were getting in 1903 an
aver: Of S1.31 per day, and in 1872
an 60 age of $3.50 per day, an in
creacc or IA per cent
What Others Got
On the other hand the classitica
ton Of other trainmen was getting IN
1898 s2.17 per day, and in 1872. S. 9;
per day, an increase of SO per cent
In percentage, this is the largest ad.
vance received by any single class of
railway employees during this decade,
A general survey of wage condi-
tions in the railway service and in
other industries, it is believed would
show that in the last fifteen years
the highly organized and favored
classes of railway wage earners have
had their incomes increased more
than almost any other class of work
ers in the country, while the much
more numerous, but less effectively
organized classes of railway workers
have probably received rather o.e
increases than other industrial worl.-
ers in general
In view of the strong feeling that
these most fortunate classes of the
railway employees are now making
excessive and unreasonable demands.
attention is now being called as
never before to these general dis
crepancieS. There is a strong dis
position to inaugurate a general and
sweeping Investigation Of the whole
question OF railway wages with a
view to establishing some sort of pub
lie regulation not unlike that already
applied to railroad rates. in the in
terest of employees and pul lie alike
Meanwhile, there is a marked indis-
position to extend further favors to
those classes already most highly
favored, at the expense Of other
classes of employees who appear to be
getting very low wages.