Denver labor bulletin., 1916-06-03
Frank P. Walsh Declares Demand of the Rail1uau
Brotherhoods for Eight Hour Day Just and Right
GREAT SPEECH AT
PTTTSBURC MEETING
Profits Of Railroad Companies Per
Mile Operated for Eight Months
Given at 5000

theater in Pittsburg, Frank Z. Walsh,
chairman OF the Committee on Industrial
Relations said:
Il hold that the eight hour day Is 80
incontestably right that the demand for
il is not subject for arbitration. IL
should be taken as a matter oil inalien-
able right thru the economic power of
the workers. Not only should no man
b. compelled TO work more than eight
hours day, but no man should be per
m.tted to work more than eight hours
day except with the consent OF
his fellow workers and under conditions
which they impose, by their collective
bargaining power, to see that the one
man does not invade and imperil the
nights of his fellows.
Il hold further continued Mr.. Walsh,
that the right OF workers to collective
bargaining and the right OF every work
CT 10 be protected by his fellow workers
from arbitrary discharge are also the in
aleuable rights OF modern industry and
they also are not subjects for arbitrH-
ton
Railroads Cloud the Issue.
What the railroad brothcrhoods are
demanding" said Mr. Walsh. "is that IN
stead Of a tcn-hour day they be gwen
an eight hour day, OF II the railroads
won't grant that. then they be giver
time and one-half for time over the
eight hour limit
The railroads say that this j. merely
a demand for wages TO lie increased
Suppose that the brotherboods demanded
without any alternative that they be
given the eight-hour day (which every
principle OF humanity and human eff
cheney saws Is long enough for eNaeting.
risky and vigilant labor and that the
railway rmployes BE- returned to their
homes at the end of each days work
without expense TO them. a. most other
employees are. What howl would then
no up from the railroads as to the eN-
orbitant cost that would mean to them
II these righteous demands oi the raiI-
way employees have become only demands
for increased wages il is because the
railroads themselves have made that the
Alternative
Daily Wage Is Too Low.
aRear in mind that the great majority
oi railroad employees are a great par, OF
their time away from their nome cities.
They have TO pay their own expenses Tor
Lodging. food etc. and that comes out
Of their wages. What are these wages
They will average, IL IL claimed, sl-si-
a wear. That is perhaps 500 or more
too high. inasmuch at 1t takes into ac-
count the higher average OF the iS'V"
passenger conductors, engineers ana oth-
ers who are not involved in this contro-
vcrsy. But suppose IT is sl,2i2 a year
The daily average wage Tor trainmeh u
s2T3 for a ton.hour day, or q cents an
hour. To make 81 .2i2 a year Mt q cents
~ hour means that a man must work
4 coo hours in the year. and that means
th. equivalent of 400 n-hour days, or
3g5 ,,ays of more than IL hours labor
each The way IL actually works itself
out l. that for many, many days oil the
vcnr the men who run your trains, and
Who keep the tracks safe and into whose
hands the lives of all the rest are placed,
and safely placed where the greed OF
ch,.apncss of the financial Arrangements
does not intervene. those men must work
TO the point OF exhaustion for sixteen OF
more hours out OF the twcnty-four.
Larger Trains, Shorter Pay.
We have been told by the railroads
that there have already been considerable
percentages Of wage increase to the tram
opcratiycs in the past few years. A per-
eantare of wage increase depends on
what you start with. II YOU start with
such a miserably low wage that man
and his wife and children cannot live
on il, even with the practise OF the
strictest economy, then il takes but
precious little increase to make good
pcrccntagc showing. And not only that,
bu, such increases as have been granted
have been absorbed by the lengthenine
of trains and the greater amount OF
work nut upon the men. And every ono
knows to his dsmay how the greater
cost of living has increased and has les
scncd the actual value of the wages re-
ccivcd. let the wages he placed on a
fair and respectable basis to start with
and then II will be time enough and fair
enough to talk about percentages OF
wage increases"
Railroads Are Prosperous.
Mr.. Walsh gave the figures to prove
that never in the history of the country
has thc railroad business been so profit
ablc as in the past year. report Tor
tbc eight months ending February ~,
and covering all the railroads having OPP
Grating expenses of Sl,0OO,OOO or more n
ycar land this includes 80 per cent ot
all the railroad mileage in the country
has lust been completed by the Inter.
state Commerce company. Those oti'eiai
statistics show that the net revenue OF
tho railroads. above expenses OF opera
tion. wages, depreciation charges. taxes
and every other possible charge was
, sGs7 .G53. 500 That vast sum was pro'its'
~ bc distributed in dividends, surplus
br any other form of velvet that the III
rectors chose to make.
Profits ss,oo2 Per Mile.
"'rbe profits for those eight months