The Alaska citizen., 1916-10-09

as they now are with the 1O-hour day, and with the lessons of years 10 prove it, they stnad for the short er work day as a humane, just propo- sition which they consistently de- mand on the ground that s hours service at time is all the man can give with fairness to himself if he is to retain his mental and physical health, enjoy a part of his time to his own advantage and that of his family, to remain alert and active, to have some hope of remaining a wage worker several years more than he knows he now has.
 Freight cars have grown in length from 28 to 50 feet in the last twen- ty years, and where formerly it took 24 loads to make a train, it now re- quires from 50 to 100 cars. One crew is now doing the work that formerly was done by three or four crews and this one crew does not receive pay commensurate with the increased work.
 Statistics show that it cost the railroads for wages to locomotive engineers and firemen, 65c for each one thousand tons carried one mile in 1890, while in 1913 one thousand tons were transported one mile for only 33c, a decrease of cost to the railroads for these employees alone 1 of more than 50 per cent While there has been some slight increase in wages during that period. it has not been in accordance with the de crease in operation cost to the rail roads or to the increased work made necessary by extremely long and heavier trains.
 statement issued by the Execu- tive Committee of the Association of | Western Railways, April 23rd. 1916, declares that the railroads received in the year 1890, S1.65 per freight u oAL PCA AAAAAS, eA4N IA AoAf NAS Se'A IA ings per freight train per mile were S3.31, or an increase of 100 per cent.
 Freight train crews are producing double the revenue for the railroads. according to this statement by the roads themselves.
 The railroads are attempting to aly itpl &f 0tntn ,ny,t that for every one dollar of revenue received, 45c of that dollar is paid out for labor. This is an admission that the railroad labor is not paid as much as labor in other industries.
 Ten of the leading industries se- lected from tho United States Cen sus Reports show that the ratio of wages to the cost of production Is 6l.4 cents out of each dollar.
 The United States Census Reports also show that wages in all lines have increased more rapidly than in railroads. Even on the farms the census reports show that farm wages have increased east of the Mississippi 1 7O1 per cent and west of the Missis- sippi river 971.
 The only fair basis of stating wages is to show how much a man receives per hour for his work. The railroad train service employees re- ceve less per hour compensation than almost any other trade-a hod carrier gets $4.5o for eight hours, or 56c per hour.
 On through and irregular freight train service in the eastern territory, the prevailing wage for engineers hour. conductors 40c per hour, and brakemen 26.7 cents per hour.
 Are these high wages when you compare them with the hourly wage in other industries?
 railroad freight train service employee must work days, nights. lar hours and very little time at home. The very nature of his work compe,s him to buy better and more expensive clothing than the average worker. His occupation is more haz- ar,lous and his productive years are much less than the average wage earner.
 Certain railway officials in oppos- ing the granting of the 8-hOur day to freight crews are presenting fig ures which would indicate that train operatives are receiving fancy pay. The examples shown by the com panies are exceptional cases and are men engaged in the fast passenger runs. and it should be understood that passenger ser vice men are not included in the present movement-only the freight men, who are required to work long hours in order to earn enough to live on.
 Railway freight train crews are re- Quired to work day and night, ex- posed to all sorts of hardships and in all kinds of weather. Half of their lay-off time is spent at the other end of their run. where they must maintain place to sleep and to eat with expenses at home going on just the same. The men whom the comnapjes are uSinR for exam.