The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-08-22
EDWARDS STATEMENT

the road in the southern territory who
would be affected by the threatened
strike.
EDWARDS STATEMENT
The statement of Superintendent Ed
wards follows:
THE train and engine service en-
ployes who are threatening to tie IN
the commerce of the entire country by
general strike unless the railroads
will grant their demands for increases
in wages amounting to $500, 100000 per
year are already the highest paid class
of employees in railway service and are
among the best paid men in any line
of industry.
These men constitute Is per cent OF
the total number of employees, but they
receive % per cent of the wages paid
by American railways and the mana
gers felt they could not grant these
demands without doing injustice to the
stockholders of the railways, the 81
per cent of the employees whose earn
ings are not so high as those of the
men now making these demands, as
well as the public, which must pay
the bill for whatever increase in
wages is granted, either in increased
freight rates or increased passenger
rates, or in the decreased ability of
the railways to give the service de-
manded by the public.
'The demand of the men is not for
the adoption of real eight-hour work.
ing day, but is a demand for an eight
hour basis for computing the pay for
a days service and for time and a half
for overtime. This, if granted, would
either give the men the same pay with
fewer hours than they are now work.
ing or would give them greatly in
creased pay for the same number of
hours they are now working. They do
not want the number of hours of serv-
ice reduced to eight, they are willing
to work the same number of hours as
at present provided they receive time
and half for hours worked in ex-
cess of eight. in many cases under the
rules now in effect the men get a
days pay for less than eight hours
service and in the conferences the men
said they expect such conditions to
continue, they are not looking for a
working day of eight hours in which
no one would work more than eight
hours or in which every one would
work that number of hours.
Under existing rules employees In
train and engine service have favor
able working conditions. If they do
any work at all in day they are given
full days pay, no matter how short
time they may work or how few
miles they may run. If they are
called on to work overtime they are
paid for it at the regular hourly rate.
They are paid extra for every mile
over 100 they may run. They cannot
make less than a full days pay and if
they do anything extra they get extra
pay.
RAILROAD PAY ROLLS
"a statement prepared from the pay
rolls IF III r in tn
ern territory shows the average yearly
wage payment to all train employees
thereon Gncluding those who work ed
only part of the year,, as shown by
the 1915 payrools, were:
Passenger. Freight Yard
Engineers -. $2144 $1712 $13I3
Conductors -. 1928 1883 1857
Firemen 1925 S65 6SS
Brak emen 49,. 1913 S45 S6s
1.-The railroads hAve considered every
man whose name appears on the Jan
uary and December payrolls as an en-
ploye for year, no matter how little
service he performed in the other 10
months. 1t is quite evident, therefore,
that these averages are under rather
than above the actual earning power
of the employees mentioned.
That long hours in train service have
been reduced to minimum is shown
commerce commission. Only one en-
ploye in five on the average last year
was compelled to remain on duty more
than 16 hours during any one day in
the whole year. In other words, the
chance of an engineman or trainman
remaining on duty beyond this pre-
scribed limit was reduced to once in
five years.
Every time train is delayed by an
accident, washout, or any other cause,
SO that any part of the train crew or
engine crew is on duty longer than 16
hours, the railroad company must re-
port the occurrence to the commission.
The reduction in the number of such
cases as indicated by the report OF
the interstate commerce commission
shows that the working of men for
long stretches of continuous service
has practically fully disappeared ex-
cept in rare cases of unavoidable de-
lay.
THE committee of managers of the
railroads offered to submit the con-
troversy to the interstate commerce
commission or to arbitration under the
Newlands act. The brotherhood leaders
refused both offers and went back to
the men for a strike vote. The railways
were so convinced OF the justice OF
their position that they were willing
tial tribunal. This the leaders were
unwilling to do"