Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1916-10-13
TIVE ApAMaoN LAW.

Those WHO are crtticis'ne the Aua AVA. ,
son bin are not crlticising an elgn'
hour day. No eight hour day Is IN
yolved, for none Is provided IN tina,
bill. Railway fnen can be continued
On their run 10 long as the dispatcnei
sees At up to sixteen hours.
II. however, the railways, after go
ins over the matter carefully, as some
AZ them are reported to be doing, de
side 10 construe the Adamson bill a.
wfrinx. out all mileage basis for pay.
ments and decide to adopt an eign!
hour day. there will be large numpei
"a trainmen who will have to WORN
much longer hours than they are now
working. These are the men on the
passenger runs. ~,
For instance train runs from Chf-
caxo to Elkhart, Ind. exactly 100 miles
now construed as days work, ano
the run ID made in about two hours and
f,fteen minutes. Allowing thirty min
utes for call time, this makes I've
hours and forty-nve minutes. Inc
train crew runs out from Chicago IN
the morning and back In the same ..
ternoon, completing 200 miles los
which the men get two days pay Un.
der an eight hour day law they would
make the round trip In less than eighi
hours Of working time and get nall OF
what they are getting now.
The .Adamson law does not settle
ANYTHING definitely, except the rate OF
nay. Everything else is pretty mucn
muddled after the fashion the Wilson
standardization has had habit OF mud
ding everything.
The above instance Is Just one OF
the features that . discussion of this
bill would have brought out. II It mao
been discussed and carefully analyzeo
during period of thirty days before
passage, a good many things might
have been developed. A discussion OF
II and committee hearings would have
given both the employees and the en-
ployers IN opportunity to set out .
sreat many points that, might have
6een. Of great beneflt to the transpor.
tatjou facilities Of this country
Such features ~ unnecessary de-
iay due to starting too many passen-
ger trains out Of station too close to-
1ether. 10 that some Of them have to
he delayed till others have cleared
certain points, would have been dis
cussed.
when delays Of that kind occur. the
passengers are unnecessarily delayed
and n the trainmen make up the time,
they have to exceed the scheduled run.
ming time. Another phase that could
have been discussed II the delay OF
freight caused by cutting out some
loaded cars in transit and leaving
them to pick up others.
Al the law now 10. NO one can tell
whether II will ever be put In e6ect.
Samuel Untermeyer, the New York
lawyer who has been chosen chief
spokesman for President Wilson. has
nut the administration in curious
nlieht BY Indignantly asserting that
the law recently passed BY congress
1t Mr.. Wilson's dictation 10 not q
swaee" law but IN "eight-hour law"
then outlining the law. explaining
that It compels the railroads to pay
tan hour wages for eight hours work,
without seeking in any way to limit
the railway employees day 10 eight
hours. and finally pointing out that
the law does not become law until
January 1, 90 that In the meantime
the congress will have ample time to
0etermine whether or not 1t is just.
These and many other phases OF
railroading could have been brought
~, in q way that could have resulted
IS much good to the whole proposition
both employees and employers. The
way 1t stands now no one can tell
whether II will be . benefit to either
employe or employer.