Denver labor bulletin., 1916-04-01

until they are worn out and have to law
OH; and IN many cases this boon l.
refused. II these men Were worked eight
hours they would be more competent
workers on account OF having more rest
would be better citizens on account of
having more time to brighten their
minds. more time to study the economic
Questions that are of vital importance
To their own and the communities wei.
iare, and would. therefore. be more In.
tclligent voters. On the same basis the
company would be the gamer by AWAY,
having fresh man going on duty n,
working periods, and would bc less
troubled by men asking for layoffs for
the purpose of getting some rest. The
public would also h. the gamer by get.
ting quicker service on dead or sion
freight
Example of Slow Freight.
For example. take a car of banana.
shipped say from New Orleans TO ST
Louis, which goes thru in thirty.six or
thlrty-eight hours, while car of dead
freight would occupy almost three weeks
getting the same distance; in other
words. dead freight is moving in the
United States on an average of about
one mile per hour when il should move
practically as expeditiously as any other
commodity.
The statement has been rccpatedly
made that the men do not want an
eight day, but are simply after nm
increase in wages. This absurd state
ment has no basis in fact. as the men
do not want the overtime. and the only
way to stop the working of the mcr,
overtime is to put n penalty on the use
OF overtime. 50 that the railroads would
move trains more expcditiously and be
more saving in their use of the mems
overtime work. Pay for overtime to the
worker is blood money, as this money Is
made after the man il worn out. needs
sleep and rest, and digs at his very
vitals and makes him old before his
time.
Don't Want the Overtime.
Give railway train service men eight
hours work, eight hours sleep and eight
hours to pass with their families and
they ask for no overtime and no So
sxorbitant pay.
The manufacturers and shippers arc
constantly brought face to face with car
shortages thruout the United States.
which condition is largely brought about
by slow transportation of so-called dead
freight. II cars loaded with this dead. or
slow moving freight, were handled more
rapidly to destination, unloaded and re.
turned to service, the company would
earn greater revenue on each car.
which increase alone would offset any
additional expense the company would
sustain in making the change Keep the
trains moving by giving them the amount
of tonnage they can handle over the
division and it will be seldom that the
trip cannot be made in eight hours.
Cooperation Is Needed.
''There is no good, logical reason why
railway and train service men should
not be on an eight-hour basis. Before
the federal sixteen hour law was en-.
forced the companies worked the men
twenty or thirty hours, but after this
law became effective they found they
could get the trains thru in fourteen or
fifteen hours, and they will find this
can be just ms easily cut to eight hours
as it was from thirty to sixteen hours.
1t needs only the cooperation of the
company Officials with the men TO make
an eight-hour day on railroads n bless.
ing, and at the same time knock the
shackles off Of 309,l74 railroad men In
the United States now calling for relief"