The labor advocate. [volume] (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1912-1937, 1916-11-11
THE RAILROAD WAGE
By SCoTT NEARING.

There is a general feeling about the
country that railroad wages are high.
And why should they not be? The
hours of railroad work are long. Many
Of the tasks involve heavy physical la
Dor. The risks of railroading are ex-
cesslve. The room at the top, in the
railroad industry, is unusually narrow,
even in these days of narrowing oppor-
tunity
The railroader, it would seem, is en-
titled to generous compensation if ever
any wage-earner was.
YET RAILROAD WAGES ARE
EXTREMELY SMALL
This fact was frankly admitted by
the railroads themselves in their recent
answer to the request of the brother
hoods for the ei~ht-hour day "We can
not reasonably grant this request" they
insisted. "You are already getting more
than your share of railroad wages; the
other railroad wageearners are at pres
ent undergrad; if we increase your
wages it will involve further discrimi-
nation against them" 1t does not take
an expert to see at a glance, how made
quate most railroad wages really are
he last wage figures published by
the Interstate Commerce Commission
(for 1910 were "agerages most
unsatisfactory of all methods of stating
wages. These average figures in SO far
as they are to be taken seriously showed
that for the most part the average fig
ures for wages on American railroads
seemed tynical of the average wages re-
ported in manufacturing and other like
industries. With the exception of en-
made up about per cent of the total
number of railroad employees, no group
of railway workers received an average
wage of more than $4.00 per day; fire
men, "other trainmen," and machinsts
of employees and receive average
wages OF from $500 to $3.50 per day.
On the other hand "other station men"
track men and switch tenders-32 in
each hundred railroad employes-RE-
CEIVE LESS THAN So PER DAY,
and station agents, other shop men, "
section foremen and laborers-41 in each
hundred railroad emploves-receive be-
tween So and $3.50 per day. According
to these figures about three-fOurths
of all railroad employees are i'm re-
ceipt of wages that average less than
$3.50 per day, and about One-third
of all railroad employees are i'm re-
ceipt of wages that average less than
So per day.
Compare these wages with the cost
of decent family living in different
parts of the United States. The figure
for Pittsburg is $1,000 a year; Chi
cago, $3.50; Buffalo $50; New York
City, $3.50: Fall River, $3.50 Several
of these figure: were set before the
war; and therefore before the recent
leap in the price of necessaries. Even
at that, the contrast is startling A
third of the railroad workers get aver
age wages. of less than So day. Any
of these half million men who are liv-
ing in cities and supporting family
of three small children, must work
400 days Il year to earn II living
wage.
Subject railroad wages to any of the
tests that are ordinarily applied to de-
eide whether Or not wage is ade-
quate, and you will be astonished at
the result. Railroad wages are low per
hour of work; they are low as COM
pared with the prices of the necessaries
of life; they are low as compared with
other industries.
During the year when a meagre pit
tanCe wage went TO nunureQS OF thOu-
sands of railroad men the total amount
paid in wages for railroad operation
and maintenance was 81 1852, ,373 1877; the
amount paid in salaries to officials was
$3s, ,743,226; and at the same time $751;
533,24O was paid in interest and divi-
dends to the owners of railroad stocks
and bonds for no better reason than
that they owned bonds and stocks
For each dollar paid to an official, sc
dollars were paid to wage-earners ant
clerks and 23 dollars were paid to bond.
holders and stockholders.
Railroad wages are low, on the whole
The railroad worker faces risk, long ant
uncertain hours and a rate of pay sc
small that in hundreds of thousands oi
cases it will not buy health for an aver.
age family.