The Alaska daily empire., 1916-04-05
JAMES ). JILL
 DISCUSSES TILE
 RAILROAD WAGE

NEW YORK. April 5.- James J. Hill says: "Railroad employees could not choose moro inopportune time to ask for a general advance in wa ges When the war Is over, the question confronting American wage earners will be that of finding a mar ket for their labor instead of fixing price for 1t.
 "We have teyerish prosperity that may vanish overnight. The greot bulk of business now taxing the ca- pacity of our railroads arises from war necessities Of Europe. The mon- ey our people are getting in payment for their products is being provided on forced credit of the combined natioins of Europe. They are raising these hundreds of millions by bling up to enormous heights the debts Of their governments, thus building up a great financial burden for fu- ture generations.
 "The instant peace is in sight (and no one can tell how soon that may bel all this flood of orders for war materials at high prices will sudden ly cease Europe will then begin the slow and painful recovery from the great losses of the war
 Then the United States. which has been profiting by Europe's war necessities. will have to share her burden of the cost of the war
 with the war over, we will no longer see railroads blocked with merchandise bound for seaboard, or our harbors choked with freight in waiting for ships to carry 1t to Eur ope.
 with such @ situation confronting us this can hardly be regarded as a happy moment for railroad employees and especially those highly paid employees In the train service, to ask for higher wages.
 "The American railroads today pay the highest wages in the world, out of the lowest rates. after having set down to capital account the low est capitalization per mile of all the great countries of the world.
 The payroll now absorbs 45 per cent of the gross earnings. When business falls off 1t will be difficult to reduce wages correspondingly. The higher rate of wages established now would have to be adhered to in the severe financial readiustment which must come very soon.
 These 30O.0O0 trainmen, less than a fifth of the railroad workers, are now highly paid. and their working conditions arc most favorable. In what other occupation can workers earn two and three days pay in one day, and be able to spend many days at home in consequence?
 continually increased pay and de- creased working hours for the em- ployee mean increased cost of trans portation, and all the people must In the end pay the bill in higher rates A railway can pay out only what 1t takes in. It takes in nothing ex- cept what the public pays for the service. Every concession to the employees must in time be reflected in Q raise in rates and paid for by the people.
 "The greatest factor making for high prices is the wage rate. The labor cost is the principal item in all forms of industry.
 High wages and high prices work in circle. Every rise of one is re- nected in a rise of the other. But somebody has to pay these wages. In the end labor suffers when business no longer pays a profit and payrolls cease entirely by closing up of an Industry no longer profitable
 But the railroads must go on. The capital once invested In the business cannot be taken out. Railroads need hundreds of millions of new capital every year. How is this capital to be obtained unless investors are con vinced oi the ability of the carriers to earn a fair return?"