Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1916-03-22
RAILROAD EMPLOYEES
CASE IS STATED
brotherhood's Issue Argument
In Favor Of Eight Hour
Day Demand. ::

have issued the following statement
as an argument in favor of the rail-
road employees demand for an eight
hour day:
"A great deal has been said about
the inability of the railroads to grant
the eight hour day to railway train
crews and switchmen, and few facts
bearing upon the necessity Of a short
er work day are here presented.
'The unit of wage payment is now
based on the moving Of rolling stock
100 miles per 10 hours, or 10 miles
per hour. The men are now asking
for eight hours or 1912 miles per
hour, 100 miles in eight hours, and
time and one-haf for overtime after
eight hours.
1.-THE railroad companies as well as
the public at large would be benefit.
ed by the change. All trunk lines GEN.
tering in large terminals have social
ed manifest freight, leaving these ter
mnals each night, hauling from 1000 to
1900 tons of freight, which is called
fast freight service. These trains
travel over divisions up to 40 to 240
miles on an average Of an eight to
eleven hour basis. In many cases the
so-called drag or dead freight train
leaving the same terminal probably
three hours ahead of these manifest
or fast freight trains are passed on
the road, and the fast freight goes to
destination in eight or nine hours,
while the dead freight is often caught
by the Federal 16-hour law and has
to tie up for eight hours rest before
getting into division or terminal
points.
If one train can be sent over a div.
ision Of say 40 or $50 miles in eight
hours, there is mo just reason why the
same class engine, with another train,
should put in II or 16 hours over the
same course. Take, for instance,
crews on dead freight service. or what
is commonly called "slop freight
Out of "a hours they are often IA
hours on the road. They spend one
hour after they get in, washing up
and looking after the engine, and then
are ready to go home to wife and
family, tired and sleepy. After eight
hours they are given a two hour call
at the end of the rest period to go
another IA or Is hour trip. These
men spend / IL hours with their fam
lilies, which is not enough time to
even get acquainted with them, as
they have practically no time at home.
These men know no day or night,
have no Sundays,-simply a steady
grind, until they are worn out and
have to lay of; and in many cases
this boon is refused. If these men
were worked eight hours they would
be more competent workers on &C.
count of having more rest, would be
better citizens on account of having
more time to brighten their minds,
more time to study the economic ques-
tons that are of vital importance to
their own and the communities well
fare, and would, therefore, be more
intelligent voters. On the same bas-
is the company would be the gamer by
always having a. fresh man going on
duty at working periods, and would
be less troubled by men asking for
layoffs for the purpose of getting
some rest. The public would also be
the gamer by getting quicker serv-
ice on dead or "slop freight"
"For example, take a car of ban
anas, shipped say from New Orleans
to St. Louis, which goes thru in &c or
50 hours while a car of dead freight
would occupy almost three weeks get
ting the same distance; in other
words, dead freight is moving in the
United States on an average Of about
one mile per hour when it should
move practically as expeditiously as
any other commodity.
"The statement has been repeated
ly made that the men do not want an
eight hour day, but are simply after
an increase in wages. This absurd
statement has no basis in fact, as the
men do not want the overtime, and
the only way to stop the working of
the men overtime is to put penalty
on the use of overtime, so that the
railroads would move trains more ex-
peditiously 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 is worn out, needs sleep
and rest, and digs at his very vitals,
and makes him old before his time.
"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-called exorbitant pay.
1.-THE manufacturers and shippers
are constantly brought face to face
with car shortages throughout the
United States, which condition is
largely brought about by slow trans
portation of so-called dead freight. II
cars loaded with this dead or slow
moving freight were handled more
rapidly to destination, unloaded and
returned to service, the company
would earn a greater revenue on each
car, which increase alone would off,
set any additional expense the CON-
pany 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.
'There is no good, logical reason
why railway and train service men
should not be on an eight hour basis
Before the Federal 16-hour law was
enforced the companies worked the
men 20 or 30 hours, but after this law
became effective they found they
could get the trains through in IA Or
Is hours, and they will find this can
be just as easily cut to eight hours
as it was from 80 to- 16 hours. It
needs only the cooperation of the
company officials with the men to
make an eight hour day ON railroads
blessing, and at the same time
knock the shackles off of 309,174 rail-
road men in the United States now
calling for relief"