The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-08-14
WHAT THE TRAINMEN DEMAND
Sioux City Qowa) Tribune)

| lily AAO"NJ
The railway managers are flooding
the country with publicity regarding
the increase in wages" that is be-
ing demanded by the members of the
four railway brotherhoods who are
engaged in actual handling Of trains.
It scenes the railroad managers can
not make an honest presentation OF
this issue any more than they can OF
the rate question, the question of their
valuation, or their inside financing.
The railway employees are not ask
ing for an advance of wages. In fact
they are asking for the adoption OF
plan that will decrease the income
of many of them. They are asking
for an eight-hour day, instead of be-
ing compelled to stay out on the road
from IL to 16 hours.
Their argument in favor of this
change is reasonable. They say that
passenger trainmen and fast freight
trainmen wouldn't be materially af-
fected by such a rule as few of them
are now on the road more than eight
hours. The men who would be af-
fected are the trainmen who handle
dead" freight trains. These men are
on the road usually the limit per-
mitted by the federal laws-16 hours
and often longer than that before
they get back to their homes. Their
expenses on the road must come out
of their own wages.
The greatest evil, however, is the
physical and mental effect upon men
working that length of time. 1t needs
no argument to prove that after eight
or 10 hours continuous strain, ones
physical and mentl activities get slug
gish. 1t is during these periods, say
trainmen, that wrecks most frequent
ly occur; and then the railroad man.
agements blame it on to the "care.
lessness" of the railroad employees.
Even the traveller in the Pullman
gets tired after 1O-hour ride during
the day. But the man in the engine
cab must keep fresh; he must keep
his mental activities keen for he must
see every signal keep in mind every
order, and when he enters railroad
yard must know just what every one
of all the way from so to 300 switch,
signal and block lights mean, and il
they are as they should be to guar
antee him a clear track. Yet eye
fatigue is one of the first symptoms
and results of long hours of work, and
mental dullness comes a close sec.
ond. Safety first" for the travel
ing public demands that men on the
railroads be not overworked.
There is yet another side-one
which affects the commercial side of
railroading. Why are some freight
trains handled with such speed that
men who handle them are not on
their runs over eight hours, while
other freight trains hauled with the
same class of motive power and over
the same right-of-way, are IA to 20
hours coming from New Orleans to
Sioux City, while a carload of other
freight is three to four weeks?
Trainmen say the railroads so
overload dead" freight trains that
hey cannot make their time. This
s done in order to increase the rail-
'oad's profit. This is why the train.
men who handle these trains must
lay out" on sidings and at way sta.
ions, and be on their run IA to 1e
hours.
Trainmen also offer the hint to the
shipper that If the eight hour law
goes into effect, it will solve the
reight car famine to a great extent
Railroads will then speed IN their
reight schedule, in order to avoid
'vetime wages, and freight cars will
'e rushed to their destination and
lnloaded instead of dingdonging along
IN the road for weeks.