The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1916-05-18
A BIGGER, BETTER AND A
MORE PROSPEROUS MOBRIDGE
At Least A Third Increase In Population Providing
Railroad Men Are Granted Their Demands
Quicker Freight Deliveries

The dull business of year ago, here
, in Mobridge, can only be ascrbed to
the fact that the city was built and
planned along the lines and pulling
power of K-1 engine and when the
,ailroad company slipped in the L-2
engines on the freight runs it simply
meant that each L-2 engine took the
meant the elimination of one entire
train crew and business did not in
crease again until the freight service
on the road picked up.
Only recently the system has
brought to Mobridge and will use west
out Of here, two Malleys, which means
that as soon as business falls off that
each Malley will take the place of two
I.-2 engines and the elimination of an
other entire train crew for each Nal
ley and more stagnant business for the
city.
Give the men their eight hour day
along peaceable lines if possible, and
if not give them the support of your
opinion, if they have to take a more
drastic step to gain their demands.
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 12la miles per hour 100
miles in eight hours, and time and one
half for overtime after eight hours.
Give these men their eight hour day
it only means the speeding up Of the
trains. and the shortening of them to
a safety first" point. Give them their
demands along peaceable lines, if pos
sible, but if they can not get them
that way give them your assurance
that your sentiment will be with them
if they have to take the drastic step
of striking.
Eight hours a day will mean that the
men who bring the money into the city
will have more time to spend in a
social way and get better acquainted
With their families, their associates
along social lines and their merchants
1t will mean at least third more men
drawing high wages at this point A
better life for all.
"The trainmen contend that, in spite
of increase in railway pay, the labor
cost of the transportation companies
have constantly tended downward"
What they mean is that the rail
roads have been getting more and
more labor out of the trainmen. This
has been done by the lengthening pas.
senger trains without, at the same
time putting on additional employees
have been sent over the divisions.
Some of these trains have been so
long that the locomotives were able
to pull them only at slow speed
Heavier and heavier freight trains
Except where legislation has forced it,
the train crews have remained unchan-
ged. Thus-the trainmen say-the
increased labor productivity has play
ed an important part in increasing
railroad earnings. They insist they
should have larger share of the in
crement and so demand an eight hour
day without decrease in pay"
'One of the arguments for scientific
management has been that it would
increase the benefits of labor, give it
higher pay, lower the working day
What the railroads have done in re-
cent years has been to apply scientific
management to their business so far
as they could do So
aside from the merits of the rail-
way dispute, it must be borne in mind
that the whole proposition of scientific
management Is bound to fail unless