The labor world., 1916-05-20
RAILROAD unions
REPLY TO ELLIOTT
Declare He Is Fully Competent
To Speak To Country On
Railroad Malady.
PLEASED TO LET dead
PAST BURY IT'S DEAD
But Not Fair To Employees TO
Shoulder Heavy Burden of
Past On Them.

CLEV ELAND, May 18.-In a. state
ment given out today by the Railroad
Transportation Brotherhoods' who
are Jointly asking for an eight-hour
day, exception is taken to a pamphlet
issued by the railroad officials en-
titled: 'The Malady of the Rail-
roads," by Howard Elliott, president
of the New York, New Haven &
Hartford railroad.
The employees statement admits
that Mr.. Elliott is we'll Qualified TO
speak with authority on some phases
OF railway malady, judging from GER
tain recent revelations about the for
mer financial mismanagement and
wrecking Of the road which he is now
directing.
Mr.. Elliott says: 1T is the present
and future which confront US. Let
the dead past bury it's dead" There
must be many things of the past in
regard to the New Haven misman-
agement over which Mr.. Elliott
would like to draw the veil and have
the public forget, especially the most
recent revelations.
However, the evils of the "dead
past have saddled a load of debt on
the living present and when this
heavy burden is used as an argument
against fair wages and fair hours to
employees of the present time, we do
not forget this "past'' of the New
Haven and of other roads that are 50
strenuously opposing the movement
to better the conditions of it's en-
ployes.
The Interstate Commerce Commits
SION says in report on it's research.
into the financial workings of the
new Haven system, that it "disclosed
one OF the most glaring instances Of
NAL administration revealed in all
the history of the American Rail-
roads,"
A reasonable estimate Of the y.1oss'
OF the New Haven by reason alone of
waste and mismanagement,r the
e places at. an amount be-
tween sixty million dollars and ninety
million dollars. y. :.... ~.
for many a. year to come these
transactions are. to..be*a drain upon
the New Haven's S resources and the
employees are expected to do con-
stantly increasing labor without a.
increase in pay in or
uer TO make up this 'loot.''
NO wonder Mr.. Elliott would like
TO nave the public forget and 'Iet the
oead past bury it's dead.'' But the
ghost of highly inflated ''capital se-
curltles" cannot so easily be dis
posed of.
Mr. Elliott presents statistics but
does not allow in these figures. for
the TACT that the basis of an eight
hour work day already exists on a.
NUM- Der of railroads. He does not
allow for the fact that the demand
Tor an eight-hour day does not affect
the hundreds of thousands. of train
employees in passenger service
throughout the United States.
much stress is laid by MIR. Elliott
on the fact that "only 10 per cent Of
the railway army now absorbs % per
cent of the railways payroll" He
Tails to mention the very important
TACT that his 1S per cent constitutes
the most skilled OF the EMPLOYEES who
are bearing a greater responsibility
ana running greater risks than anv
other class of railway employees. It
would be just as convincing if Mr..
Elliott would show the large salaries
received by comparatively few
higher administrative officials as
compared to the total expense of ad-
along side of the nu-
merous lesser officials and clerks,
1t is claimed by Mr.: Elliott that
thls IS a poor time to make a demand
for an increase in nav.
IT, in these prosperous times it is
a poor time" the employees are at a
loss to know when would be a good
time. They were told early in the
year Of 1915 by the Federal Arbitra-
tlon Board, that "no Improvement in
thelr conditions of employment could
oe granted, because there was de-
CONTINUED on page 81