The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-11-14
RAILROAD MEN VOTE
ON WAGE DEMAND
Trainmen, Conductors and
Firemen to Number of
10000 Involved
WANT AN INCREASE
OF $1O9, 900, 900
Proposed Advances from 20 Per Cent to
More Than SO Per Cent - Managers
Say Question viii Be Put Up to the
Government.

NEW YORK, Nov. l4.-One hundred
and seventy thousand conductors and
brakemen on all the railroads of the
United States are voting secretly this
week on a proposal to submit to the
roads demands for increases in wages
amounting to more than Sl00,000,000 a
wear, or almost twice as much "a the
railway brotherhoods got through the
AdamSon eight-hou law. Railroad men
believe there is little doubt that the
proposal will be approved. The official
brotherhood circular says that a strike
vote will be taken Gin case the prop
osition is turned down by the manage
ments.
Railroad officials see a ray of hope
in the fact that Warren S. Stone, head
of the Engineers, and a member of one
of the advisory bodies OF the Council
Of National Defense, is said to have
refused to allow his $4,000 men to join
the movement on the ground that the
present was no time to agitate a big
railroad strike. In his work at Wash
ington Mr.. Stone, who is perhaps the
most prominent and most influential
man in the railway brotherhoods fol-
lowing the retirement OF Mr.. Garret-
son, has been closely associated with
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor. Mr..
Stone is attending the federation con
Vention in Buffalo, and is said to be
unalterablv opposed to the movement
set on foot by the conductors and
brakemen to force a wage issue at this
time
! According TO the official circular of
the grand lodge officers of the two
brotherhoods, in the passenger service
the proposed demands involve mileage
rate increases of from 20.6 per cent for
conductors to 5l.5 per cent for bag
gagemen. 1t Is proposed to raise the
minimum monthly basis for conductors
from $l35 to $l62.90, and for baggage
men from $3.50 to $ll6.40.
I'm through freight service the con
| ductors ask for an increase in the mile
1 age rate of 30 l-e per cent and the
I brakemen for 42.7 per cent increase.
| Local freight conductors demand an in
crease of $50 per cent and brakeman
IS per cent in their mileage rate. The
demands for yard conductors and
brakcmen involve an increase of a
per cent in daily rates Of pay. The
general increase given by the Adamsor
act was about 20 per cent.
| The Eastern carriers, III their rat,
case now being heard before the inter
state commerce commission in Wash
ington, presented figures showing that
in this year they had increased wages
| SlO2, 900 900. Of this amount, for tn,
eastern roads, $36000,000 was received
10y the brotherhood members under the
Adamson law and the remaining 500,
,000,0 90 are increases to other classes OF
railroad workers.
The percentage increase to the broth
erhood members is about 90 per cent
while the other employees received onl,
II per cent. In the whole country rail
road workers have received in the pas
year increases in pay running close t,
$500, 100000. The average annua
wage Of all train employees IS nov
about 81 300, while the average wage
received by the other employees, wht
outnumber the trainmen 4 TO i
about $500 Eastern railroad man
layers who appeared before the inter
Estate commerce commission last wee
iSaid that many of their inorganic,
employees were underpaid consider
ing the great rise in the cost Of living
and deserved more pay. They said tina
the continuous large increases to tn
train employees made il financially in,
possible for the railroads to treat thei
other employees fairly. It was upo
the item of increased wages that
: large part of the argument for il
creased freight rates was based
, Throughout the country the number 0
employees of the railroads is close /
100000, of whom about 100000 az
, members of the brotherhoods.
Eastern railroad officials who exam