Denver labor bulletin., 1918-05-18
Combined from raEe onsl


control during the war. The recent
conference here showed that the steel
trusts organization on the Great
Lakes-the Lake Carriers Associa-
tion-still refuses to deal with either
the organized seamen or the govern
ment itself in the matter of bringing
up the standard of wages and condi-
tions on the lakes to that contained
in the Atlantic agreement.
The season opens on the lakes with
a greater mutual hostility than ever
before. and it is n reasonable guess
that here again the national war labor
board or the President himself will
have to take hand. The Seamen
frankly said that If the government
could not remedy conditions on the
lakes in any other way, it ought to
take possession of the vessels, just
as the government has taken posses
sion of all vessels on the Atlantic.
Sailors and Naval Reserves.
Five articles on FIVE different
phases of the merchant marine sit
uation. written by Furuseth and pub
lshed in the New York Evening Post,
have been reprinted in the Congress
sional Record for May 8. In them
Furuseth argues against replacing
who are trained largely on shore; he
describes the prisons of
the sea'-whose vile condition has
driven American boys ashore; he
shows how the Seamen's act has pro-
tected sailors against crimps; he ex-
plains how safety at sea can be en-
forced under the new law, and finally
he tells how the Seamen's act has
equalized the sailors wages, and put
the American shipowner on a better
basis to compete with his foreign rival.
The whole fate of the Seamen's act is
now pending before the supreme court
of the United States.
Iron Mongers on the Carpet.
Heads of the big iron and steel
companies of Alabama were sum-
moned to Washington this week to
meet the national war labor board and
explain the wage scale which drove
5000 of their employees to go on
strike. While the Bethlehem Steel
Company has not yet been summoned,
it is likely to be called in very soon,
because of the similar trouble in its
works. Steel production is running
far below the immediate needs Of the
government, particularly the needs
for railroad locomotive and car con-
StTuctlOn, anu any IuItneI ieuustioh
of the output will seriously increase
the suffering from lack of coal next
winter, because the amount of coal
delivered will depend on the number
Of cars built and hauled to the mines.
No Need To BE Jealous.
Railroad employees are not well paid,
the public learns at last from the re-
port of the railroad wage commits
4. Il. 81 tA
per cent on the lowest grades of pay,
ing on January i, 1916. The raises
demanded by the various groups to-
taled nearly $1,000 100000, and the
raises granted were one-seventh OF
that. So nobody outside the service
need be jealous.
"The greatest number of employees"
SAYS the report, "fall into the class
receiving between $50 and $65 per
month-1S1 ,693; while within the
range of the next $40 in monthly sal
ary there is total of 312,761 persons.
In December, 1917, there were ATT
clerks receiving annual pay of 5000 or
less. In 1917 the average pay of this
class was $56.77 per month. There
were 270,S55 section men whose aver
age pay as class was $5O.31 per
month; 121 900 other unskilled labor
ers whose average pay was $5S.25
per month; 130,075 station service en-
ployes whose average pay was $58.75
per month; 1926 road freight brake
men and hagmen whose average pay
was $100.17 per month, and 1906
road passenger brakemen and flagmen
whose average pay was $91.1O per
month.
Loyalty of Railroad Employees.
"These are not pre-war figures;