Evening journal., 1919-12-15
LESS TRAFFIC MOVED; i9O,5ao MORE RAILWAY
EMPLOYEES.

A LARGE reduction i'm the amount of transportation
N produced In proportion TO The number Of en-
poyed has occurred the railroads under Government
operation, The hallway Age points out in editorial in
it, current issue.
During all the years when the question of eight
hour working day has been under discussion says the
Railway Age it has been conionded 10y persons That
reduction Of hours would result in a reduction Of pro-
duction and by others that 20 would result in
ducon Of production because the average worker would
accomplish much in a working day Of eight hours
in Of ten hours for example The statistics Of the
Railroad Administration demonstrate that the effect of
reducing the hours worked per day per employee
has to make It necessary employ fl per cent
more men 10 do a smaller amount of work
These statistics show that in December, 1917 the num-
Der Of employees Of the railways under Government
control i,1037iS while in July 1919 It is9i2s1,
Of i9O539 i2 per cent The average
bcr employees on Glass railways throughout The year
1917 1532s76 and II may be safely assumed that this
approximately the number employed July Of that
year The amount If passenger business handled i'm july
1912 substantially larger than The amount handled
IN July 1917. on the other hand the amount Of freight
business handled in July, 1919 substantially less
than in July, 1911 The number Of tons Of freight moved
mile per employee in July 1914 about 1900 while
IN July 1912 it was only 1880 The number of passengers
moved mile per employee in July, 1917, about
2.30O and in July, 1919, about ? 400
General Hines points that the in
the number Of employees has been almost entirely due
reduction IN the hours Of work per day lie shows that
July 1912 with 10000 more men The pay roll
the number Of hours worked by employees as whole
was actually than in December 1911 The effect of
the in the number Of employees and also the n-
the wages paid has been increase the annual
compensation Of the employees Of the Glass roads from
81 40 100000 1917 TO about S2sOOOOOOOO in 1919.
There is only way in which the effect expenses
Of the increase in and in the number Of employees
be nullined largely and that is by adopting better
operating methods and providing facilities which will
begin TO reduce the amount Of labor required to
move given amount Of traffic, being done steadily
years before the egh-hour day established But
these argcd and better facilities cannot be provided with
out large investment Of capital 1t will be true in the
future il has been in the past that the only way to
very large economies in operation Will be to make
large investments Of capital in facilities which will in
crease the amount Of traffic which be handled in pro-
portion TO the number of persons employed.
There has been much said about the need for large
investment of capital 10 enable the railroads TO expand
their facilities Another most important why
large investment Of capital is needed afforded by the
enormous increase which has occurred in the railroad
pay roll The fact cannot be too forciby emphasized
that the eject of this operating expenses cannot be
substantially Offset in any way except hy large invest
meut capital IN equipment and facilities which viii
ducc as past investments Of capital have reduced. the
amount Of labor required TO move ton % passenger
one mile.