Evening star., 1919-04-27
SHOWS BIG Jump
IN NRA|LROADPAY
Official Report Puts Increase
at IS Per Cent; 145, 600
More Employed.
OFFICERS SALARIES CUT

ihSiC cases III pay TOLLS OF various
classes of railway employees during
government control is shown in detail
by railroad administration report
giving numbers employed in each
class, days and hours worked. pay in
the aggregate. per day and per hour
and the rate of advance. az Of Decem-
boz 49,. tho last month Of private
opsratfons and Januaryssipis.ssIte Iteswas
the nrst report Of the kind ever pre-
pared by the railroad administra ton.
In the thirteen months between the
two dates. the number of employees
rose from l.7os.ooo to 1,s4s.ooo or SIS
per cent. This was said to be only a
normal rate of increase to take care
Of traffic handled. In most classes of
employment the numbers increased,
except in the cases Of freight and
passenger enginemen, flremen, con-
ductors, trainmen and f1agmen. The
demand for these classes of men on
military railways in France caused a
decrease in the number employed in
the United States.
Increases in Pay Shown.
The aggregate pay rolls for all
classes rose from $153,o39, 900 in De-
cember 1917. to $3.50. 500, 900 last Janu-
ary, with the average rate of pay in
crease 4s per cent. There was a re-
duction in pay of only one class.
general officers. among whom many
high-salaried railroad presidents were
removed from the operating pay rolls,
Although the report did not give
specifically the number Of hours for
each man, or even an average. ii was
indicated that hours worked amount
ed to less in January than in the
month preceding government control.
The aggregate of hours worked in
creased little more than one per
cent. and for the classes employed BY
the day working time was 81 Der
cent greater.
The report showed that passenger
engineers are the highest paid rail-
way employees, receiving an average
of SO cents an hour. The next high
est paid are train dispatchers, whose
average is 81 cents an hour. This
did not take into consideration the
railroad officers and few mechanical
department foremen employed on the
daily basis.
Advances~for Big Four. -
For members of the Big Four
brotherhoods and allied employments
whose recent wage advance was not
figured in this report, the percentage
rates of pay increase were as follows ::
Freight engineers, II per cent;
freight firemen, 35; freight conduc-
tors. 21; freight brakemen and flag
men. Al: passenger engineers. 10; pas
senger firemen. "a: passenger conduc-
tors, 10: passenger baggagemen, 81;
passenger brakemen and flagmen, 81.
The number of clerks employed
rose from 100000 to 205, 900 and their
wages went up 19 per cent, or less
than half of the average increase for
all employees. Section men, of whom
an army of 249,000 was employed, re-
ceived a general advance of rs per
cent, but were still among the lower
paid employees.
Shopmen constituted a big group
receiving a larger share of increased
wages than any other similar group
Some of the percentage increases
given these men arc as follows: Ma
chinists, Al; boilermakers, ~: black
smiths, 43: masons and bricklayers
73; structural ironworkers, ss; car
penters, 65; painters, so; electricians
81; car repairers, SIS; and mechanics
helpers. SO.
Te.egraphers got 64 per cent in
crease and station service employees,
72 per cent.