Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-03-22
NATION FACES RATE BOOST.
Increases Amounting to 50 Per Cent
II Wages Are Increased.


bring about. amicable settlement Of
wage disputes.
The wage conference opens on the
same day that the. interstate COM
merce commission begins hearings to
determine what advances in freight
rates will be necessary to provide
for the $1,000. 900. 900 Of advances in
wages already granted during the
two years of government operation
Of the railroads.
Under the provisions Of the trans
portation act OF 1920. recently signed
by the president, the Interstate COM
merce commission is directed to make
railroad rates that will yield q mini
mum of 5h per cent on the aggre-
gate value of the railroads. The
great advance in cost Of operation,
chiefly for wages, during the twenty
six months of government control,
has reduced the railroad net income
to about 2A per cent, or half the
minimum under the new law.
Rates to Advance so Per Cent.
Railroad traffic experts estimate
that to provide revenues sufficient to
take care Of the billion dollar, wage
advances already granted, an in
crease in freight rates Of approxi-
mately Is per cent will be required.
The extent Of this increase will be
for the interstate commerce COM
mission to determine. after hearings
that are expected to extend well into
the summer. The decision must be
made before Sept. 1, when the gov
ernment guarantee Of >pre-war earn
ings expires. ls
II the new wage conference re-
suits in a further increase in the
railroad pay roll then Under the
transportation act the commission
again will be obliged to raise freight
or passenger rates. or both, to pro-
vide the additional revenues to. pay
the wages. It is estimated that each
increase of a cent an hour in WAGES
rates adds $4,000, 900 q year to the
pay roll, requiring an advance OF IN
per cent in freight rates. The grant
ing of the new billion dollar wage
demand would. under the law, mean
a further rs per cent advance in
freight rates on top Of the 25 per
cent advance about to. be considered
by the interstate commerce commis-
sion.
When the railroads were turned
back to their owners on March j tho
managements were faced with an
annual pay roll Of $2.770, ,o0o. 900, as
compareS w::.i ::t:,7..cc,Svv, 7.c 9 vo,v10 under
private operation prior to govern
ment me control. an increase q $780,
Radicals ovsrruls Conservatives.
In the last eight months OF tov-
ernment operation new .wags de-
mands kept on accommodating. While
the leaders Of some Of the more con-
servative unions. notably Warren 8.
Stone Of the locomotive engineers, L.
e. Sheppard Of the conductors. and
W.eG. Lee Of tho trainmen, believed
that further large wage increases
would only increase production costs
and living costs, and urged wait
Ing policy, the radical labor leaders,
especially In tho shop crafts. were
insistent on further wage advances.
The result was that the conserya-
tives, for self-protection. had to fol-
low alons with tho radicals, and
make proportionate demands.
All OF these new demands, cover
f;iis ms; i,S0S.SSScc &c :ss .,s50vOO employ
es. have now been turned over to the
railroad companies. y, u
Divisions Of Empioyss.
These demands by classes Of em-
ployes are estimated by railroad
managers as follows:
Engineers. 4 flremen. conductors.
brakemen, and 7yardmen (S5s. .ooo) ask
for increased wages OF $2e0, ,000, 900,
an average increase per man Of $50.
Ehopmen 473, 900 machinists, boil.
srmaksrs, blacksmiths. carpsntsrs
w tas 6 s aS IA IA s ss