Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-02-26
RAILROAD WAGES
UP 32.9 PER CENT
UNDER U.S.C0NTROL
Average of All Classes Rose From
l,o7S TO Sl,A33 in Two
Years.
OFFICERS PAY WAS CUT

Washington. Feb. 26.-In two years
AZ Government control of the railroads,
soS.ns sadSS pTSeTSsr o ihs raroa2 S workers of the
country increased from Sl,07S TO 81. .i33,
a gain of ~355. or 81 Q per cent, according
10 a study Of railroad wages prepared
Tor the private use of the railway eNecu-
tiveS by the Bureau OF Railway Eco
nOmirs.
I'm four years. according 10 the same
authority, which takes its figures from
rcp0rts of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission and the United States Railway
Administration. the average annual earn
nes ol the railroad workers increased
S6u3, or To- per cent.
In the two years OF government con-
troll. the only class whose average earn
lngS show no increase are the general
officers In 1917, the last year of private
control, these officers averaged Si,6S3,
winch vas S36S more than under govern
mcnt management last year, when they
averaged S4,3l5
Tho chart clearly shows one basic
cause Of the unrest among the railroad
.lntnns in the comparatively small IN
,r,ase. granted the skilled workers. These
arc very much smaller than the increases
m the uns killed classes, and show the
vininr out of dlferentials Of long stand
mo between the more skilled men and
those AZ little skill or the men IN dangerous
work and those v hose work cannot he 50
classed
This a shown in the case of the pas
scngcr engineers, the highest paid class
ol railroad labor. numbering compara-
uvclv few mon. Their average earnings
last wear were S3.077, which was S659,
or y per cent more than they earned the
last wear Of private management. Com
uarcd with their average for 1919, the
vcrage last wear was 1886, or Ask per
cont higher, and represented, among
other things, tho gains incidental 60 the
passage of The Adamson law. which did not
applv to all classes of railroad labor.
On the other hand. marine workers,
which Includes very large proportion
of rough labor. and is made up of men who
work on railroad ferries. tugs and flats,
earned on an average 81 ,62s last year, as
compared with an average of Sill IN
1917. an increase of d65 per cent. In
1915 their average wage was S775, so
that their increase IN four years figures
1lO.I per cent.
Section men in two wears had their
average wages increased from S642 to
s93i a gain Of ass per cent. In four
wears their average rose from S454, an IN
crease Of 1857 per cent,
Messengers and attendants, another
nskilled group. earned an average of
S53l in 1917. Last year other earnings
averaged SS45, an increase of 59.2 per
cent This average increase IN four years
was Sill, or 94.7 per cent.
Machinists, skilled tradesmen, were
averaging 81. .513 In 1917. Last year they
averaged 81 ,706, an increase OF Sl93, or
l27 per cent. The increase of this class OF
workers in 1919 over the average IN 1915
was S676, or CSC per cent.
In the brotherhood group. made up
" engineers. fremen, conductors and
traInmcn, the increases under govern
ment management averaged below those
received bv men in~othcr trades Pas
scngcr conductors, who rate next to their
engineers as the highest paid employees,
earned on an average S2,7l4 last year,
This WAS S656 more than they averaged
IN 1917. the percentage of gam being 3l.9,
ar practically that of the entire army ot
railway workers This was SS64, or 46.1
per cent more than they averaged IN 1915.
Under the government, freight road
engineers averaged S2,6S6, or a httie
more than $50 week. In 1917 they
averaged S2,2SI, or S405 less, making
their percentage OF increase under gov
crnment operation lis. In four years
their average Is up 45.5 per cent.
Their us percentage of increase un-
der government management was exactly
the percentage of gain enjoyed by yard
the poorest paid and numercal-
~ large proportion of the engineers
craft In 1919, the average earnings OF
these men was s., ,102, an increase of 1919
over the 1917 average. In four years
their average increased from Sl,52S, or
SO per cent.
These figures, union leaders assert, |
show the railroad workers |
to be better off than they really are, in |
that In these averages, overtime, IN which !
but comparatively few men share, and |
other extras, likewise restricted, are IN
cluded. Inclusion of general officers also |
serves to bring the average up.