New-York tribune., 1920-03-06
Men Will Ask Flat Increases
in Wages and equal
izations'' to Restore All
the Former Relationships
u. S. Methods Assailed
Centralized Control De.
clared Direct Cause of
Tangle i'm Salary Issue
BY Stanley Frost
Special Dispatch to The Tribune


ment of the private owners of the rail-
roads furnishes more complicated,
more pressing or more vital problems
than that involving labor. In spite OF
increases amounting to more than a
billion dollars, the employees are Sc
riously dissatisfied. They believe the
increase has not been enough to en-
able them to keep up with the in
creased cost of living and that the
long-standing schedules which have
for years marked the gradings' in skill
have been disarrangcd. The roads
now face demand not only for fat
increases that will cost hundreds Of
millions, but for "eeualizations" to
restore the old relationships that will
the total demanded by the employees
amounts to no one can say exactly,
but it is we'll above q billion dollars.
No one can tell exactly, either, what
the increases have been. The total uf
1919 over 1917 was close to S1,100,0O0,-
00o, or an average little more
than SO per cent for each man, based
on the wage scales. But the actual
earnings of the men did not increase
quite so much, owing to the introduce
ton of the eight-hour day. Their IN
creases averaged about 45.3 per cent.
Centralized Control Harmful
The rate increases which were put
in to meet the wage increases have
done so. But wages have increased
faster than other costs, as is shown
expenses which was paid out in wages.
The normal for long time before
1914 was about 60 per cent. By 1916
this had risen to 62 per cent, owing
to the fact that wages were then going
up and rates were not. In 1917 it
dropped little, but when the wage in
creases went in in 1918 it rose to 66
per cent. Last year it was again
littl lower. but since 1914 wages have
been absorbing an increased share of
the cost of running the roads.
The centralized control which the
government had over the roads was q
direct cause Of the tangle into which
the wage scales have fallen. The gov
ernment could not pay more in one
part of the country than in another
for the same work, and the result was
that the increases varied widely in
different places.
Flat Rate Called an Evil
Another evil of the government con-
troll as it worked out, was the fat rate
increase scheme. 1t was perhaps the
only system possible. The question
was pressing, railroad pay schedules
are extremely complicated, and for a
single commi ssion, sitting in Washing
more than 600 roads was beyond
reason
The system started with fiat in
crease of 45 per cent for all men get
ting s46 month or less and tapered
down to an increase of 4.56 per cent
for those getting s24O. Above that
point enough dollars were added to
bring the total to $3.50, which was the
maximum. Later, different supple
mental orders were sent out in at
tempts to correct some of the most
glaring inequalities of result, but there
were mistakes in these, too, and the
men who were left behind were more
resentful than others. Here are q few
of the results of this SYSTEM:
Passenger engineers got an increase
of so per cent, while the fireman on the
other side of the boiler got SO per cent.
The conductor on the same train got
30 per cent, his brakeman got So Fer
cent, and the baggage smasher got 81
per cent. Approximately the same
scale ran through all the trainmen's
schedules. In some cases the tiremen
were actually drawing more pay than
the engineers and would have lost
money if they had been so unfortunate
as to be promoted to the throttle.
Wage Issues Showed Mistake
In other places the man who squirted
paint from an air-brush on the utsde
of box-car was drawing more money
than the skilled cabinetmaker who re-
paired the interior Of Pullmans.
"Of the different things | encoun-
tered which satisfied me that Federal
operation of the railroads would be an
economic mistake" declared Carl r.
Gray, director Of operation at the time
these increases went into effect, "the
wage situation was The most effective"
He pointed out as wages must be on
a level the government could not raise
those In particular district where la
Dor happens to be scarce without rails
ing them for the whole country.
Another indication of the inequalities
OF the wage increases is the wide range
tnrough which they 60. The general
officers have lost Z per cent Of their
pre-war scale. The engineers and CON
ductors gained about 80 per cent. The
oulk OF the shopmen and the section
men got from 60 to 70 per cent raise.
But the country station agent-telegra-
phers, the employees about the wards
and the switch tenders all got over 100
per cent. This is for the period of gov
ernment control alone.
Increase in Men Necessary
The shortening OF the hours of labor
to eight has forced big increase in
the number of employees, nearly
100000, but it has cost comparatively
little In cash, for practically all rail-
road men are paid by the hour or by
mileage, so that the total amount paid
out was not affected by the short day
except in few cases. One of these
was the overtime pay, which is set at
time and half. But the men average
only six minutes day overtime. so
this amounts to little. The cases that
count most were those where three
men had to take the places of two, as
on grade crossings. But the total cost
of these things will not run above a
few millions out of the billion increase.
The lessening of production is an
other matter, and one that does not
show on the pay roll. There are many
reasons for shortening hours, but the
fact stands out that at the time when
increased production was being de-
nanded all along the line the produc-
tion of railroad labor was decreased Is
per cent per man by the shortening of
the day.
Boards Will Act
The first attempt to straighten out
tho wages tangle will probably be made
by boards composed of employers and
employees only, without representa-
tives Of the public. during the slime