The New York herald., 1921-04-27
Railroad Labor Loot.

From the st. Louis Chamber of Com
merce comes a vivid, startling, shock.
ing illustration of the way the con.
suming public Of the United States
has been pillaged by the working
terms and conditions put into force
under the railroad wrecking policy OF
Government operation. These eco.
nomic abuses and outrages are simply
but forcefully explained by series
of questions and answers set forth by
committee of five after a careful in
vestigation of the facts in behalf OF
the st. Louis Chamber of Commerce.
The committee, 1t may be well to
say, was composed of such expe'
rienced and responsible men as LEY
p. RExFoRD, chairman Chamber OF
Commerce Traffic Bureau; ]. NJ
KURN, president st. Louis and San
Francisco Railroad; w. PALMEH
CLAnKsoN, president Manufacturers
Association; A. G. LuEKING, vice.
president Ely Walker Dry Goods Com.
pany; JOHN r. SHEPLEY, president
St Louis Trust Company.
1t IS true that since the investiga-
ton was made and the report sub.
mitted to the st. Louis Chamber OF
Commerce In .he form Of questions
and answers the United States Rail.
road Labor Board has decided that
those astounding working rules shall
he abrogated between now and July L
Nevertheless the conditions that have
existed since the Government railroad
wreckers adopted them are so ap
palling that they ought to be thor
oughly understood by the American
people so that they may realize what
victims they have been. and Victims
by Government sanction and act. OF
something that is akin to sheer high
way robbery.
The questions and answers show
for example, that merely to change
nozzle tip in the front end Of a
locomotive requires now boiler
maker and his helper TO open the
door, pipeman and his helper tc
take out the blower pipe. machlnist
and his helper TO remove the tin
Then the same force all over agair
for putting in the new tip. A handy
man used to do the whole Job.
A machinlst and helper used tc
take care Of all the work necessary
on a locomotives electric headlight
1t now takes machinist, sheet
metal worker and m electrician; and
when they have helpers this makes
six men on a Two men job.
Handy men, at shade above com
mon laborers' pay, did the work
around trucks and similar operation
Mr.. McADoo made those men mechan.
les at S5 cents an hour and they are
all known now in the railroad ranks
as "McAdoo mechanics"
Before Federal control helpers en-
ployed to couple and uncouplc hose
between cars received from 2S TO "a
cents an hour. avera aging about 500 q
month. Now, classed as car men a
so cents an hour time and n half FOL
sundays md holidays. they average
S215 ! month for working seven hours
md forty minutes a day.
Wrecking crews. usually consisting
Of ten men. ret not less thnn fftecr
hours and possibly eighteen hours ol
pav for seven hours OF work. A me
chanIc assigned to two other Jobs
\ than n stated iob gets the same IF
teen 10 eighteen hours Of pay foi
work al done within seven hours
A shopman held one hour and fifteen
minutes after his regular eight hour
assignment gets six and one-half
hours Of extra pay for the one hour
and fifteen minutes Of extra work.
Here Is really superb piece Of
high finance:
"A mechanic working on passen-
ger car worked until p. NJ. or
one hour beyond his assigned duty.
had just stepped Off car when an
other employee pulled handle or
water valve. Foreman was present
ard called mechanic back 20 kx tits