The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1921-07-27


July /, the average wage is approx
mately S1,695, or 1913 per cent more
than Pa 1913. Railway employees,
since before the war, have been grant
ed substantial reductions in then
hours of work. About ninety per cent
of Them are paid on an hourly basis.
The average wage per hour of these
employees, because of the increases
in their wags and tn reductions in
their hours, is now, even since The
recent reduction in wages, at Least
lao. per cent more than in 1913. In
which the railway employees like the
farmer, pays about Al per cent more
than in 1913, railway employees who
work on an hourly basis are receiving
approximately 40 per cent more for
each hour they work than in 1913.
There is much agitation among the
farmers regarding railway rates They
wonder why, since the prices of their
products have declined SO much re-
Gently, the railway rates cannot, and
should not, be substantially reduced.
Most of the explanations can be de-
rived from the foregoing figures. In
1913 the ottal wages paid by the Glass
railroads amounted to $1.338,612,3S5.
Allowing for the IL per cent reduction
granted by the Railroad Labor Board,
effective on July l, if the railroads
were handling normal traffic and en-
ploying the same number of men as
last year, their pay roll would now be
$3,432 900, 900, or 156 per cent more.
than in 1913. Because of the decline
in business they reduced the number
of their employees from 1,993,524 lin.
the first quarter of 1920, to 1851, All
In the first quarter CT 1921, or Is per.
cent. This was small number than
they had in 1913. They could not long
continue to maintain and operate their.
pre- perties with this greatly reduced.
number of men, with the reduction in.
hours Of work which have occurred.
since 1913 Even, however, on the
basis of Is per cent reduction in en-.
ployees, the annual pay roll on the
basis of present wages would be 3d..
900, 000, 900, or 100 per cent more than
in 1913.
"On the basis of the same number
of employees of last year, the total
wages of the railways at the present
time would be more than the total
amount that they ever earned from.
all the service they rendered-freight.
passenger, mail and express-in any
year before the calendar year 1916.
The principal explanation OF the fact
that the farmer is having to pay high
err rates than for years is that the
railways are still required by the Rail
road Labor Board to pay so much
more for labor than in past years.
The question OF railway wages has
been settled for the present. The
national agreements, however, are
still in effect. and the rules and work
ing conditions established by them
are continuing to initiate the pay rolls
and the operating expenses, thus con-
tributing toward making necessary the
rates of which the farmers complain.
"Just how Mr. Gompers and the
leaders OF the railway labor unions
expect to succeed, in the light of such
facts ais these. in persuading the farm
ers that they should cooperate with
the labor unions in keeping the rail-
way pay roll u2 and getting freight
and passengcr rates reduced is some
what difficult to surmise. The rates
have to be kept up mainly to meet the
pay roll"