The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-02-07
LABOR AND MONEY
/ CONTINUED from Page One,

(C0nt1nue0 from rage Onc.t
khave organized committee which
Erepresents all the railroads in the
country and with which the inter-
Estate commerce commission can deal,
land in addition have provided group
Hof operating men whose duty 1t IS 20
Fkeep track of the cars in the country
kand to direct movement from points
Fwhere there are more cars than are
sneeded to points where there is a
shortage.
Better Car Service.
|. .aThe average number of miles every
lear was moved daily was increased
from 22.3 miles in February. 1920, to
1874 miles in August. An increase of
lone mile per day is equivalent to an
increase of 100000 in the car supply
of the country. The increase noted
therefore, means the same as an ad-
tdition of $4,000 cars to the total
supply The railroads are also en-
deavoring to increase the loading per
car. This increase has amounted to
one and half tons from February to
August, which means nearly ,110, geo
more cars.
THE results of the increases in eff
cheney of operation are reflected in the
volume of freight handled. In March
the railroads moved 1890 million
tons of freight one mile. Mostly be-
cause of the switehmen's strike, this
was reduced to 2S,500 million tons in
April From that month steady in
crease took place until in August.
AZ, 900 million tons were moved one
mile, this being the largest amount of
freight service ever rendered by the
railways of the United States in any
month in their history up to that time.
In July, August, September, and Octo-
Der the railways handled more freight
than ever handled in the same months
&c halt
that these figures fully answer the
criticisms that have been made. and
they account for the fact that cars are
now available where before they were
lacking.
Money Must Be Raised.
att must be remembered, however,
that the country is growing and the
needs of transportation are continually
increasing. The only way to perma-
nently take care of the farmer is to
add to the present facilities This. in
turn, takes capital and in large guam
titles Money must be raised and this
can only be done if the investors of
the nation are sure that they can get
proper returns on the capital invested
This does not mean the bankers and
capitalists, but the man with a few
hundred dollars to invest who is look
ing for a safe return There must,
therefore, be established feeling that
investments in railroads are reasonably
safe. When this is done. the necessary
cars, locomotives, and all additional
facilities can be secured.
The Labor Situation.
There is one more element that
must be considered and that is labor.
The law requires that disputes shall
be referred to a labor board. Thls
should help to prevent strikes and TO
that extent will aid the transporta-
a. xrrl,0 Nm NO
other hand. certain conditions are es-
tablished by the government admins
tration that will be hard to get away
from and which will prevent an eco
nomical handling of many things. An !
eight hour day has been established,
which means more men for the same
amount of repairs, more shop room
and more tools. Again, rules have
been established that require a pipe
filter to do certain work, a maehinist
to do other work. boilermaker to
perform other tasks, and in many
cases a helper for each of these, when
in the old days one man would do all
the work necessary on an engine.
These rules have been thus far contin-
ued by the labor board and because
they have the force of legislation be-
hind them, it is going to be almost i'm
possible to overcome them. In addi
ton, all payments on the basis of the
work actually accomplished have been
done away with, with the result that
men are now doing only about two
thirds of the work they formerly per-
formed in, the same time. This last
condition may be helped greatly when
the supply of men becomes greater.
At present it lis necessary to retain
everybody-the inefficient as we'll as
the efficient-but it is hoped that with
more men the roads may be able to
pick the better workers and this in
turn will bring up the standard of the
w