The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-04-15
THE SANTA FE WAGE CUT.

Following the general trend of the
times the Santa Fe railroad has an
nounced a wage reduction of 20 per
cent, effective May ~. The company
will endeavor to obtain the consent,
of its employees to the cut. Failing IN
this it will, of course. appeal to the
railway~labor board for sanction.
John ]. Leary, Jr., who is usually
we'll informed on industrial matters,
is the intention of the railroad man
ayers to repeal the increase of wages
which was ordered by the labor board
in July of last year, amounting to
about $500, 100000 yearly, and at the
same time voluntarily submit a re-
duction' in rates that will decrease
their gross revenue by like amount"
The railroads, therefore, will not
directly profit from the looping of
$500, 100000 yearly from their pay
rolls, because there will be similar
drop in their freight office and ticket
office receipts. The managers of the
roads reckon, however, that the re-
duction of rates will greatly stimulate
patronage of the roads, and increase
business, and thus create a favorable
balance of their accounts. In this
they are doubtless right.
There is at this time urgent need of
enormous use of the railroads for
transportation. Seldom if ever has
that need been greater. Yet the bust
Desa IF fro psDorto+iay, 10 -, ~ 10 4 ,,-,,-
Hundreds of thousands of freight cars
are standing idle, altho there are mil
lions of tons of freight which ought to
be moved. 1t is reasonable to assume
that the shippers are deferred by the
high rates now prevailing, and are
waiting for them to be reduced
The railroads want to make fair
profits. In order to do so, they must
have more business. To obtain more
business they must offer lower rates.
If they are to offer lower rates. they
must reduce expenses. And to reduce
expenses they must cut wages, which
form by far the greatest item in their
expense account. The item of wages
SIS more than twice what it was five
) CdAS d6O+ III 1910 ana 1871 IL was
increased by $3.50. 100000; during the
eighteen months of federal control 1t
was increased by $1,000, 100000 more;
and finally in July last the labor board
added to It the sum of 606,5OO,OO0.
The result is that the average yearly
wage of railroad workmen has risen
from 1914 in 1914 to $1,000 in 1921.
Nobody would grudge the men such
wages if it were practicable to con-
tinue them. But it is obvious that
wages must be paid from traffic re-
| ceipts, and the higher the wages are,
the greater must be the volume of
| traffic receipts. If, then, wages are so
/ traffic rates so high as to discourage
! traffic, an impossible situation is pre-
| scented. If rates are too low, they will
not produce the revenue that the traf-
fic could and would pay. If they are
too high, they will decrease traffic
and thus fail to produce the revenue
which they should. The problem is to
find a level of adjustment at which
the people will be served, while at the
same time the employees will get fair
compensation for their labor and the
| builders and owners of the roads will
get fair returns on their investments
The present proposal of the railroads
appears to be an attempt to obtain
such adjustment. If it is approached
in the right spirit by both sides, says
Harvey's Weekly, and if the railroad
managers can demonstrate the facee
to be as they have been represented
the desired end should be attained
without hardship to the workmen, to
the relief of the roads, and to the
great advantage of the public.