New-York tribune., 1921-03-12

ahalyzeu py nim they present. in a now
manner the effect of nearly three
| years of government operation.
"Thc wages of railroad employees in
the year 1920 for the entire country"
he said, were $3,60O,O00 ,O0O as COM
pared with $1,739, 100000 in 1917. That
was the direct cost Of labor. When the
indirect cost of labor is added to this
it brings the total amount to more than
four billions of dollars, or moro than
the total gross revenue Of all railroads
III 1917. The indirect labor charges arc
included in the cost of material and
supplies such as coal, steel, ties, etc.
"Thc same statistics show that there
were 26l 600 more employees on the
railroads when turned back to their
owners than there we're when the gov
! crnment took them over An analysis
Of this increase shows that it affected
chiefly the shop crafts. maintenance Of
way and clerical forces. In the former
case there were 1874 900 more men in
the repair shops than when the govern
mcnt took over the roads, and despite
this when the roads were returned
there were 26.9 per cent of all the loco
motives IN bad order, as compared with
17.5 per cent in 1917. Too day there arc
23.5 per cent in bad order, and this de-
crease has been effected by sending the
!
panies.
Since the return of the roads to their
owners, during 1920. we have hauled 13
per cent more traffic than during the
previous year with 500 less men in
train service, and with substantially no
increase in cars or locomotives. Since
september l last the railroads have
iald off 2S9 900 men. and the roads arc
now being operated with $4,000 less
employees than in 1917.
"Regarding the question of wages,
there has been general increase of
9o.2 per cent since 1917, but this in
crease has been very unevenly distrb-
uted. 1t has gone chiefly to those de-
partmcnts where there was the great
est increase in personnel and has at
fected least the men engaged in train
operations. There has been an actual
decrease of IS per cent in the pay of
general officers getting $4,000 a year
and upward
"As against the $4,000 100000 paid
out in wages the total revenue of the
railroads was S6,225, 900 900. The bal
ance had to meet all the operating,
maintenance and other charges of the
roads.
"Tne railroads arc still held in a
highly artificial condition of standardi-
zation, rigidity and uniform rules of
working conditions throughout the
country with the exception of the rules
governing train service. The blanket
increase Of wages That was spread over
the entire country, irrespective of local
economic conditions, has had to be sup
ported by blanket rate increases. These
were i5 per cent in 1917, 25 per cent
in 1913 and from 40 to IS per cent in
1920. The rigidity Of the whole wage
cned up or else it will radically affect
every commodity in the country for
long time to come.
The high rates already have sent
most of the trar Scontnor.al freight 70
the water lines. An illustration of ne
situation is given in the citrus indus
try, where the growers Of the Pacific
Coast and Florida can no longer afford
to ship to New York in competition
with Italy and other semi-tropical coun-
tries of the Mediterranean"
The statistics of this executive
showed that of the 261,0O0 increase in
the number of employees approximate
ly $4,000 were clerks and $4,000 in the
maintenance Of way departm
They showed that the same condition
obtained in the repair shops concerning
cars as that in relation to defective To-
comotives. In the case of cars needing
repairs there were SO per cent in bad
order when the government took over
the roads, while at the time they were
turned back to their owners there were
C.5 per cent in deed of repairs.