Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-05-31


time. In fact, the highest average
stated is but $1S5.93 per month,
which tapers down to Sll9.56 for
ward and local engineers. AS mat
ter of fact, many engineers are
now receiving less than this, be-
cause the prevalent industrial de-
preston has deprived them Of steady
employment TO the point where they
receive but a few days work a week,
often with an average income OF
under 500 per month. This is far
! less than the dollar an hour standard
compensation paid skilled artisans in
practically all of the we'll organized
trades. 1t is actually less than the
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
claims that the average American
family must have to maintain a de-
cert standard of living.
We believe that 1t is fair to ask
the question: What. are locomotive
engineers services worth to society?
Tho Transportation Act lays down
seven rules by which "just and
reasonable wage" shall be determined
by the United States Railroad La
Dor Board. In brief. they are;
Wages paid for similar work in
other industries.
2 Relation between wages and
cost of living.
3. Hazards of employment.
4. Training and skill REQUIRED.
). Degree of responsibility.
6. Character and regularity OF en-
plovment.
4 Inequalities of present wages or
treatment. the result of previous
wage adjustments .,-,.
! Obviously, there is no. similar work
/ in other industries with when the
/ labor of a locomotive engineer can
he compared; nor should any skill
! led worker be held down to a mere
subsistence based on the bare cost
! of. living. What, then, are the haZ-
ards. the skill, and the responsibility
exacted of engineers? We doubt II
the public realizes the risks daily
/ assumed by every eneineman In ac-
tive service. According to tie NOR.
tality tables, based upon years OF
actuarial experience by the Brother
hood of Locomotive Engineers lnsur-
ance Department, the average dura-
ton of life of railroad engineer IS
but IL years and days. No engi-
neer knows when he steus into the
engine cab whether, through ne
fault of his. his life will be snuffed
out before the end OF the run. The
safety appliances which railroad en-
ployes have secured only after pro-
ionged struggle can reduce, but they
cannot eliminate, the risks incurred
bv engine service employees.
The training, skill and physical
perfection required of an engineer is
such that the great majority of en-
CINE wipers, hostlers and firemen
who spend years of labor preparing
for the opportunity to grasp the
throttle fan by the wayside in the
thorough elimination of the less INT.
Even after rejecting all who cannot
measure up to the strictest tests for
height, perfect vision, heart action
blood pressure. etc seventeen per
cent of the firemen who aspire to
become engineers are rejected at the
end of three years because their eye
sight becomes impaird by the fierce
glare of CRATE of Goals throwing
off $500 degrees of heat. An addi-
tional 70 per cent do not exhibit the
temperament and natural ability re
auired of an engineer. so that only II
out of every 100 candidates ever win
a place on the right side of the cab;
Even after this rigorous process OF
the selection of the NEST fit, only six
out of every 100 ever get places in
lnssenS" service. In brief, the
length of training and the skill re-
ooired to become a successful en"l-
neer is no less than that demanded
of a competent dentist or an able
lawyer 80.
that tn, payment received for any
service 3hould depend in part uDon
the responsibility involved. The
skilled surgeon is certainly entitled
TO greater compensation than the
woman who mons up the hospital
floors. In no other profession in the
world. not even excepting the medi-
cal profession, is a man entrusted
with greater responsibility for the
lives Of his fellowmen than is the
engineer in the locomotive cab. He
well he discharges this obligation is
indicated by the report OF the Inter
state Commerce Commission for 1921,
which shows that fatalities on Amer
lean railroads are less than for. the
past % years, l6,239,774 PASSENGERS