The labor world., 1922-06-10
RELATION Of RAIL ROAD RATES TO
IMAGES DISCUSSED BY ECONOMIST

re the senate committee on inter
ate commerce. the Interstate com
efce commission and the United
tates'railroad labor board, and in
Topaganda' disseminated from in
2merahle sources. have argued that
ages paid railroad workers are en-
rely responsible for existing trans
rrtatlon charges. At every possible
ipoftunity they reiterate that
Eight and passenger rates cannot
jme down unless wages are slashed.
, what extent are these claims slls-
lined by the facts?
within the last few weeks the
.e1ect has been discussed in great
tail before the interstate COM
cree committee of the United
sates senate and the Interstate COM
,erce commission by DIR. Frank j..
:arne of Washington. D. c.. an
..onomist Of established reputation,
to has devoted his life to a study
tthe railroad question.
DIR, Warne testified that the in
ease in freight rates from 1914 to
g1 averaged. for the country as a
--Scle, ll3 per cent.
From 1914 to 1915 wages of rail-
I'D employees remained almost sta
airy, and from 1916 to 1921, ae-
ling to the highest estimate made
Sshe railroad executives, they ad-
Aced S4.6 per cent.
These statements Of DIR. Warne
al come as something of a shock
y those who have gained their
towledge of the railroad problem
,>m the statements issued by the
'ilroad. executives.
J Wage Increases Exaggerated.
sThe railroad propagandists have
t,eatedly made the claim that the
3,rease in railroad wages ranged
s'm 100 to $50 per cent. and they
i've always insisted that the in
eiase in freight rates was consid-
oably less than 100 per cent.
,They have endeavored to convince
T. public that the only increase in
es were the flat increases ordered
the railroad administ ration and
- interstate commerce commission.
ey have concealed the fact that
=, roads, since the return to pri-
,,te management, have made thou
Ids of changes in commodity rates.
d that IS per cent of the traffic
n the country is moved under these
eS.
DR.. Warne challenged the accur-
h. of the estimate that the work
IS wages had increased 84.6 per
ut. 1t was. presented, he said, to
l. senate committee on interstate
anmerce by John +. Walber, Sec
larry of the bureau of informatio
I sie eastern railroads. and DIR.
x y accepted it because he said
he highest estimate that had
oe de by any authorized rep
II leave of the railroads when
,,,,.g before an official body.
a,rg testimony became a mat
! shTecTrd.
E'reisht- rates alone, said Dr.
me, have Increased in amounts
: collars since 1914 from two to
p times as much as the increase
Sno wages of employees.
Notwithstanding the long de-
N, I'd Increases in wages granted to
a Dad employees during and fol-
II yng federal control" said DR..
Fane. "the great majority Of work
Son the railroads today are not
living a wage sufficient to sup
themselves, and their families
hfecency and comfort to the extent
\ :anded Of them by our democra-
liform of society with it's repub-
=, Institutions:
Tot only Is this the solemn truth,
in the face of intermittent em-
ment, and in many cases Of COM
~ unemployment. their present
''e does not meet even the abso-
---, " necessary charges of food,
tier and clothing"
ssn support of the foregoing it may
stated that a: study Of wages re-
tly issued by the Peoples Leg
tive Service Of Washington, y.
shows that on July !, 1921. 932,-
railroad workers, or ST per cent
he total number employed, were
- ming less than enough to provide
; minimum comfort budget" for
amily Of five prepared by the
'ted States Bureau of Labor Stat
a other words, on that date ST
! cent of all the railroad workers
Ee receiving less than what gov
mental research had demonstrate
was a living wage according to
feritan standards.
elation Of Wages and Rates.
RI Warne pointed out that the
rsItate commerce commission did
gree with the railroads in their
IGNITION that low wages meant low
~. In the famous Five Per Cent
Ate Case" the commission held that
! en- greatly increased rates Of
iges are perfectly consistent with
,uced unit labor COSTS" and it
I'D, in support of it's contention,
experience of the Pennsylvania
slroad in Its Juniata shops-prob-
NY the largest railroad shops In
world.
II from 1903 to 1913 the rate of
5es in these shops increased near
340 per cent. but according to the
It accounting system of the Penn
'vania railroad, the cost Of build
locomotives steadily decreased.
Or. Warne undertook to show how
railroads could make sweeping
uctions in rates without touch
-- the com pensation Of the work
When the roads were returned to
4 ir owners on March l.. 1920, the
1erstate commerce commission was
n ilpelled to "gueSs" at the value