THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1916.
LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER
PAGE THREE
Today
THFATPF
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;
Wm. Fox Presents
THEDA BARA
Again the Sirenic Vampire
in
"The Serpent"
Written and Directed by R. A. WALSH
the forum
"Fair And Just"
Cleveland, Ohio April 1 (To the
Editor) A statement has been fre
quently made by the raihoads that the
present demands of the railway train
service employes are not really for an
eight-hour day, but are intended to
secure increased wages.
This is not truo as the employes
composing the four brotherhoods want
shorter hoursi They want their
- -working day to be as near eight Ihours
- -as it can be made.
To any reasonable person it will be
apparent that it will be useless to se
cure an eight-hour day unless there
is some penalty attached for over
time. , In all tine trades whore the
eight-hour day obtains, there is an ex
tra, charge far overtime; otherwise,
there would be no eight-hour day,
the work would go on at the same
rate per hour just as long as the em
ployer cared to work tihe men.
It has been nmply demonstrated
that eight hours' hard workvis enough
jam ui .y niaii um mjijr uuwi a uv
more than eight, simply draw oni his
reserve energy and vitality, shorten
ing his life and 'his available working
vears. It has also been woven that
man working eight hours is more ef- !
f icient. does better work, and is in !
very way a better citizen than a man
, -working longer hours.
The railroad train service employes
in asking the railroad companies for
and eight hour day, also ask for time
and-one-half overtime, but this extra
rate is merely a "penalty upon the
railroads and is considered an effect
ive method for preventing overtime.
""Overtime" is commonly called "blood
money", and saps the very lifo out
of tho employee. We trust that the
miblic will consider the fact that it is
tihie "overtime" and exposure that is
-"Wearing out" the employes and
prompts many employers to set their
employes age limit at ui to no. in
other vocations a man can work at
least 30 vears note the difference in
railroad work. Considered in this
-wav emnloves could, in exact justice
ask for twice their present rate of
pay, but tho employes are not seeking
tihe 'enormous increase," but desire
better living conditions.
The physical and mental strain on
train service employes, compelled to
work long hours, is beyond compre
hension by the average mind. Virtu-
allv all the accident and old-line insur.
mice companies classify railroading as
extra hazardous, many of them refus
ing to insure lailrway employes on
account of tho great risk of loss, and
where these employes are injured,
there is a definite limit set on tho
Amount of the risk, and an extra
charge is made to the insured.
In reality, the irailwav employe re.
ceivos a less hourly rate of compensa
tion 'than almost any other trade. A
hod-carrier receives $4.50 for eight
hours or about 56 cents an hour.
The highest paid train conductor re
ceives 65 cents an hour. If the hod
carrier worked as many hours as the
railway conductor he would draw a
larger salary and could then be nam
ed by the railway as the "aristocrat of
the labor world."
If the railroads complain that time-nnj-
a half means in some instances a
Increase, let them avoid the increase
by avoiding the overtime, for that is
the desire and purpose of the em
ployes.
The railways claim there was an in
crease in wages to the men, of be
tween 30 and 42 per cent from 1903 to
1914. This is partly true, but the
price of living and the additional
work required of the employes has
more than offset it. Also, the said
wage increase came mostly to the em
ployes having regulair assignments
and established hours for service, but
the very great majority of the em
ployes, who work in the - irregular
freight service and are allowed to
-work the day if sufficient freight
shipments come to hand, but who lose
the day's work if the business does
wot come these"irregular freight ser
vice" employes gained almost nothing,
but were crowded back to an hourly
compensation, instead of mileage
basis, by excessively long trains; or,
in otflwr words, tho railways, to re
cover the 1903 to 1914 wage increase
rave each of their irregular freight
crews two trains to handle instead of
one, and this not only deprived other
crews of a train and their day's
work, but kept the "double train"
dragging along the railway until it
has, in many places, become the prac
tice of the railways to work the em
ploye the 16 hours and merely allow
them the eight hours rest, anywhere,
and then continue on with their
"freight drag" as it is called by both
officinls and employes.
So the net result of this is really a
decrease in the earnings of the great
majority of employes, since they are
forced from fast miles at so much par
mile, to slow, long hours at the same
rate per hour and handle two, and of
ten three, trains where before they
handled one, and many othor duties
added.
Some railways require' the full
16 hours' work at all times.
from their employes, and it seems
that the only reasonable and humane I
solution lor this practice must be tho
present movement. The railwavs de
clare that the employes are demand
ing a $100,000,000 increase, but ad
mit that upon mr.ny lines and in many
places there will be but little change.
There may be some inconsiderable in
crease, but nothing like what the of
ficials claim, and in the light of past
experience the employes easily can
predict from what sourco the railways
will quickly recoup themselves; addi-,
tional duties for employes is always
a fertile field for retrenchment. But t
if thie employes win what they ask
for, the public will soon find them an i
improved class of workers and citi-
zens, and along with this, the miblic
f j wui also secure an improved railway
ociviwe yiujupu irtjiKni, movement
The raillroads are circulating print
ed statements showing names of train
service employes who are being paid
large wages, and they are doing this
to lead the public to believe that, be
cause a few men are earning large
salaries, it is an example of what the
average train service man is getting.
Invariably the men whose names ap
pear upon the lists as examples of
large , salaries being paid to railway
train employes are men engaged in
fast passenger runs and aire excep
tional cases. They should not be us
ed as examples of what the average
.train service employe gets, because in
the present demand for an eight-hour
day the passenger service is not in
The public who do not always
understand railway conditions and
railway workers hear enly the rail
way side of the story. In the railway
talk of moving terminals there is but
little to heed.. The railways can. ex
pedite their freight service and con
tinue with their present terminals if
they really wish to do so. In some
f
MM
At
Kirtley9
WE RECEIVED BY EXPRESS A BEAUTIFUL LINE OF PATTERN HATS DI
RECT FROM THE EAST, THESE ARE THE VERY LATEST STYLESMOSTLY
LARGE SHAPES BUT COLORINGS THAT ARE MOST PLEASING TO THE EYE
NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO GEf THE LATEST AND AT PRICES MOST
REASONTBLE.
MANICURING
WE ARE NOW PREPARED TO DO MANICURING. YOU THAT WANT YOUR
HANDS TO LOOK NICE COME AND TALK WITH OUR MANICURIST. PRICES
REASONABLE. WORK THE BEST,
KIRTIEY
Ladies9 Ready-to- Wear
few cases there may be a couple of
hours overtime.
fWhen an engineer has drawn a
check for $263 and a conductor a
check for $247 for a month's work, the
railway may call attention to this,
but neglect to say that these men
worked 15 hours and 25 minutes a day
for every day in the month and se
cured most of their sleep in a box
car "caboose" out along the line. Lat
er, when these men lay off to recuper
ate, 'ftieilr big check must, of course,
dwindle, and soon these men are bro
ken down and are dumped on the
"scrap heap" with the other old ma
chinery, and may be taken in by some
kindly relative or perhaps find room
in some distant "home" maintained by
the employes organizations. Thus
they conclude their days these sol
diers of the great transportation army
these men who have safely transport
ed countless numbers of ' passengers
and endless trains of freight. Though
the engines and cars become larger
and yet larger, and though the trains
become even longer, and though the
(Continued on Page Six)
YOUNG PAUL RE
ERE'S RIDE A m
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Thrilling Scenes
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