Show FIGHT FOR MORE WAGES Street Railway Employees Arbitrate LIVING EXPENSES TOi HIGH Salaries in San FrancIsco Regarded Re-garded tos Ltw I Opposite Side Claims That Wages Are High Enough on Coast to Save Money New York Oct Arguments In the arbitration proceedings between the United Railroads of Son Francisco and their employees over the wage and hour question were begun here today before Commissioners Oscar Strauss Patrick Calhoun end W D Mahon Congressman E J Llvermish for the men urged that the cost of liv ing In San Francisco had since April 1902 Increased In-creased 32 per cent that In other employments em-ployments had correspondingly increased in-creased and that the street car mens wages alone unlncreaBcd were inadequate in-adequate to maintain the American standard t living In California COST OF LIVING Wages and cost of living In other cities should not be considered and he declared that the consideration of testimony tes-timony of this character and the determination de-termination by the Commission of a wage rate on the basis of the unchecked law of supply and demand would mean a death blow to the arbitration of labor disputes trades unionism standing for a necessary check upon this law The income of the company Is so great he said that It can grant the Increase and still retain an equitable return on its capital and this consideration should determine the Commissioners ruling RECEIVE BIG WAGES A A Moore for the company said that Mr Llvcrnashs position was based on the propositions that a man In any locality has the right to fix his own standard of living to demand a corresponding rate of wages and to exclude EX-clude others from taking their places by boycott Intimidation or otherwise lie classed the statement of a 32 percent per-cent increase In the cost of living as nonsense and said that the San Francisco street car employees were already al-ready receiving the highest wages received re-ceived anywhere on the Pacific coast NOT SKILLED LABOR I The Increase In the cost of living said Mr Moore did not exceed 3 percent per-cent In any event while a rearrangement rearrange-ment of the runs had Increased wages 17 per cent The street car rvlcc does not require skilled labor but unskilled Intelligent labor only three to seven days being necessary to learn the work and the wages and conditions were HO attractive to draw atractve as men constantly from other occupations in San Francisco Fran-cisco lie Introduced testimony to show that the wages were high enough so that the men could save money |