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Show RAILWAY EXECUTIVE UR6ESHIGHER PAY ADMIT3 WAGE ADVANCE SHOULD LE MADE TO MEET HIGH COST OF LIVING. Chairman of Conference Committee of Railroad Managers Tells Labor Beard Mounting Expenses Justifies Justi-fies Granting Part Demands. Chicago. Tho opening statement of tin.' employers' side of tin; railroad wage question was presented on May 17 before tilts United States Railway Labor board, which opened hearings in Chicago following a reeent two weeks' session in Washington at which representatives of railroad employes Mere heard. E. T. Whiter, chairman of the Conference Con-ference Committee of the Itailroad Managers, read a prepared statement in which he said that wage advances should he granted to many railroad workers to enahle them to meet the high cost of living. According to Whiter, total demands of the rail employees, including new demands of approximately twenty-five per cent would, if granted by the labor board, not only absorb the revenues expected ex-pected from the Increase in freight rales, asked of the Interstate commerce com-merce commission, but would force the carriers to ask for additional rate increases. in-creases. lie pointed out on behalf of the rail executives that each $100,000,000 increase in-crease in rail expenses rpresented a three per cent increase in freight rates, lie said that for every cent an hour increase in wages to rail employees, em-ployees, !?50,000,000 was added to railroad rail-road pay rolls. The increase in employes in 101& over those of 191"), he said, was Cll,-.'100, Cll,-.'100, or nearly forty-five per cent. The railroad payroll increased $l,G00,u31,- Ol!."i, or 1-11.0 per cent. "We appreciate fully," Mr. Whiter said, "that the increases received by some employees in the last five years have not been commensurate with thfr increases in the cost of living. "We appreciate also that there are other employees who are receiving rates which cannot be considered at -all low in an absolute sense, yet which do not compare favorably in some localities lo-calities with wages paid similar occupations occu-pations in outside industries." |
