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PUIROAD PUN TO ft BET RATES DOWN Ifflropose to Reduce W? w and Return All the Saving by w> -j? Iiteaucuon m <Jbarge&. FULL TEXT OFJHE PROPOSAL Statement by Thomas DeWitt Cuyler, Chairman of the Association of Railway Executives on .the Situation. Following a meeting in Chicago, October 14, 1921, of the presidents of nearly ull the leading railroads in the country, Mr. Thomas DeWitt Cuyler, chairman of the Association of Railway Executives, made the following statement: At a meeting of the Association of Railway Executives today it was determined by the railroads of the United States to seek to bring about a reduction in rates. And us a means to that end to seek a reduction in the present railroad wages which have compelled maintenance of the present rates. An application will be made immediately to the United States Railroad Labor Roard for a reduction in wages of train service employes sufficient to remove the remainder of the increases made by the lnbor board's decision of July 20. 1920 (which would involve a further reduction of approximately 10 per cent) and for a reduction in the wages of all other classes of railroad labor to the going rate for such labor in several territories where tin curriers operate. To Reduce Rates as Wages- Go Down The foregoing action is upon th? understanding that concurrently will, such reduction in wattes the iwnofii of the reduction thus obtained shall with the concurrence of the into state Commerce Commission, be pass ed on to the* public in the reduction of existing railroad rates, except in so far as this reduction shall have been made in the meantime. The managements have decided upon this course in view of their realization of the fact that the wheels of industrial activity have been closed down to a point which brings depression and distress to the entire public and that something must be done to start them again in operation. The situation which confronts thr ra'.lroads is extremely critical. Th< railroads in 1920 realized a net rail way operating income or about $62 00C 000 upon a property investment o over $19,000,000,000 and even $hi amount of $62,000,000 included bad I mail pay for prior years received fron I the government of approximate^ I $04,000,000, thus showing, when the I operations of that year alone are con P-} siiered, an actual deficit before mnl f l ing any allowance for either intore* I MfoT dividends. WR The year ended in serious depres ,W aion in ull branches of industry am In marked reduction of the market do mand for and the prices of basic com modifies, resulting in a very seriou falling off in the volume of traffic. Roads Forced to Defer Maintenance In this situation, a policy of th< most rigid economy and of postpon ing and cutting to the bone of the up keep of the properties was adopter by the railroads. This was at th< price of neglecting and for the time deferring work which must liereaftei and in the near future be done am' paid for. This is illustrated by th fact that, as of September 15, 1921 over 16 per cent, or 374,431 In nun \ ber, of the freight cars of tho carrier were in bad order and needing re pairs, as against a normal of bad or der of not more than 160,000 as i; } furtVer illustrated by the deferred and inadequate maintenance of otbei equipment and of roadway and structures. Even under those conditions, anr* with this large bill charged ui against the future?which must soot be provided for and paid if the car riers are to perform successfully their transportation duties?the re C suit of operations for the first eigh mpnths of this year, the latest avail able figures, has been at a rate of ne railway operating income, before pre viding m for interest or dividend amounting to only 2.6 per cent pe annum on the valuation of the cai rier properties made by the Inter state Commerce Commission in th< recent rate case, an amount not suf -flcient to pay the interest on thei outstanding bonds. Roads Earning Far Below Reasonable Returns. It is manifest, from this showing that the rate of return of 5 or ( per cent^for the first two years afte March 1, 1920, fixed in the Transpor tation Aot as a minimum reasonabb return upon railroad Investment, ha %not been even approximated, muc less reached; and that the prcsen high -ates accordingly are not due t< > any statutory guarantee of earnings 4a ",,"U ? * " .w. u w uu ouuu Ruarnniee. In analyzing the expenses whicl ' have largely brought about this sit nation, it becomes evident that b: t far the largest contributing cause It % the labor cost. Today the railroads pay out to la& bor approximately 60 cents on the dol 3'.' liar they receive (or transportation * ^services whereas In 191S, 40 cents on Ike dokiar went to labor. Oa the flrst day e( January, 1917. I TAB DfliLOlf wh(en the government took chart# ( wages through the Adamson Act. the Ikbor cost ot me railroads had not exceeded the sum si about 81,466,000,OvO annually. in 1920, when government authority made the last wage increase, the labor coat ot the railroads was about 3,698.000,000 an uuu.ly. or. If continued throughout the year m.^ead of for Che eight months during wuich the wage increase., were in ehect, the labor cost, on an annual basis, would have been largely in excess of $3,900,000.000? an increase, smce the government took charge ol railroad wages in the Adamson Act. of approximately 4a0.oou.ooo annually. in the light ol uiese figures. It is i manifest that the recent reduction oi wages authorized by the Labor Hoard, estimated at trom 10 to 12 per cen... in no sense meets or solves the problem of labor costs, and in no way makes it possible for the railroad to afford a reduction oi their reve nues Thousands of Rales Already Reduced. Induuil ?li? r?in i u? ?> * u have been bctv.ceu tour and live thousand individual reductions in freigh. rates. On some railroads the reductions in rales have amounted to more than the reductions in wages so far made, and on many other railroads the reductions in wages allowed no net return on operations, but merely provided against the further accumula tion of a deficit. The point is often made that agrlcu-l ture and other industries are also suffering the same immediate difficulties as the railroads, why, therefore, do not the railroads take their medicine like anybody else? The answer lies in several facts: 1. The railroads were not permitted. as were other industries, to make charges during the years of prosperity, making possible the accumulation of a surplus to tide them over the present extreme adversity. According to the reports of the Inter state Commerce Commission, the rate of return in property investment u'. tlie ruilroads of the United States fur the past several years lias been as fullows: Kale of returns earned by railroads of the United States on their property investment: Per cent 1912 4.M 1913 5.1i 1914 4.17 1910 4.30 191C < fiscal year) 5 90 1917 .5.24 1918 ...3 15 19.9 2.45 1930 0.33 1916 (calendar year) 6.16 It will thus he noted that during the years when other industries were making very large pro tits, when the prices of farm products and the wages of labor were soaring to unheard-of heights, the earnings upon railroud investment in the United States were held within very narrow limits and that they have during the past four years progressively declined. Roads handicapped More Than Other Business. 9 Tho n a ? ?. I_. umuauo U1C ICBllUBEIUiH IU the public for providing adequate transportation. Their charges are limited by public authority, and they are in very large respect (notably for labor) compelled to spend money on a basis fixed by public authority. The margin within which they are permitted to earn a return upon their investment or to offer inducements to attract new capital for extensions and betterments is extremely limited. However much the railroads might desire, therefore, to reduce their charges in times of depression, it will be perceived that the limitations surrounding their action do not permit them to give effect to broad and elastic policies which might very properly govern other lines of business not thus restricted. It has been urged upon the railroads that a reduction In rates will stimulate traffic and that increased traffic will protect the carriers from the 1<>sb incident to a reduction in rates. The railroad managements cannot disguise from themI selves that this suggestion is merely conjectural and that an adverse result of the experiment would be disastrous, not only to the railroads, but to th?e publu whose supreme need Is adequate transportation. Consequently the railroad managements cannot feel Justified in tilaeinc <><? >? i?> utrumon tallties, so essential to the public welfare, at the hazard of such an experiment baaed solely upon such conjecture. Farmer* Especially Need Lower Rate*. It Is evident, however, that existing transportation charges bear in many cases a disproportionate relationship to the prices at which commodities can be sold in the market and that existing labor and other costs of transportation thus impose upon industry and agriculture generally a burden greater than they should bear. This is especially true of agriculture. The railroad managements are feeling sensitive to and sympathetic with the distressing situation and desire *.o do everything to assist in relieving it that is compatable with their duty to furnish transportation which the public must have. At the moment railroads in many cases are paying 40 cents an hour for unskilled labor when similar labor Is working alongside the railroad and can easily be obtained by them at 20 c ents an hour. The railroads of the country paid in 1930 a total of considerably over $1,300,000,009 to unskilled labor alone. However desirable It may be to pay this or that schedule of wages, it Is obvious that it cannot be paid out of the railroad earnings, unless the Industries which use the railroads are capable of meeting such charges. The railroads, end through them the people generally are also hampered In their efforts to economize by a schedule of working rules and conditions now in force as a heritage from the period of Federal control and upheld by the railroad labor board. These conditions are expensive, uneconomic and unnecessary from the point of view of railroad operation ar* extremely burdensome upon the mihlif* whif>h n#vo >*/? Kill * j . urn, a lit" mnt'dUlf of wages and of working conditions prevents the railroads from dealing equitably with their labor and costs In accordance with rapidly changing conditions and the arrest variety of local considerations which ought to control wages In differeat parte of the country. The railroads are seeking to have these rules and working conditions abrogated. The railroads will seek a reduction In wages now proposed by first requesting the sanction of the railroad labor hoard. The railroads will proceed with all possible dl^atch, and as soon as the railroad labor board shajl have given Itu assent to the (eduction In wages the general reduction In rates will bo pit Into effsoft. 1" * r HERALD, WLAON SOUTH OARQU 850 DISASTER DEATH TOLL FOR ONE YEAR I Red Cross Gives $1,871,000 Relief When 65,000 Families Are Made Homeless. Forty-three disaster*, resulting Id i the death in the United States of 850 | persons and the injury of 2.500 called I for emergency relief measures and j the expenditure of $1.871,o?K> by the i Aiuerlcun Red Cross during the fiscal j year ending June .'U), 1021, says an j announcement based upon the forthi coming unnual report of the ltcd Cross. These disasters caused property damage estimated at S.'i<MH)0,000, affected sixty-seven communities and rendered 65*000 families homeless. The year's disasters were of varying type*, including several which previously hsd never been thought of as falling within that classification. The Red Cross furnished relief In seventeen fires of magnitude, five tlnnds, seven tornadoes or cyclones. one devastating storm, three explosions, including the one In Wall street; one building accident, twj typhoid epidemics, the most serious being that at Salem, Ohio, which affected 0 per cent of the population; one atnallisix epidemic, In the republic of Haiti; one train wreck, the race riot at Tulsa, Oklu.; the famine Iji China, emergency relief In famine among the Indians of Alaska, the grasshopper plague in North Dakota and an earthquake in U.?ly. Pueblo Most Serious Rv far the most severe of the disasters in the United States during the period covered by the Red Cross reI>ort was the Pueblo flood early In June, 11)21. The rehabilitation problem confronting the Red Cross In Pueblo was one of the most difficult in recent years. When the tir^t news of the horror was dashed throughout the country, the American Red Cross National Headquarters responded with a grant of $105,000 for relief work. Governor Shoup of Colorado, appreciating the long and successful erperlence of the Ited Cross la organizing disaster relief work, placed the entire responsibility for the administration of relief in Its hands. In response to appeals from President Harding. Governor Shoup and other governors of western states and through local chapters of the Ked Cross and other community organizations, public-spirited citizens brought the total contributed for Pueblo's rehabilitation to more than $325,000. The terrible havoc wrought by the flood waters Is a matter of record. More than 2,300 homes were affected and 7,351 persons were left homeless. Estimate*? of $500,000 as an absolute minimum for rehabilitation were made by Ited Cross officials In charge of Ut^ relief work. Fart Work In Wall Street The Wall street explosion was notable in that relief workers of the Red ! Cross were on the scene twenty mln ' utes after the disaster occurred. The race riot at Tulsn also was unique In disaster relief annals In that outside of a small emergency relief fund contributed by the Red Cross, the only relief measures outside the city conI slsted of the service of social workers, nurses and a trained executive whose object was to assist local forces In directing their own efforts. In decided contrast with the previous year, only one tornado assumed the proportions of a major disaster. This occurred on April 15, In the border sections of Texas and Arkansas 1 with the city of Texnrknnn as the i centor. The significant feature of this ' disaster relief work was the fact that : It covered so much rural territory ns | to make necessary a large number of relief workers. I The famine In China, necessitating ! relief exnendltnre* mr>r/? timn i $1,000,000 by the American Red Cross was by far the most serious of the forelpn disasters In which the Red Cross pave aid. Builds Up Its Machinery In connection with the administration of disaster relief measures, an lnereaslnp effectiveness on the part of the Red Cross to deal with emerpencles was manifested durinp the past year. In 328 Chapters of the American Red Cross there have been formed special committees to survey the resources of their re??pertlve communities and to be prepnred In case of 1 disaster. In others of the 3,402 active | Chapters, a network of communication j has been formed thronph which Instani taneous relief may he dispatched to any part of the I'nlted States. That Its work In this held may he continued with ever prenter effectiveness, the American Red Cross Is appealing for widespread renewal of membership during Its Annual Roll Call, to he conducted this year frem November 11 to 24. | LIFE SAVING CORPS ENROLLMENT 10,000 Growth of Red Cross Life Saving | Corps throughout the country continued unabated during the last tlscul year, n summary of the year's achievements by that Red Cross Service shows. There are now 100 Corps with a total membership of more than 10,000 members, of which 1,270 are sufficiently skilled in the work to act as examiners. Among the outstanding achievements of the Red C'ru$s In this field during the last yent wns the organization at the United States Naval Aenderar, Annapolis, of what is perhaps the largest life saving corps In the world. l~'';' ' -'"4 EHA, THURSDAY WKHDG, ITOVEMBQR M, ' ffl ffl ? IS ? ? SI ??{j^-ffl 3 m T C. B. CROSLAX. m ; BIG ANNU ? I i wai | SAT. NOV! 1 |T A [ ] Tins Yearly Event - j? Been Y/aitmg for^ Op ^ Saturday M ornmg\ gi Fifteen Days. * [ !fo During this time, as long as !f?l have a most unnsal nnnnrti ,S Carefully Selected, Well B< ^ andise, at Prices Well Bel< Lower than You can Buy ] gj where. We sell none but ,gj stock is New and Up-to-Df IS lowest prices the market h ? sons. We Cleaned out Our Season, look our Loss g Now in Position to sell N gj Prices. In many install g] Replace Same. But th ;? must have money to meet Si the Whole Story. ? POSITIVELY NOTHING ? GOODS ON i a __ [ i Our books will be closed ;(j, ceptions. Store will be cl for Sale. Everything will res. One price to All. I , i Our stock conprises new and up-tc [ ] Misses' and Children. ? Complete Millinery Department. I ? ly, Men's and Boys' Suits, Overc Jthe whole family from head to NOTHING RESERVED. SO |(+| specials |i hi I 1 lOOO Yards Host 20c. Outing g] ONLY 5c. yard. i! i 10 Yards to the customer. ' | one bale I ! ! White Homspun 7 1-2 C. YARD. 1As long as it lasts. Illll ti r d r ? I lie L. U. L m Bennettsvi B BH8-5H5HiHiHB a J jossutnqL 1 B IS S I IS BHfl B HI 81 D COMPANY'S | AL SALE 1 ? ' s~^* ? btart gj a BHMBHaBHiMMnB a The Sale You Have f ens at Nine O CI ?ek X a ana Will Continue ^ $ * ? g j 11'( c> elnrb In cf o ---'11 ? niv otucn yuu Will g unity of purchasing New, i sught, Seasonable Merch- ? )w Present Worth, and ^ Dependable Goods Else- @ Reliable Products. Our J? ite, and was bought at the E as shown in several Sea- ? i igh Priced Goods Last j?j . Bought a new and are ? ew Goods at Lowest ?3 ices Lower than we can ? e Season is late and we j|j ; our obligations. That's ^ S ' a BWBWaKBWPgBBBKgaBaBIMWI II m r CHARGED AND NO i APPROVAL 1 to Everybody. No Ex osed Friday to prepare 4 be marked in plain figu >-date ready-to-wear for Ladies' ~ Shoes for the whole fasni- ? :uats,Etc. In fact we clothe t foot. * DON'T MISS THIS SALE. ? saa*11 IBIB"11"" g] SPECIAES i 24 l'air liiulios Sclby Kit) Hoots, . formerly 97.0O. During: this sale l^l ?4.48. o m Blankets ami Comforts at greatly Re- ? riucetl Prices. o g) Be sure to visit our Special Counter. Every article lOc y?l. Cinghnms, .X. Chnmbrny, Apron Checks, Etc. lyl V V\v^ josland Co. | He, S. C. ii - ffl ? ??????????ffl???30^ *