The Dillon herald. (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, November 24, 1921, Image 11
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
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jossutnqL
1 B IS S I IS BHfl B HI 81
D COMPANY'S |
AL SALE 1
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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^
*