A. I did not make any complaint. They reduced by tens instead of by fives.
Q. What reason did he give?
A. He could not give me any reason, he said it was done on higher authority.
Q. I understood you to say, he said something about business was poor?
A. He said that the company was losing money. He took into consideration the different conductors, and they had different pay, and the conclusion was that they were losing money.
Q. Then they reduced you?
A. They reduced me to $2 40 at that time. They ran the first year for $2 20, and the second year for $2 45, and the third year for $2 70—so the order was in the start out. I never happened to come in under the $2 20 list, they raised me to $2 70, then they cut me down to $2 40, and I had to work from June to January, at $2 40, and then went up again to $2 70, on account of the year having expired.
Q. What was the pay of the brakesman?
A. Brakesmen originally received $2 00 a day, then afterwards they were cut down to $1 80, and the last reduction brought them down to $1 65.
Q. Did you know what wages they were making on an average?