Men and Things

by Henry A. Atkinson

The Railway Systems. There is being operated in the United States at the present time 230,000 miles of railroads. The mileage which they cover if stretched about the earth would belt the globe nine times. The total mileage for the whole world is about 700,000; all of Europe has 215,140 miles. The United States and Canada together have almost half the total mileage of the world and as much as all of Europe and Asia combined. In 1915 the railroads of the United States carried 976,303,602 passengers and moved 1,802,018,177 tons of freight. The railway companies employed 1,654,075 men and women. The average hourly pay for these workers, figured on the basis of the eight-hour day, is twenty-six cents. Railroading is a most difficult and dangerous occupation, and yet there is something in the work itself that appeals to the worker. “Once a railroad man, always a railroad man,” as one brakeman put it.

There was a railroad wreck on the Southern Pacific line just south of Livermore, California, some years ago. The engine fell over into a creek and the engineer was caught underneath, and pressed down into the soft sand. It was eighteen hours before he was rescued; his chest was crushed and he was horribly burned but by some miracle he lived. The railway company gave him a pension in recognition of his faithful services of about twelve years, and he was able to live on the income without working. This invalided engineer was idle for almost ten months; he then went back to the company and asked to be put on an engine again. He was not considered strong enough to run a passenger engine, but was supremely happy when put in charge of a switch engine in the train-yards of Sacramento. He said, “It was the happiest day of my life when I pulled the throttle, and again felt the engine begin to move out under my touch and control.”

Casualty Lists. In the year 1916, the steam railways of the United States injured 196,722 people and killed 10,001. The electric railways for the same period injured 4,606 and killed 518. Of these persons, 4,928 were killed while riding as passengers, or while at work in the performance of their tasks. The remainder were killed while walking upon the railway tracks or in other ways trespassing.

One bitter cold day a Lackawanna train from New York going to Buffalo was nearing a little village near Binghamton when the brakeman, muffling up his ears, stepped out on the rear platform to be ready to signal as the train stopped at the near-by crossing. The train stopped and then gave four blasts on the whistle calling in the brakeman. There was a delay and the conductor went back to find out why the brakeman did not come, but could not see him anywhere down the line. The train was late and running badly, so instead of backing up to look for the brakeman, the conductor gave orders for the train to go ahead and reported the fact at the next station. Two stations beyond word reached him that the body of the brakeman had been found beside the track. He had stepped out on the rear platform just as the train rounded a curve and the platform being slippery he lost his footing and was thrown off and killed instantly. The brakeman’s family was protected because he was engaged in interstate commerce, but one more human being was lost in the performance of his daily task. The inventions such as patent coupling devices, block signals, and the vestibule cars, have done away with a great many accidents, but in the very nature of the case, there will always be danger in the work done by the men who operate our trains.

The Human Factor. The railroads of the country are made as safe as possible by installing wonderful devices which work automatically. The tracks are inspected, old ties replaced by new ones; bolts are tested, yet in spite of all the excellent devices to secure safety, accidents occur in sickening succession. An entire circus company was recently wiped out by an accident on the Michigan Central Railroad. The members of the circus were nearly all asleep when a train from the rear plunged through their cars killing nearly one hundred and injuring over one hundred others. The wreckage caught fire and many of the bodies were cremated. Reports would indicate that this accident was one of those unavoidable things that happen so often in railroading.

Experiences in speaking before groups of railroad men prove that the question of danger is always before the minds of the workers. These men literally carry their lives in their hands. For after all, no matter how perfectly the track may be laid, and in spite of the fact that the signals are all set, there is always the human factor to be taken into consideration. The flagman may not go back far enough from the train that is stopped so that the one following can be brought to a halt before crashing into the train ahead. Another thing that enters into the situation is the fact that men who are working surrounded by constant perils are likely to become careless. “I carry with me a sense of responsibility for the life of every man, woman, and child who rides on my train.” This was the statement of a conscientious railroad engineer. “But,” he continued, “I am in constant fear that my train will be wrecked through the carelessness of somebody else.” This man recognized a need that is essential in securing safety in traveling on our railroads, that is, a sense of corporate responsibility; by this we mean, that the entire group of men, all the workers and all of those who are responsible for the operation of the roads should feel the same sense of responsibility that the individual engineer feels. To secure this condition the railroad companies must realize that they are dealing with human beings; and that the men who furnish the human element in the railroad equation are entitled to a voice and a share in the management of the line.

Wages and Hours of Work. When the railroad employees threatened to strike in 1917 and asked for an eight-hour day and an increase of wages, there was a great deal of discussion as to whether the companies or the men were in the right. Most people sided with the companies against the men, because there is an idea among the people that the railroad men are the best paid employees in any of our industries. Contrary to the general understanding, the railroad employees for the most part are not well paid. The government has recognized the need for increased wages and has made advances to nearly all classes of railway employees since federal control went into effect. The average rate for a normal day’s work for engineers in the freight service throughout the eastern territory is $4.85, conductors $4, brakemen $2.67, and firemen $3.25. These are the best paid of all the railroad employees. Tower men, who have in their care the lives of millions of passengers as they protect crossings, receive from $40 to $50 a month. Telegraphers, train dispatchers, track inspectors, and other employees, outside of the four great brotherhoods, made up of the engineers, conductors, brakemen, and firemen, are very poorly paid. And even the wages for the best paid and most skilful operators, the brakeman and the fireman, for instance, are so low that it means that in order to earn a living wage they must make a great deal through overtime.

The effect of this low wage is shown in the number of employees who are changed every year. In the first nine months of 1917 in the eastern territory three men were employed for every one job filled. This is known as the turn-over in employment and it is unusually high because the wages are below standard, the hours long, and the work hard and dangerous. There is a continual change in the operating forces and a consequent lack of efficiency. Another consideration to be taken into account in studying the wages and lives of railway workers is that of the effect of the work upon the workers. An engineer must put in years as a fireman before he can secure the right to run an engine, and then a dozen or fifteen years is about the length of time that he can depend on keeping his job. He is fortunate indeed if he earns a good wage for this length of time. The wear and tear on muscles, nerves, eyes, ears, kidneys, and heart is almost certain to break down the strongest body in a few years. Some few men stand the strain and hold on for twenty years but these are the rare exceptions.

Fictitious Values and the Railways. The railroad business deals in a commodity that may be termed public service. Almost more than any other business it is dependent for success upon the good-will of the public. The earnings of the railroads have been enormous and even if their operating expenses are high, there have been big profits made, and these profits have been taken up to a large extent in paying dividends upon fictitious values. This is the most serious situation that threatens the railroad system of the United States. For instance, a road is built and a certain amount of money put into the equipment and rolling stock, such as engines, coaches, and freight-cars. The employees are hired and the road begins to do business as a regular passenger and freight carrier. Out of its total receipts it must pay a fixed amount for up-keep, for new equipment, and for wages, besides the interest on the money it has borrowed. The balance that is left from the amount of money received by the road and the amount it must pay out marks its own profits. This is given to the owners of the road.

For many years the railroads felt that they needed special legislation; and money was spent in buying up legislators, in corrupting city councils, and in gaining the influence of noted men who would agree to return certain favors to the road for certain concessions given. A common practise in connection with this was the giving of free passes to all statesmen and newspaper men. In addition to this the railroad property became valuable as a factor in the stock market, and new stock was continually being issued. This stock would be sold and in many cases no new equipment put into the road, so that at the present time some of the railroads of the United States have three or four times as much stock as they have actual physical value for their stock.