Pay of Railway Employes in Other Countries.
The contrast between the wages of American and European railway employes is emphasized by those paid on the continent. The official statistics of the empire show an increase of 5% in the average yearly compensation of German railway employes in 1908. Their number and pay for that year to December 31st in the four main classes into which they are divided were as follows:
| Number and Pay of German Railway Employes by Principal Divisions for the Year Ending December 31, 1908. | ||||
| Division | Employes Number | Compensation (Total) | Average per year | Increase over 1907 |
| General administration | 31,996 | $25,167,240 | $787 | $34 |
| Maintenance and guarding road | 177,633 | 42,891,753 | 241 | 5 |
| Station service and train crews | 302,343 | 116,219,657 | 384 | 24 |
| Switching crews and shops | 187,183 | 75,328,084 | 402 | 18 |
| Total | 699,155 | $259,606,734 | $371 | $19 |
| Increase over 1907 | 3,598 | 14,216,875 | — | — |
Combined with a falling off in revenues and an increase in the cost of materials this increase in the compensation of employes had the effect of raising the operating ratio of German railways from 69.01 in 1907 to 73.56 in 1908. It also increased the proportion of wages to gross earnings from 37.25 to 40.1% and had the effect of reducing the net revenues from 5.60% to 4.51% on the cost of construction.
How railway labor fares under government ownership in a republic as compared with its pay in an empire may be judged from a comparison of the following statement as to the number and pay of the railways of Switzerland with the like classes in the preceding table for Germany.
| Number and Pay of Swiss Railway Employes by Principal Divisions in 1907. | |||
| Division | Employes Number | Compensation (Total) | Average per Year |
| General administration | 1,631 | $ 780,715 | $478 |
| Maintenance and inspection of way | 10,308 | 1,459,977 | 142 |
| Transportation and train service | 17,815 | 6,829,426 | 383 |
| Porters and laborers | 12,219 | 3,209,810 | 262 |
| Total | 41,973 | $12,279,928 | $292 |
The wages paid the employes of Swiss railways in 1907 amounted to only 31.9 per cent. of the gross earnings, and yet they added enough to the cost of operation to help increase the telltale ratio of expenses to revenues from 64.99 in 1906 to 67.29 in 1907. The result was increased operating expenses per mile and a decrease in the amount available for interest in dividends from 3.26% in 1906 to 3.23% in 1907.
As the Swiss republic has to pay 3½% on government loans its investment in railways does not appear to be a very profitable one.
Employes of French Railways.
The employes of the railways of France are divided into the following classes: