* * *

"Can a man live on $27.50 a month and rear a family?"

"Really, I don't know. He might."

"Does the Pullman company have in mind the liberality and
kindness of the public when it fixes that rate of pay?"

"Well, I should say that tips have something to do with it. I
didn't make the rates of pay."

* * * * *

"A porter must call passengers during the night, polish shoes,
answer bells, and look after the safety and comfort of the
passengers at all hours, must he not?"

"Yes. He is reprimanded, suspended or discharged for infractions
of the rules."

"What is your attitude toward the question of an organization
among your employees?"

"I felt that the movement to form a federation of our employees
was a selfish one on the part of a few."

WHAT THE PORTERS SAID

The Commission also called several porters to testify. They stated that
they could not live without the tips. One porter with twenty-one years'
service behind him testified that he receives $42 a month in wages,
while the tips averaged about $75 a month, or $117 income from the
company and the public.

Another porter receiving $27.50 a month testified that his tips averaged
about $77 a month. He was described as wearing two diamond rings and
being tastefully dressed.

The conductors receive from $70 to $90 a month in salary, and it was
brought out before the Commission that many do not consider it dishonest
to "knock down" on seat sales. This is accomplished partly at the
company's expense, and partly at the expense of patrons--especially
unsophisticated travelers who buy a whole seat but have other
passengers sit beside them, the conductor pocketing the extra payment.
This practice is limited to day runs. There is also the opportunity to
overcharge.

That the Pullman company gives the public good service through its
porters is indisputable. The only question is whether the public should
pay extra for this service. If a porter with an income of $117, say,
receives only $27.50 from the company, the public is paying
three-fourths of his wages and the company only one-fourth. Where the
porters have incomes of $150 to $200 a month the company pays one-fifth
to one-eighth of the amount and the public pays from four-fifths to
seven-eighths!

SERVICE INCLUDED

The price of a ticket on a sleeping car is as much as a patron should