Chauffeurs' Long Hours To the Editor of the "Nonrn-Cuixa Dany News"
Sin—The strike of chauffeurs is not unconnected with the general system under which hire car services operate in Shanghai. It is understood that the Company is seeking to prevent losses incurred by undercharging of customers by chauffeurs (or underpaying by car users) when. more than a paid-for period of driving time has elapsed. "But how does 8 company hope to interest chautfours in giving a first loyalty to the company's interest by insisting on' full payments when the system uni-|to wonder whether it ts possible for versally in vogue puts the driver in the position of being the servant of two masters? This at base is the evil of ping in whatever walk of life it is found; but when hire car companies depend on the public to pay the wages of their drivers to the extent of some 70 per cent. or more, fs obvious that part of the chautfours' loyalty is directed away from them and in the direction of the the gratuity-paying customer. It my understanding that the general wage paid by companies is in the vicinity of $20 per month, while the rivers can aggregate otherwise from $00 to 80 per month. In other} words, while the wage which the employer pays is fixed, that which the customer will give if the chautfour is lenient about the time the car has been used, can be stretched in the chauffeur's' favour.
Related to the question of wage earned from customers is the ques~ tion of the hours of work of chauf-fours, which in turn has a distinct bearing on the general safety of the streets. It is customary for many hire car garages to have drivers on duty during 96 hours on call during four nights, while during these four days there is the possibility that the driver will drive more or less continuously through more than a twelve hour day. Then a break of twenty-hours occurs. There are of course some modifications of this prog-dure, but the general principle holds wide sway of prolonged periods when there is no certainty that there will bbe any continuous sleep for any considerable number of hours.
It is only under a system where the wage is earned in proportion to the number of passengers carried that so dangerous 'a system would be put up with by the men themselves.
Taxt Draven.
Shanghai, May 9.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.