at Pratt. Increasing and decreasing of the number of crews, as well as general supervision of the Board, is under the direction of the Trainmaster and Chief Dispatcher.

"The employes apparently would have your Board believe they have taken over the duties and responsibilities of the yardmaster positions formerly maintained at Pratt which were discontinued in 1930 and 1931. The duties which are required of yardmasters consist of general supervision of operations in yard, freight and passenger train and yard engines, making up and breaking up trains, supervising the work of switch engines and crews, and knowing that such switch crews are familiar with the rules of the operating department, that trains are properly made up, and in addition the yardmaster is charged with the responsibility of being familiar with the rules of the train service and the duties of the employes connected therewith-but none of these duties and responsibilities are required of the Yard Clerks at Pratt.

"Yardmasters, of course, in the ordinary course of their work, do some incidental clerical work, but it does not follow that such work formerly handled by yardmasters when assigned to a yard clerk is sufficient to warrant an adjustment in the rate of pay, because such incidental clerical work handled by the yardmaster may be and is only the work which would ordinarily be handled by a yard clerk when a yardmaster's position is not in existence.

"The other items of work listed by these employes, such as handling mail and baggage, billing cream, writing up way bills, buiding fires, making live stock contracts, expensing way bills, keeping inbound and oubound train record, supervising general order books and bulletin board, etc., are all items of wok which are performed at many,stations in comparable localities by employes receiving no greater compensation than these Yard Clerks at Pratt.

"Returning to Rule 68, which establishes the only yardstick on which rates of pay for new positions can be legally based under the contract, we wish to call attention to the rates of pay of yard clerks at other points on this same division, and to point out that the rates at Pratt are comparable with the rates paid at these other points. It is true a few of the rates at other points are higher than at Pratt, but this resulted from an increased allowance made to such positions in 1923 and 1925 when all clerical rates were adjusted, based on the conditions surrounding each position, and larger increases were granted at Amarillo and Dalhart because at that time, due to oil activities in that vicinity, living costs were considerably higher.

Amarillo, Texas Yard Clerk 1-$124.50

1- 124.50

1- 124.50

Dalhart, Texas 1- 124.50

1- 129.50

Hutchinson, Kansas 1- 120.00

1- 115.00

1- 112.00

Liberal, Kansas 1- 117.00

1- 114.50

"There is nothing to distinguish the three positions at Pratt from other similar positions, nor are there any circumstances which warrant such positions being paid more than other positions required to assume the same degree of responsibility and the same duties; and therefore, under the rule provided for measuring the value of a position for the purpose of determining the proper rate of pay (Rule 68) the employes' request must be declined."

OPINION OF BOARD: Rule 69 provides that compensation for a position should be adjusted, viz.; (a) where there is an increase in the duties

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and responsibilities, or (b) where there is a change in the character of the service required. Several such changes have occurred with respect to the Ticket Yard Clerk positions at Pratt over a period of time culminating June 27, 1936, when they were assigned the handling of crew boards, duties formerly performed by yardmasters and this increased the duties and responsibilities of their positions. And, by requiring the occupants of these positions to perform local office and passenger station work, especially the selling of tickets and the handling of money under bond, it changed the character of the service required of these positions. Such changes in work seem to have been recognized by the parties in previous instances where the duties of positions of Ticket Clerks and Yard Clerks were combined.

The evidence discloses that there have been sufficient increases in the duties and responsibilities, as well as sufficient changes in the character of service required on each of the three positions of Ticket-Yard Clerks, to warrant upward adjustments in compensation under the provisions of Rule 69 and the Board finds that the amount of such increases should be $10.50 per month on each position, retroactive to June 27, 1936. (See Award No. 613.)

FINDINGS: The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, after giving the parties to this dispute due notice of hearing thereon and upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds and holds:

That the carrier and the employes involved in this dispute are respectively carrier and employes within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as approved June 21, 1934;

That this Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein; and

That an increase of $10.50 per month each in rates of pay should be granted effective June 27, 1936.

AWARD