The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1916-10-14

If freight engineer is asked to
uncouple his engine from his train and
pull some other cars of a wrecked
train out of the way. he gets an extra
days pay. His whole regular and ex-
ira work might be completed under
eight hours. but he would pocket two
days pay.
There is probably no other body OF
men in the world who have such a
snap as to extra pay.
Who pays for all this? The Public
in an increased cost of living.
Railways are necessities. We could
not get on without them. To have
them, money must be spent and hun
| dreds of thousands of people, poor and
rich, have directly invested their saw
ings in them, and millions more have
put their savings in them through
savings banks, insurance companies
etc. To get the necessary money, rail-
roads must pay fair return to thosc
who supply the money. This return is
the surplus left over all expenses and
this surplus must be large enough to
induce people to put their money into
railroads, or else We should have nc
railroads.
This means that freight and passen-
ger rates must be high enough to pay
all expenses, including wages, and
this fair return to the millions of
people whose money goes to build the
railroads.
The higher wages are, the higher
freight rates must be. and the higher
freight rates are. the more -four and
bread, milk, butter, cotton, clothes,
leather, shoes, building material and
rents, sugar. etc, will cost-that is
the higher cost of Living, while the
farmer and producer will get less in
the long run for their crops and pro-
ducts.
1T is THE PUBLIC THAT PAYS
THE TRAINMEN'S WAGES IN THE
END.
To increase the trainmen's wages is
to take money out of the pockets of
the Public. Do the Public object?
that depends. 1t wants to be fair. If,
after an impartial investigation it was
found that the trainmen were under
paid. the Public would say, eve will
pay them more-a fair wage"
But suppose they already receive
very much more for less and easier
work than the very great majority of
other workers receive? Does the Pub
lie want to pay these favored few still
more that they may be still more fav-
comparison? And would any public
ored and the Public still less favored
servant, who was faithful to his trust,
propose that that should be done?
Most emnhatically, No!
For months the Railroad Brother
hoods had been threatening to strike
and loudly refusing to arbitrate while
boasting that they had a special trick
to pull off. For months prominent and
well informed people. including the
Chamber of Commerce of the United
States, had been endeavoring to get
President Wilson to have the Inter
state Commerce Commission investi-
gate the case and establish the facts.
For months the Railroads had been
offering to arbitrate under the very
arbitration lay three of the four Presi-
dents of the Trainmen's Brotherhoods
had eXerted themselves 10 have passed
Then came the climax in August.
President Wilson, the Peoples Chief
Servant, sworn and trusted to uphold
the Peoples rights. called the Rail
road officials and Brotherhood chiefs
to Washington. pretending to do so in
the interest Of the Public, and after a
conference with the Brotherhood
chiefs. the doings at which have been
kept secret, and before he had consult
ed the Railroad officials whom he could
see at any minute he chose. he decar-
ed for the joker eight hour day, that
was not an eight-hour day at all, but
only an increase of many millions of
dollars to be paid by the Public, in in
creased cost of living, TO those favored
workers who are already much better
paid and work much less hard than
the very great majority of those who
have in the end to foot the bill!
Had the Pubic's Chief Servant be-
trayed his trust? Had President Will
son sought to eXtort from the Public
the largest corruption fund ever heard
Of with which to buy the votes of the
Railroad Brotherhoods Why did he
not wait an hour to hear the other side
hefore deciding? What was the mys-
FERROUS trick up their sleeve of which
the Brotherhood Chiefs kept Boosting
all the months the President kept re-
fusing to investigate? Why did the
President and Brotherhoods use the
misleading term "eight-hour day" to
cover up a wage increase? If they
wanted the exact truth known they
certainly would not have done so.
President Wilson was the chief SER
want of the People and yet the Peo-
pies interest was not represented.
The Brotherhoods We're to get the
Peoples money and their chiefs are
now telling them to vote for President
Wilson. The Public pays the Piper.
And what are the people going to
do about it? They will answer on the
9TH of November.
0f Iutaraek t. E;.bo-..