Evening journal., 1919-08-12

DuJ Wlln all Ildt longing ana all u1dl
admiration for unionism. cannot for
one moment reconcile myself 10 the un-
Just demands made by the railroad
men.
The concept Of what is their right
and the Utopian plans for their own
self-aggrandizement and so-called de-
| liverance, fail to take into considera-
tion the rest Of the American people. or
which they are but very small factor.
Urger on by men who have not con-
sidered any economic policy whatever
they have started out with the idea
that the railroads shall be taken over
and the holders Of the securities shall
be paid sum equalling possibly
twenty billions OF dollars.
They have a fatuous thought that all
that Is necessary TO do is TO follow out
the policy enunciated by Arthur Bris-
bane and other so-called pro-German
propagandlsts. and print Government
bonds to pay for the property, making
| the holders Of the securities take these
/ bonds whether they will or not. The
one thing that they fail to observe Is
/ that these bonds some day, sooner
4 or later must be paid. and the solution
/ that they offer for the taking over or
| the railroads is wild-eyed and Is feasi-
Bile only in a country that could pro-
! duce Marx or a Nletschsze. IL is not
I in consonance with good sense, even II
Aristotle, whom they quote, was wrong
in his ideas about slavery.
With their heads In the clouds these
leaders, who filled 10 a surfeit with the
good things that come tlfeir way dur
ing the war, have no hesitancy TO FUR
ther belabor, TO domineer and sub1u-
gate the American people and make
them subseryient TO a more tyrannical
and despotic rule than the world has
ever seen before.
II the American people stop but a
moment and consider they will find
that the work OF the engineers and con-
ductors Is not strenuous and they are
very well paid extremely well paid for
their efforts put forth, and the amount
OF knowledge that is necessary to have
in order TO do the work Of either. IL
could be truthfully said that II the
other professions were paid in proper
tion TO what the conductor and engi-
neer are paid for their work and their
knowledge, the milliOnaires would be
as numerous as the sands Of the sea.
eW carry with us the vagaries OF our
youth and do not stop long enough TO
analyze the real situation. In our youth
we believed that the engineer and con-
ducter were supermen, bcause Of the
power Of the engine and the train. We
never concluded that 10 was not their
power that pulled the train. The en-
gineer's work consists OF opening and
shutting a throttle through which |
steam escapes, knowledge OF the air !
control, and the every day knowledge /
that must be possessed by all men OF |
keeping their eyes open for danger |
ahead. He goes on his engine in the |
morning. which has been all attended |
TO by mechanics. He leaves 10 at night !
and II there is anything wrong he re- !
ports IL in. The care that he has is in !
making his trip. lie Is IN no more |
danger than the passengers who ride In |
the train.
The conductors work "a less onerous !
than the engineers. for all he has TO do !
Is 10 register out IN the morning, col
lect the tickets on the train, make a re-
port and sign I'm in the evening. For all
over eight hours that they work they
get good pay. Neither has a dollar in
vested IN the railroads. They have no |
more right TO the earned or unearned |
increment than has any other citizen OF |
the commonwealth. In fact they have
less, because they pay nothing towards
the maintenance OF the railroad, and II
were 10 not for the rest OF the populace
there would be no trains TO run. The
railroad men ride on passes. Their
families ride on passes. II Government
ownership should prevail then by all
rights the rest of the country should
tide on passes, then who, pray. would
pay for the upkeep OF the roads II
rode on passes and every
body could have their goods checked
rec?
We are going around In a circle and
yettlng- nowhere, and II we consider
very demand made by labor union
eaders we are going TO end in chaos,
or the bricklayers are demanding Si.25
,er hour TO keep up with the rail-
oader's demands. The carpenter Is de-
handing 81 per hour 20 keep up with
he bricklsyers demands, and other
abor unions are proportionlng their
demands.
on one OF the extensive government
perations where there was a great de-
nand that we push the work. brick
ayers. who three years ago would Jay E
rom 1900 to 1900 brlcks per day at
rom 60 10 70 cents per hous, in the
tress OF Americas travail, laid 2i7
ricks per day at salary Of $40 10 Si5
er day, and the carpenters were no
Whit better; the less they could saw
nd the less they could hammer gained
Or them added overtime, and unlonism
which so long lsbored for an eight
our day, labored Just as strenuously
gsinst the eight-hour day in order not
D serve or help out the country, but in
rider that they might proflteer on the s
lood Of American citizens.
The sooner unionism learns that the S
snets Of real unionism bespeak liberty
nd not license, the sooner will union
I'm grow into favor again in this coun-
".
The real lovers OF the rights OF labor H