The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-25
MORAL SIDE or TIEUPS.
An A b c Lesson on the Duty Of Rail.
road Employees TO the Public.

To THE EDITOR OF THE suN-sir: In
these days of increasingly frequent
strikes and tieups the strikers should
be instructed that there are two classes
OF the stricken. between which there Is
radical difference in the constructive
legal character and in the actual moral
character Of the strikes.
The existence OF every railroad neces-
sarily depends upon a franchise. The
franchise is a permission or concession
by the representatives of the people
to a company to lay its tracks in a
public highway or to force the sale to
1t Of n strip of land across country, not
withstandlng any objections by the land
owners. Every such concession Is based
reciprocally on n hard and fast obli-
the public every day by running cars
for passengers or freight or both.
! The direct and immediate financial
beneflt of this Transaction accrues to
two classes-to stockholders, who there
by have an opportunity TO make a prof
table investment, and to operatives,
who thereby have continuous employ
ment and assured wages. 1t sometimes
happens that the stockholders receive
very small dividends or mona at all, but
the employees are preferred creditors
and their wages must be paid, whether
the road is making any net profits or
not. The employees are as truly bene-
iciaries of the franchise as are the
stockholders.
From these facts think II follows
indisputabiy that morally the employees
are as strongly bound 10 keep faith
with the public and maintain train ser
vice uninterrupted as are the directors.
That public gave the concession to them
as well as to the stockholders, for with
out the franchise they never would have
had that employment.
Operatives of cotton factory or a
theatre may perhaps strike in q body,
breaking no faith and inturing no one
except the owners. but when the people,
through their representatives. have
given a valuable franchise on condi-
ton of continuous public service in re-
turn, that cannot be done, 1t goes with
out saying that any individual employee
has the same right to step out and let
some other man take his place that any
stakeholder has to sell his holding and let
the purchaser assume his ownership
and his obligations. A tieup Is the
work of a conspiracy. and there never
was a conspiracy that was not vicious.
Every conspiracy is an attempt Of a
minority to override the wishes or Inn
pair the interests Of a majority.
Have there been many tieups that
have not caused loss of health and OF life7
I believe not. and 1 cannot help think
ing that a tieup of a railroad is as
criminal as setting fire to an inhabited
house. We have laws to punish com
binations In restraint OF trade. Why
DO We not have a law to punish COM
binations in restraint Of travel and en-
force It rigidly7
Suppose that the directors OF r. rail-
way, finding it impossible with careful
economy to make It pay reasonable
dividends, should ask for authority to
increase its charges for freight and pas
sengers and should be refused; and
suppose that they should then discon-
tinue all trains? What a unanimous
protest there would be, and the loudest
howl would come from the trainmen
thrown out of employment Logically
and morally those directors would be
just as blameworthy as the striking
employees, and not a whit more so. The
fact that in that case we have q legal
remedy negatives the superstition. but
it does not vitiate the illustration.
am not aware that any one ever has
denied the truth OF the maxim. ITS
poor rule that doesn't work both ways"
RossIrER JOHNSON.
NEW YORK, August %.