Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1919-08-29

( brain power and our consclences for
! the reconstruction. If We fail. 1t viii
mean national disaster The primary
/ first stem is TO increase production
and facilitate deportation, 50 as to
make up for he destruction wrought
by the war. the terrible sCarcit'es Gre
ated. and so as soor as possible r..
/ litve our people of the cruel burden
/ of high prices. The railways are at
the center of the whole process.
The government has taken up
I with all its energy the task Of bring
/ ing the pT1fteer TO book, making the
! stocks OF necessaries in the country
available at lowered prices. stimulat-
, iug production and facilitating distri-
| button. and very favorable results are
( already beginning to appear. There
! is reason to entertain the confident
/ hope that substantial relief will result
and result in increasing measure.
"A general increase in the levels of
wages would check and might defeat
! all this at its very beginning. Such
| increases would inevitably raise. not
lower, the cost of living. Manufac-
turers and producers of every sort
would have innumerable additional
pretexts for increasing profits and all
efforts to discover and defeat profit
eering would be hopelessly confused.
! believe that the present efforts to
reduce the costs of living will be sue
cessful, If no new elements of difficult
ty are thrown in the way; and | con-
| fidently count upon the men engaged
in the service of railways to assist.
not obstruct. 1t is much more in their
interest to do this than to insist upon
thing the government attempts. They
are good Americans. along with the
rest of us, and may, I am sure, be
counted on to see the point.
ut goes without saying that if our
efforts to bring the cost of living
down should fail, after we have had
time enough to establish success or
failure, it will be, of course, neces-
sary to accept the higher costs of liv-
ing as a permanent basis of adjust
ment, and railway wages should be re-
adjusted along with the rest. All that
be guilty Of the inexcusable inconsist-
ency of making general increases in
wages on the assumption that the
present cost of living will be perma-
nent at the very time that we are try
ing with great confidence to reduce
the cost of living and are about to say
that it actually is beginning to fall.
II am aware that railroad employees
have a sense of insecurity as to the
future of the roads and have many
misgivings as to whether their inter
ests will be properly safeguarded
when the present form of federal con
troll has come to an end. No doubt il
is in part this sense of uncertainty
that prompts them to insist that their
wage interests be adjusted now
rather than under conditions which
they cannot certainly foresee. But
do not think that their uneasiness is
we'll grounded. l anticipate that leg
lislation dealing with the future of the
railroads will in explicit terms afford
adequate protection for the interests
of the employees of the railroads: but
quite apart from that, 1t is clear that
no legislation can make the railways
other than what they are, great pub
lie interest, and it is not likely that
the president of the United States
whether in. possession and control OF
the railroads or not. will lack oppor
tunity or persuasive force to influence
the decision of questions arising be-
tween the managers of the railroads
and the railway employees.
/ 1.-THE employees may rest assured
that during my term of ONCE, wheth-
er am in actual possession of the
railroads or not, shall not fail to
exert the full influence of the execu
tive to see that justice is done them
II believe, therefore, that they
may be justified in the confidence
that hearty cooperation with the
government now in its efforts to re
duce the cost Of living will by nc
means be prejudicial to their owr
interests, but will. on the contrary
prepare the way for more favorable
and satisfactory returns in the
future.
II confidently count on their CO
operation in this time of nationa
test and crisis"