The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-04-23
THE sw1rcHHEN's STRIKE.

|
1t is pointed out by the, Railway Age
in an editorial discussion eff the
switchmen's strike that TT is vitality
/ important to the public peace and
welfare that in the first great eontro-
versy to arise between the railways
and their employees since the resump-
ton of private ownership there shall
be set the precedent of a settlement
reached peacefully, intelligently and
in the manner prescribed by law
Reviewing the causes leading up to
the strike the Age says:
| Some months before the new rail-
road law was passed the various
| classes of railway employees presented
! to President Wilson and the railroad
/ administration demands for advances
! In wages aggregating about 81 .000.-
100000. After the law was enacted
committees representing the COM
panles and the employees were appoint
| ed TO negotiate regarding these
proposed advances. No committee of
! railway officers could have been eX-
! peeted to assume the heavy RESPONSE
bility of granting such large advance
/ in wages, which would be made di-
/ rectly and entirely at the expense of
the public. Consequently, the two
/
officers of the large railroad labor
! brotherhoods bitterly opposed the en-
| aetment of the labor provisions of the
new law. Instead, however, of calling
a strike. they bowed with unexpectedly
good grace to public sentiment and
prepared to present their case to the
! railroad labor board. Unfortunately
| President Wilson had not appointed
the board. The railroad labor broth
erhoods, like most other unions con-
. rstf al a..
live in direct action" both as the best
means of getting promptly from EN-
ployers what the employees want now,
and as one of the best means of max
| ing the kind of Industrial and sociak
! trouble which ultimately, as they
/ think, will cause the complete over
4 throw of the present system of pri-
vate ownership and management of
property and the substitution of the
soviet system. These radicals well
come every opportunity to embarrass
and harass labor leaders who are dis
posed to use peaceful means of ae-
complishing their ends before resort
! ing to strikes.
! The situation presented when the
wage negotiations between the COM
nittees of the railway companies and
the labor organizations were terminal
| ed afforded the radicals good chance
to make trouble. 1t gave them an OPP
| portunity to say that the employees had
/
/ demands settled; that the old labor or
carnations and their leaders had
shown incapacity for dealing with the
situation, and that the only way the
employees could get what they were
entitled to was by breaI king away from
I the old organizations and going on
strike. With the spirit of unrest pre-
vailing among all classes of labor this
kind of talk was bound to cause some
| trouble 1t first caused a strike of
. Sk,l-g 81.
cage and then similar outbreaks in
other parts of the country.
The leaders of the large labor
! brotherhoods have been put in a diff
/ ficult position by these developments.
! Their organizations have contracts
which have occurred, being by mem
/ bers of the organiza lions, are in direct
violation of these contracts. The rail-
/ way companies can say that there is no
use in making contracts with organi
cations which cannot carry them out,
and to demand that the brotherhoods
/ shall help them fight and win the
strikes both as a matter of good faith
/ and to show that it is worth while to
/ make contracts with them. The broth
eFhoodS have a strong incentive to
/ fight the strikes, not only in the fact
! that they endanger their contract re-
! lations with the railways, but also in
the fact that any success the strikers
| might nave IN RettlnS concessions from
1 the railways which the brOtherhOods
/ have been unable to get would tend to
discredit and disrupt the brotherhoods.
| The railways cannot well negotiate
/ with the strikers, because the railways
| have contracts with the brotherhoods,
| and any recognition of the strikers by
I them, thru negotiations OF otherwise,
would promptly embroil them with
the bretherhoods. In the background,
also, are the demands for $1,000, ooe.-
| 900 in advances in wages, which rail-
way employees. as a whole. are making.
I If the wage demands of striking en-
ployes of any particular class in any
part of the country should be grant
ed it would at once become necessary
| on pain Of strikes elsewhere, to make
| similar advances to all other employees
| of the same class turnout the country.
But there are we'll recognized relation
ships between the wages of different
classes of railway employees, and IL,
| except under the mandate of some
authoritative body, such as the rail-
| road labor board, an advance in wages
! should be given to one class of en-
ployes thruout the country correspond
ing advances would have to be given
at once to other classes thruout the
| country or there would be strikes by
| them 1t is no exaggeration. there
fore. to say that if. in order to end
the strike at Chicago. for example, the
railways should grantsthe advances in
wages which are being demanded by
the striking switchmen there, they
would make a change in the adjust
ment of wages which probably would
soon either force them to grant the
I entire billion dollar advance now be-
ing demanded without any hearings
before the railroad labor board or to
fight general strike.