Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1920-02-19

,StfuctiNe storm that ragged along the I
there has been ro threat of a general
strike. One such strike already has
been ordered. The maintenance of
way employees and shop laborers have
been directed to quit work on Febru-
ary II. Their president, Allen G.
Barker, said, however, that the sub
mission Of the controversy to Presi-
dent Wilson might avert this, as 1t was
at Mr.. Wilson's request that the strike
plans made last August were held in
abeyance while the government tried
to lower the cost of living. Since it
mainly failed in this, said Mr.. Barker
he felt Mr.. Wilson would afford the
men the relief they had asked This
may be so, but official statistics do
not bear out the claims of the main
tenance Of way workers. Since 1913
their wages have increased on the av-
erage 106 per cent, while the cost Of
living in the same time has gone up
1871 per cent
The congressional conference COM
mittee fixed up clever compromise
railway legislation bill and it's speedy
acceptance was predicted. But for.
midable opposition developed. Repre-
sentutives Barkley of Kentucky and
Sims of Tennessee, both Democratic
members of the conference refused
to sign the report and announced they
would fight the measure. Barkley OBJ.
jects to the. provision for a 5k per
cent return on earnings with an equal
division of excess earnings over 6 per
cent between the roads and govern
ment fund for the benefit Of the weak
er lines. Sims makes his fight especial
ly against the rate-making provision;
but he is opposed to the bill generally
for he is an advocate of government
ownership. The union labor leaders
were waiting until they could study
the compromise bill, but they were
expected to join with the opposition
to the measure. The sections dealing
with wage adjustments do not please
them.
Samuel GOmrers who several times
lately has felt his throne tottering,
has come out strongly against the or
ganization of a political labor party
and urges that organized labor devote
Its effort to the election of members
of congress who will be friendly to
it. The third party plan is especially
favored by the Plumb plan leaders,
but Mr.. Gompers warns that it would
be fatal ro the interests of organized
labor. His attack on congress was
decidedly bitter and called forth sew
eral vigorous replies, particularly from
Senator Sherman of Illinois and Rep
resentative Blanton of Texas.
The antaconiSm between union In
Dor and the farmers was accentuated
last week when representatives of the
National grange, the American Farm
Bureau federation. the Cotton States
board, and the Association of State
Farmers union presidents met in
WASHINGTON and drew up memorial
to congress denying that any group
of organized workers possesses an in
herert right to strike. Alluding
especially to strikes of transportation
workers. the memorial says:
Those who believe that labor has
an inherent right to organize strike
believe that such organizations have q
right to starve the people of the cities
to death, on the one hand, and to de-
stroy The property of the farmers on
the other.
NO such right had ever existed and
no such right exists now.
mo set of men has ever had the
moral or legal right to destroy prop
erty or cause suffering by conspiring
together.
"What would be the verdict of the
peeple if the farmers of the United
States should suddenly decide to go
on a strike and refuse to supply the
wants and needs of those who are not
in q position to produce food and cloth
Ing for themselves? They would be
condemned from one end Of the. coun-
try to the other and the fact would be
pointed out that they, as the owners
and tillers of the land, had no right.
either moral or legal, to bring about
such a calamity.
"If the farmers have no such rights,
those who handle their products have
no such rights"
Hope springs eternal, and it is now
the turn of the peace treaty compro-
misers to hope that their efforts will
be crowned with success in the near
future. President Wilson's latest let
ter 10 Senator Hitchcock on the sub
ject,. apparently written before Vis-