The Carlisle independent., 1920-04-22
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
The Railroad Strike
(By J. E. Jones'

The Railroad Strike
 When the railroad law was enacted by which the roads were returned to private ownership, a definite feature of the law provided for arbitration of wage disputes. There was created under the law a wage tribunal to be appointed by the president. In this manner an entirely orderly proce- dure was evolved for the readjustment of wages of railroad workmen.
 Since the railroad brotherhoods, who have been in charge of the in- terests of their 2.000,oO0 members, were parties to the legislation pro vided in the Esch-Cummins bill, and since the leaders of these great broth erhoodS have in no way approved of a strike of railroad employees, and since they are agreed to abide by the decrees of the arbitration board-the origin of the outlaw" strike is diff cult to trace.
 The President, the Director General Of the Railroads and Congress used every precaution to prevent any dis turbance among railroad employees during the processes of reconstruction of the railroads themselves. There fore strike of wide proportions among railroad employees seems to be inexplainable, particularly in view of the fact that the Brotherhood leaders and Mir. Gompers and the American Federation of Labor are found to be protesting vigorously against the dis obedience of their own members.
 Organized labor has prided itself upon it's ability to live up to its agree ments The leaders of the Brother hoods have doubtless been entirely conscientious in their attempts to play fair with the railroads and to justify the confidence of the American peo- pie in their belief that the railroad men would abide by their agreement and permit the settlement of the wage controversy by the machinery devised for it's settlement. But now the Amer jeans find that the promise made by the railroad leaders is not in reality an agreement. since there is a strike among railroad men that is not only a strike against the railroads, but a strike as well against the duly con stituted leaders of railroad unions. The chiefs of the Big Four Broth erhoods are among the most vigor ous of all parties concerned in de- nouncing the outlaw railroad strike. They feel-and they have made their position clear that organized labor is in great danger of losing the conf denee of the American people, and they properly fear that railroad em- ployes organizations will lose their tremendous power as a result of such performances among strikers. MT. Gompers has pointed out that the American working man has gathered the big profits out of the structure of organized labor. This is undoubt- edly a fact. and the selfish interests as well as the ideals of American la bor are more at stake in a strike of this kind than are the interests of the railroads or the interests of the pub lie, since strike of thlS Kind Is eS- sentially an outlaw affair having be- hind it the sinister shadow of social political and industrial disorder. In such a crisis in their affairs the Amer ican workingman who had builded to better conditions through the power ful force of organized labor can hard ly fail to turn against the strikers in his own ranks who are carrying on an almost meaningless but thoroughly destructive contest against the rail- roads. There can be no outcome of such condition other than that of harm to the cause of organized labor. This is unfortunate since organized labor has gained strength as well as actual recognition throughout Amer ica in recent years.