The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-01-30
ADJUSTMENT BOARDS
SHOULD BE CONTINUED
After Railroads Pass Out of Federal
Control in Order to Decide Con-
troversies, Says w. S.
Carter.

washington, ~. u, jan. oU.-oohliii-
nance after the end of federal control
of railroads of the boards of adjust
ments set up by the railroad admins
tration to decide controversies arising
under the application of wage orders
and in other disputes between the rail
roads and their employees was recon-
mended in the annual report OF " ,.
Carter, director Of the division OF la
Dor of the railroad administration.
1.-THE work of these boards" said Mr..
Carter, demonstrates not only the ad-
visibility of the creation OF such
boards, but the necessity of their con
tinuance The fact that the boards are
bipartisan without umpire or 'neu-
trail member and all of which members
are experts on railroad agreement mat
tiers, has led both officials and employees
to have confidence not only in the fair
ness of decision reached, but as to the
technical ability of the members OF the
board to pass intelligcntly on all con-
troversies submitted for decision.
Mr.. Carter reviewed the compare
lively small number of cases on all the
railroads in the country in which diff
ficulties have resulted in unauthorized
strikes in 1919 and pictured the work
of the division of labor of the railroad
administration in adjusting such con
troversies in connection with other
branches of the railroad administration.
Outlining labor conditions as he saw
them on railroads prior to government
control and the railroad labor situation
when government control OF railroads
began, Mr. Carter said
Zone OF the principal purposes of the
creation of the division of labor was
to provide means whereby the contro-
versies that constantly arise between
railroad officials and employees would be
promptly and equitably adjusted. An
inability to adjust these controversies
under past practices resulted in strikes,
threatened strikes, or a constant unrest
among employees to the extent that the
efficiency of the service had greatly
diminished at the time that the roads
were taken over under federal control.
During the two or three years ante
dating federal control of the railroads
an alarming situation was created In
that the employees organizations, as a
whole and through declarations, found
confronted with similar fed
erations on the part OF the railroads,
the roads being represented by confer
ence committees and the conference
being subordinate to 'ad-
visory committees 1t was alleged by
employees that these confereneel com
mittees of all of the principal railroads
in a district were not permitted to
grant the demands of employees, or even
to make favorable compromises, with
out the consent of the advisory COM
mittee. The advisory committee, it is
alleged, was the agent of the great
banking institutions that controlled the
financial policy of all the railroads.
"Arbtrations have been resorted to
in the later years with the result that
employees reached the conclusion that
an arbitration award depended entirely
upon the frame of mind of the neutral
arbitrator Persons selected to per
form this function were liberal in their
awards. in accordance with the liberal
ity of their minds when appointed upon
such arbitration boards.
Later, provisions were made for sub
hitting controversies over the applica
ton OF an arbitration award back to
the arbitration board or to some other
umpire, but this resulted in the con
tinuation of controversies over period
of two or three years.
cit may be truthfully said that at
the time the railroads passed under
federal control, because of these vexa-
tious contentious, the morale of rail
way employees had sunk TO a low de-
gree. In many instances there was an
entire absence of esprit de corps, so
necessary for efficient operation.
alt was with the knowledge of this
alarming situation; and with deter
mination to restore harmonious rela
tions between employees and the rail-
roads and thereby INCREASE the eiiicien-
CIV of the railroads that the division OF
labor of the railroad administration
was created
During the year 1919 a considerable
number of minor strikes occurred.
Practically all of which we're not au-
thorized by the organization OF which
the employees were members. \ major
proportion of these strikes was adjust
ed through the initiative of the division
Of labor.
at is believed that a vast majority
of these unauthorized strikes arose out
of the fact that the employees at these
local points did not fully understand
that proper tribunal had been created
bv the railroad administration to which
ali controversies should be referred and
that equitable decisions would be
reached hN such tribnnals'