The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-18

! measure to the effect of the outlaw.
 strike. although adding that. in small | rart, it is occasioned by other labor
 difficulties. These other difficulties
 arg based upon the refusal of some | employees to work more than two or Eti.ree days a week. However, this diff | ficulty could be overcome if 1t were possible to secure the cars. The cars and other equipment are in the yards
 ia plenty. Sometimes the remark Is | made that the railroads are now suf-
 feIing for the lack of cars and equip
 Rent, but at present a large number
 of cars are in the yards and there is equipment in plenty, especially loco
 motives, for the movement of cars if | it were possible to move them. By al.d by. when conditions approach nor- nisi, railroad companies must secure many new cars. although there is some doubt respecting the ability to
 find the labor in sufficient amounts for the building of these cars. But at present there are cars in plenty for tie movement of the necessaries of life, provided only they can be han d-ea. Relief must speedily come or the situation may become very serious. Some way must be found whereby the cars can be moved so that there can be transportation of the necessaries of f of the west to the various markets. There should be some modification of a report made in this column a few days ago in which 1t was said that many of the coal miners were work ing no more than three days week.
 Mary are working much less time tran that. but that is nor due to unwill-
 ingness to work, but chiefly to the Inability to secure cars for the haul
 ing of coal. Unless there be such re- lice as will enable the industries to secure coal necessary for their opera
 ton, it may be that within short
 tine many of them will be compelled
 to shut down. Therein is to be found
 tl,e crux of the situation. which is the method sg which the large number of cars now idle chiefly because of the
 strike can be so utilized as to trans Fort the commodities to the markets where they are needed.
 THEY ARE WILLING TO WORK
 There is however. another side to tne picture which Illustrates dispo- stion of some of tho workingmen Of the United States to give no more than few hours a week 70 production. Al concrete example may be here reported of this disposition to idleness. At one of the very large refining centers on the Texas coast the managers learned some time ago that many of the em- rioyes were coming from their homes t0 the refineries in so-calied "flivver" cars of which they were the owners. Ihe management built a shed that would accommodate sifty cars. but that was not enough. Another shed was built, and still another. until now there stand upon the ground of this refining plant sheds capable of accommodating nearly 800 cars. And these sheds are in full use two and three times week.
 The management does not object to the ownership and operation of these small cars by the employees but it Is seriously concerned ever the dispos- ticn of the workinginen to labor only few hours each week. They drive their own flivvers to and from work. lat the average work performed by each of these laborers is only twenty eight hours a week. On the whole, however, industrial labor throughout t0e United States is willing. eveni anxious, to work, but there does not seem to be enough Of it. Some of the leaders in industry ale hoping that large immigration will begin speedily and be continued until the shortage of unskilled labor in the United States is overcome.