The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-03-14
Unions Want
RR. RATES CUT
3rotherhoods Will Demand That
Roads Reduce Tariffs Before
Cutting Workers Wages.
BY NORMAN HAPGOOD.

In the railway wage dispute the
unions have decided on their first
line OF defense. They have taken the
advice OF eminent counsel. and have
decided to fight on the. theory that
they have an equity by which the
roads are bound.
MUST SLASH RATES.
The roads were allowed the pres
ent rates on condition that wages
should be raised to where they are
now. Therefore, lowering of the
rates must precede any lowering of
wages. and the lowering of rates
must be to the full extent of the in
crease permitted.
Such Is the theory on which the
legal tight of the unions will be
made. --.-
The difficulty in making any prog
ress in the railway wage dispute is
in the distrust that each side has of
the other. Labor feels that the capt.
talists are out to do up the unions
that labor will not do anything to-
ward lowering costs of operation.
Everybody here Is afraid OF the
subject, but it is being given more
serious consideration than any other
domestic topic. When President
Harding had his first general COL
sultation at dinner last Monday
nothing was given out about rail-
roads. but among the guests were
the chairman Of the Senate commit
tee and the chairman designate OF
the House committee that have es-
pecially to do with the railroad p.)b-
lem-
MESSAGE LIKELY.
When Congress meets in special
session next month it is expected that
the President will send in a message
on the railroad question. Senator
Cummins will introduce his bill fore
ing the roads into combinations by
zones, with rates so fixed that the
weak roads are kept alive by the
strong ones.
1t is known, however, that Senator
Cummins and nearly everybody else
concerned realizes that such changes
are merely last moment efforts to
save private ownership, and that
Government control is inevitable.
Some of the newspapers, have re-
ceived the moveme mt described by me
two days ago as II it were similar to
the Plumb plan. That is to, miss the
most important element OF the new
plan, which is to avoid the delay, liti-
CATION and high cost of taking the
roads under the right of eminent do
main, by the device OF a holding COM
pany which would enable the owners
of the railroads to get out of dangers
voluntarily while the getting is good.
The whole conception is based on
the belief that even the fnanciers
themselves are about ready to face
The inevitable and welcome a. smooth
path to security.
OF course, 1t comes hard to the
financiers. They have been accus-
TONED to using the railroads as an
essential part of their control OF in
dustry and finance in general. II
they loosen their grips on the roads,
there will be scarcely a big industry
n the United States on which their
strip will not thereby be loosened.
In connection with the payment of
1870, 0O0, 900 to the roads out of the
public treasury. now facing us, II is
charged by the brotherhoods that the
roads have been diverting repairs
from their own shops to help repair
shops, with which they financially
overlap, do the work at higher cost.
The controversies over the use Of
heater and refrigerator cars to favor
the larger shippers at the expense of
the smaller ones is fresh in our mem
cries. II the financiers give up will
ingly all their indirect power, it is
because they think they have to.
STEAM AGE NEAR ITS END.
The age Of steam will be one hun
dred years old in 1880. Perhaps 1t
will be celebrated. A railroad presi-
dent told me the other day that before
this centenary of steam is reached
the steam age will have come to an
end. The roads are fighting against
many enemies. but the greatest of
these are electricity and oil.
And their old enemy. water, Is after
them hard again. President Averil L.
Hartman, of the American Ship and