The Washington herald., 1921-07-30
FURTHER WACECUT
FOR RRAILROAD MEN
WHL Be SOUGHT
Officials Desire to Bring
Matter Directly to
Test.
WANT EQUAL RATES
Claim Pay Should Be Same
Scale as in Outside
Industry,
WANT EQUAL RATES

NEW YORK. July 29.-Applica-
tion to the United States Railroad
Labor Board for another general re-
duction in wages Is to be expected
in the comparatively near future.
according to opinion expressed oy
railroad officials here yesterday.
= While some executives favor a de-
Law in this action until the latter
oart of the year. there is an evident
desire on the part of other officials
to bring the matter to the test d.
rectIy. 1t is believed that the ef-
forts of the executives will be di-
rected toward obtaining from the
board an admission that the rate
Of pay in the various grades OF the
railroad industry should be the
same as the going wage in outside
industries in each section OF the
country where the lines operate.
The chief item before the board
at the present time is the question
Of disputes which have arisen out
Of the attempts to set up individuaI
contracts between the manage
-leuts Of the several systems and
the workers thereon. Once this
matter has been cleared up It is
believed likely that little time VIII
be lost in launching another drive
AZ lower wages, 1t will be recalled
that the last wage decision of the
board took away but half of the
increase granted July 20, 1920. The
opinion among railroad officials
generally Is that efforts should be
started to recover the remaining
half.
On the question of the applica-
ton of the added revenues realized
through another wage cut approx
mating 10 to 20 per cent there Is
some difference of opinion evident
here. In some quarters IL Is ad-
mitted that the logical result of the
saving should be a return to the
public through a percentage reduc-
tion in freight rates and the elimf-
nation of some of the excess on pas
senger rates. Officials who hold to
this belief base their argument on
The fact that SUFFICIENT instances Of
Individual rate reductions have been
recorded to eliminate the inequalt-
ties apparent at the termination Of
Federal control.
Other railroad officials are OF the
opinion that the savings, which are
obtained by the roads. should in
arge measure be turned back into
funds with which to push repair
work on bad order freight cars.
These interests admit that adjust
ments downward in certain classes
4 freight rates should be continued
n individual cases in justice to the
manufacturer and shipper. 1t Is
understood that the question of ap-
sealing to the Labor Board has been
under discussion for some time. and
t is believed that the clearing up
Of the uncertainties surrounding
rules and working conditions will
place the larger systems in a posi-
lion where they can go before the
board with a definite proposition
There is cosiderable rather caus-
tic comment to be heard in local
railroad circles regarding the atti-
tude of the Labor Board to the
question of national agreements.
The feeling here is that the board
should be given a chance to make
4 ruling on the disputes which have
been certified to by the workers and
the managements of the several
systems. but should the decision
prove unsatisfactory to the, rail-
roads there Is more than an inti-
nation that this will be the signal
for concerted action on the part
Of the larger carriers Throughout
the county.