The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1921-10-28
RAIL HEADS
PROVOKED
RIkEv0T E
HAVE DECEIVED PUBLIC BY IN.
TERRITORIAL AND INsIDIOus
MISREPRESENTATION
OF FACTS
Want to Make It Appear That COL
lapse Of Private Ownership IL
Due To High Wages Paid
Employees

A general strike called by the
Railroad Brotherhoods may have
been tactical blunder. The psycho-
logical effect upon public sentiment
may be distinctly unfavorable to
them. But IL the facts were generally
known the reaction might be quite
the opposite.
The responsibility for provoking
the strike rests square.y upon the
shoulders OF the Railroad Executives,
who by their intentional and insid-
ious misrepresentations have deliber-
ately deceived the Public as to the
facts. particularly as to the wages
they are paying their employees and
have made 1t appear that the reason
for the collapse for private owner.
ship is entirely due to the high wages
demanded by their employees. This
is absolutely false.
The oihcfal figures issued by the
U. s. Railroad Labor Board show
that the Railroad workers, instead
OF enjoying undue prosperity have
been receiving an average wage Of
only $685.. per annum, which has
now been cut 1912 percent and
reduced to $14S4. or less than $2s,
per week. AS against this the mini
mum standard of comfort on which
the average man can support himself
and his family has been hxed by tho
Bureau Of Applied Economics At
$4,000 per annum.
Do the Railroad Executives mean
that they are unwilling to pay their
employees y living wage or that they
cannot do SO and operate the Rail-
roads successfully?
Under these circumstances It is no
wonder that the threat of Z further
cut Of 10 percent percipitated .
tMke.
Railroad wages increased only SO
percent (this has now been cut 1919
percent) between 1914 and 1920, but
the cost Of fuel. furnished BY the coal
companies owned and controlled BY
the Railroad Executives has insreas-
ed 500 percent during the Same
period. Why? Because when the Rail-
roads were ordered to Technically
segregate their coal properties from
the Railroad interests the insiders
srasped this golden opportunity to
organize coal companies Of their
own. who raised the price Of coal to
fabulous figures. sold It back to the
Railroads and pocketed tho differ
ence. Then they shamelessly turned
around. unloaded the deficits arising
from these and many other similar
transactions upon the Government
under the pernicious guarantees con-
talned In the Esch Cummins Law,
collected these amounts from the tax
payers. and are now demanding an
other 100000. 900. from the long
suffering public through capitalizing
their debts and requiring that the
War Finance Corporation (on behalf
Of the Federal Government) guaran-
tee their bonds.
Do the people realize that not =
single, railroad has ever psid OF =
single bond? Do they know that no
sinking funds have ever been set
aside for this purpose? And that the
Railroads today have no intention of
ever doing SO?
Does the individual railroad bond
holder realize that the only chance
he has Of collecting his principal 70
By selling. hi sbonds 70 another In
dividYsAtass sdssorsnt - himself!
And fiHali1s docs the man on the
street know TIT the Railroad en-
pisysss instead Of receivinG the high
coatiausd % lass eas