The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1921-04-07
BY NORMAN HAPGooD,

BY NORMAN HAPGOOD,
Washington, April A new move
will be made in the labor situation
Monday. The 16 railroad craft unions
plus the maintenance men will send
a sizzling hot telegram from Chicago
to President Harding most urgently
requesting that he see a committee
representing the men. If he accedes
to the request the committee will
reach Washington Thursday. The
purpose is to get the point Of view
Of the men L28ore the president as
far as possible ahead of the meet
ing OF congress, and before any fur
Their steps are taken toward commit
ting the administration on the rail-
road policy to be favored.
Unless the situation changes sud
denly, which does not seem likely,
this telegram will foreshadow the
line of argument to be taken at the
meeting, if the meeting is granted.
The men feel that's the administra-
ton is seeing many representatives
of capital and few or none of labor
They feel that great deal of thought
is given to the preditament of the
roads and no thought whatever to the
predicament of the men.
Their Proposition.
Their proposition will be flat
argument that unskilled labor has a
right to wage that means a decent
American standard of living. They
challenge any statement that the
present wage does more than give
such standard. They accept as
the standard the figures Of the de-
partment of labor and they welcome
any investigation to show that the
lower grades OF labor which they be-
lieve are particularly aimed at by
the railroad managers at present, are
able to live on the department of la
Dor standard on any less wages than
they have.
The refusal of the president to
bring about a meeting between the
road managers and the men on q
national scale was not responsible
for this decision, although it has had
a tendency to confirm #. 1t has been
in process Of formation for several
days. 1t is based simply on an ap-
peal to figures, including a denial that
the cost of living has shown essential
decrease and it drives straight at the
question Of what is an American
standard of living.
Here Are Some Figures.
Look at some Of the figures. On
! the roads north Of the Potomac and
/! the Ohio and east of Chicago, 40 per
| cent of the business Of the roads
! is coal. 1t is the most profitable
part Of the traffic. 1t is almost the
| only part where efficiency prevails.
| One derrick sometimes picks up 100
| tons and drops it into the hold Of a
| steamer One train sometimes car
| ries $500 tons.
| Who uses the coal? The house
| holder very little Of it. The railroads
themselves use from 25 to 35 per cent.
of it. Therefore, the coal situation
hits them both ways. Coal at the
| mouth Of the pit today costs two or
| three times as much as it did, before
| the war. That hits the roads. Coal
| is not moving and that hits them still
harder.
| 1t is a bad joke on supply and de-
mand that though coal is not
moving prices remain two or three
times the pre-war prices. 1t remains
first mortgage on the welfare Of US
all.
ldieness Ruins
The miners have a good deal Of the
time lately been working less than &c
hours a week. That dleness ruins
the railroads and ruins the rest OF
u.s. It ruins the railroad employees.
There Is only one answer to the
railroad problem and the rest is
chariantry. Wages per day near
nothing 1t is earnings per year that
count. Until the mines and the rail
roads guarantee regularity OF en-
ployment their troubles will remain
and the real cost Of living still stay
up Only regularity Of employment
can insure regularity OF production
The mine owners and the railroad
managers do not like the idea of gov.
eminent ownership. Very we'll lie
them give another if they can. Some
body has 70, to take the lead to-
ward making production and ever
employment continuous.
! Adjustment Of the census bureau AM
creation in its stead Of bureau of sta
tistics which would handle all of TIL
nations statistical work is being con
sidered by the administration as a par
| of the plan for the reorganization o
! government DEPARTMENTS.
|
| HUTCHINSON SETS RECORD.
Pinehurst, n. c., April 4.-JocI
Hutchinson, Of the Glen View club. O
Chicago, established competitiv
I record Of 60 for the difficult numbe
three course here today, playing hi
second round IN the north and sout
open golf championship. Hutchin
son tied with George .Frotheringhan
L., h