New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1921-05-05
(AILWAY CHAOS IF
|%AGES Are SLICED
Employees Representative Warns
AGAINST This Action at Present

Chicago. May 5.-Argriments
rainst the wage reduction proposals
admitted to tho railway labor board
railway executives were summed
h today by n. NJ. Jewell. president
r. tho Railway Employees depart
rent OF tho American Federation OF
ahor, lie declared that for the
pard to order a wage reduction now
tould only bring the dispute over
Jfsw national working agreements
Hack before the board for determin-
4 lion "in a controversy OF redoubled
! Ipterneas and We should have con-
Milton To- utter chaos In the trans
klJrtation industry"
NEGOTIATIONS now in progress on
CIV working agreements to take the
slace of those recently set aside by
he board could never result in an
rrnemont before the day OF Judg-
/" Mr.. Jewell declared. IL new
S schedules arc established now
~ attempts are made to negotiate
10 new agreements OH the basis of
reduced wage.
we submit" Mr.. Jewell said. that
!hc board cannot make an Intelligent
nd fair decision Us to wage rates
Except IL re-nfiirms the prevailing
|ates. until tho new agreements have
been fixed and promulgated"
Il Neither carriers nor employees can
\tnow what WACO schedules mean or
mount TO until they know tho rules
D. which those schedules arc to be
u ppiied. wo must have our yardstick
before We can measure our cloth.
Nfanifeatly rail workers cannot be ex-
1ectcd or asked to accept n wage
Schedule when they have no
II NNEw at ~
Aoy arc to receive under that
rhedule.
IF tho railroad arrangements arc
hot utterly blind to their own selfish
Interests they will Join mo in request
Ing tho board TO withhold its decision
Ia the matter until we have the new
agreements. The delay viii not be
kasr than tho carriers themselves
"a havo shown there ls no econ
MIC justification for a reduction in
DC wages OF railroad workers. We
Yhvo shown that there have been no
kvnge reductions I'm tho basic indus
Sries that are comparable with the
transportation industry and have
Demonstrated that the changes I'm tho
rost OF living have not been sufficient
DO warrant n change in tho schedules
liked by the board IN July. 1920.
THE railroads. on the other hand
Lshve proved only that they are in
Financial straits. Thanks TO tho
methods OF tho financial buccaneers
N~ho have always controlled them.
they were hard up when the govern
Irncnt took them over during the war.
frhay were hard up when they were
Returned TO their former manage
hont. and they are hard UP today
despite the fact that they have re-
|eeivod moro than n billion and a half
dollars from the treasury fan over
GENEROUS people. and that they have
been given rate increases sufficient to
tcover everything except their own
profiigacy. And they will be hard up
until they are made tho servants OF
THE public instead OF the playthings
bf Wall street.
THE ability and inability OF the
riers 20 pay the present wage rates
|FPRA no bearing on this case and can
have no consideration I'm It's determin-
alton. but railroad management has
made 30 much OF this phase OF the
transportation problem and tho pub
lie has been permitted 10 hear so
little else that We cannot ignore the
issue.
Justice to railway employees. TO tho
carriers and tho pnblic In not con-
tingent upon the ability of the car
ricrs TO pay their labor costs. and n
return 10 normally In industry and
commerce does not wait upon a re-
duction i'm WACO schedules.
Tho real issue in this case Is the
wages OF man versus tho wages OF
money: and tho time has como for
the people OF this country to know
and understand that tho wages OF men
will never go back to pre-war poverty
levels.
1T Is time for those who do not
toll with their hands To understand
and accept the principle OF tho living
wage and to realize that the human
factor In industry Is tho predominant
vital force In the modern civilized
Korld.
Therefore we can rest our case Sc
NDre I'm the belief that tho rank and
file of railroad workers whom We
represent cannot and will not be de-
prived OF any measure OF the econom-
&c rights which are theirs because they
have earned them and because they
deserve them"