Evening star., 1921-10-25

A good deal Of light on the view
points of .the railroad men who
threaten to strike october 80 and of
their employers is thrown by letters
published last week in the Chicago
Evening Post. The first letter is from
q veteran railroad conductor, who
says that in the present instance. for
the first time in his life. he is in
favor Of going on strike. The sec
ond letter, published u few days later.
is by Marvin Hughitt, chairman Of
the Chicago and Northwestern, in
| which the statements of the conduc.
tor are taken up and answered and
| arguments presented to show that a
strike at this time is unwarranted.
Veteran Conductors Letter.
| The veteran conductor" writes as
follows:
'-To the Editor of the Post:
| Believing in the honesty and fair
ness of the Post, I am writing these
lines with the hope that the public
will receive them through your valued
paper.
Il have been in the operating de-
partment of one of the great railroad
systems of this country for over
freight conductor and passenger con-
ductor. and have been a member OF
the Order of Railway Conductors
since my promotion in 1897. In all
that time we have never had strike,
and on the two occasions strike
a strike, so neither l nor the organi-
ization can be called radical. but in
the present instance I am absolutely
in favor of strike of the transpor-
( tation brotherhoods II the roads in
sist on further reductions at this time.
This is the only time I have ever
Iseen the old-timers lined up to a man
on this proposition, and I want to tell
you 1t means lot to us who have
4 worked over quarter of century
under the Hughitt banner to take this
stand and break ties that have held
all these years. We have known and
respected our executive officials all OF
our working lives and know each 9TH
ways considered ourselves as of the
family, and it is hard to sever these
relations at this time, when many are
growing old and can do no more
work. and a possibility Of lean years
tbefore them, but we absolutely know
we are in the right in this matter and
We are willing to go far.
Conductor Not Well Paid.
"The passenger conductor IS not
we'll paid when one considers what is
required of him before he becomes a
passenger. conductor. We are paid
1872 per month of thirty days-$S.4O
per day. or 81 cents per hour. and ten
hours before any overtime accrues.
My necessary expenses away from
home amount to $50 per month. Some
spend less than this and some more.
Many runs compel man to be away
from home three-fourths of the time.
We were willing to take the cut of
July l. but certainly cannot take an
other one until the cost Of living has
gone down.
My rent was raised $50 per month
the last year. my shoes that former
" cost IS are now $10' $12 and SIS.
and not as good. either. Some gro
eeries went down little, but are
now going up again. Gas, electric
and telephone service went up. as did
street car fares. Before the war we
were paid $162 per month of twenty
fifteen days per year vacation. We
have lost that and work thirty-day
month instead of twenty-six. We are
expected to be diplomats and Chester
fields as we'll as having a perfect
knowledge of practical railroading.
which we learn in a hard school.
Nearly all the passenger conductors
Of today put in their apprenticeship
braking on freight trains in the days
of hand coupling and hand braking.
an occupation more hazardous than
warfare. as statistics prove.
Tho next time you board q train
size up the conductor and see If he
looks like a radical, and remember
that he has been on tho job from
twenty to forty-five years and has
never been in a strike Yours re-
ispectfully r."
In answering the conductors pres
entation of the case, Chairman
llughitt says:
Chairman HuEhItt Says.
TO Conductor r.:
I read with great interest your
letter published October 1s in the
Post ] regret that you did not sign
your name in full. SO that I might
address you personally.
Il notice you say that you are one
It the old-timers; that you have
worked for the railroad for over a
quarter Of a century. /. too. have
reer on the Northwestern. Next
April will have finished a half CEN
tury of uninterrupted service. Dur
ing all this period of time I have felt
that spirit of comradship existed
between the Northwestern employees
jand the executive officers. and have
cxerted every effort consistent with
my duties to the property, in the in
forest of the employees and in an ef-
fort to properly discharge the trans
portation obligations to the shipping
public
TT is with a mingled feeling Of re-
gret and sadness that I now learn
be, in the first zone of attack in an
effort to cripple and, if possible,
break down and destroy the system.
And may 7 ask what for? Why is
this attack made against the North