The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1921-04-19
RAILROAD LABOR ECONOMIST
LACCK BRINGS CHARGES OF
COMBINATION OF CAPITAL.
Continued from Page one)

1916 hours in that month
Examples of what the report called
the lay-off policy were instanced
from Indianapolis. Los Angeles, Nash.
vile, Oswego, n. Y, Horton. Kan. Du
Buois, Pa. and Ottumwa la.
A report from Oswego, n. Y. charg-
ed that In March, 1919, the shop here
was full of steel flat cars (that was un-
der government controD and the fore
man only had about "a men cutting
them down. The rest of the men were
walking about doing nothing at all and
drawing their pay, but there was no
lay off then The government was
paying for it. and not the ~ Y C.
Now we have all kinds OF work and we
are laid off"
II was charged that in January al
Winston. Salem a foreman on the Nor
folk and Western was caught pulling
tags off bad order cars, while al Blue
field on the same line foremen were al
legged 10 have orders not to have de-
tective equipment repaired.
An Eckman. W. Va. letter from
railroad worker read: There is pull
I'd out of here every day cars with ne
brakes at ALL"
The report carried a statement charg.
ing that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Company with laying off car mechan-
les while ears are deliberately run
with cracked plates, cracked wheels
broken truck frames" and 70 other
specific kinds OF breaks.
BY far the most Illuminating fact
said the report, "in any attempt to es-
innate that lies back of these railroad
layoffs, is the fact that practically ali
Of the larger systems have been con.
tracing with outside concerns for re-
pair Of hundreds of locomotives and
thousands OF freight cars which would
normally be repaired in their own shops
and yards" a list of alleged outside
repair jobs included:
Union Pacific. repairs with Pacific
Gar and Foundry Company
Great Northern, with Seims-Strembel
Car Repairing Company
Louisville 4 Nashville. with Ameri-
can Car and Foundry Co, Jefferson
vile, Ind.
Michigan Central, with Illinois Car
Manufacturing Co, at Hammond Ind |
New York Central with A c. K F., |
Co., at Detroit, Ryan Car Co. Hege- |
wisch. H.; American Car G. Foundry |
Co. Depew, New York; Merchants Dis !
patch and Trans Co., East Rochester. |
n. Y.
Mr.. Lauck here named companies re- !
pairing cars for railroads. which he
said had been hiring carTepair mechan-
les whom the railroads laid off. He
save names OF some OF the workmen
and dates Of their transfers.
The report charged that the roads
new policy is to subcontract in order
10 remove from government control |
many of their men. Numerous repair
companies many OF them said to be
new concerns, were named as taking
over railroad repairs. These included:
Hornet Repair 4 Construction Co.
Hornell, n. Y. Erie work
Buffalo Steel Car Corporation work
for eight railroads, including the Penn
5ylvania and the Wabash
Manltowoc Shipbuilding Company.
Several small shipyardS
Burnham Car Repair Co. work Of
The Indiana Harbor Belt Lines.
Sems-Strembel Co. capitalized at
100000 at St. Paul
Empire Car Company at Kankakee,
H.
Phoenix Transit Co., whose president
lie report declared was the son of
President F. d. Underwood of the Erie
1ailroad.' The report said that this
company received the Eries haTbor
y sQrk
The report charged that the K. r.
owens Construction Company. main
aiming tracks betwen Hornell, y. Y,
md Jersey City took over an office
orce which consisted OF all the Off
ers and clerks ihe Erie had on the
iame work. They added fifteen per
'ent 10 the payfolls as over head ex-
'ense and Mr. q. Il. owens is reported
q have cleanel up $4,000 a month for
! period OF csle year. When there ap.
feared to be probability OF an invcsti-
;ation the contract was abolished
Figures We're presented which Mr.
-auck said showed that the total ex
'ess coA of equipment repairs made
inder contract by outside concerns has
'een sufficient 10 have paid all the
hop employees laid off throughou. the
'oIntry for full time work II was
iarged that the average price cinrg
a oy Baldwin Locomotive Works was
a pproximately four times the cox %
similar work done in railroad shops
This was for specific list of repair
Jobs done apparently in 1920. The re-
port here, however. estimated that 81
al the locomotive repair work IN the
country We're done by outside concerns
he cost OF the railroads would bo
about doubled. II gave the present ma
.lonal locomotive repair bill as a little
more than $500 900 600. /, charged that