The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1921-04-02
RAILROADS BACKING OPHN
SHOP,

The strategy Of the leaders Of or.
ganized railway workers in calling
General Atterbury, T. Dewitt Cuyler
and other officials before the RAILROAD
Labor Board has been justified by re-
suits. Ont Of the mouths Of these gen.
Element it has been established that the
present drive against wages and work
ing agreements is not, as has been
stated, in the interest of economical and
efficient management, but in pursuance
Of the program Of the Morgan-con-
trolled industries to disrupt labor Or
CARNATIONS and reduce workers to a
state Of abject subsection.
Cuyler is Morgan's handy man in
railroad matters. Atterbury has been:
his messenger boy. They have testi-
fed, somewhat reluctantly, to be sure,
that a majority Of the members Of the
labor committee Of the. Railway Execu-
tive Association, composed Of represen-
tatives Of all Glass / railroads, were
averse to abrogating national agree
ments. This committee reported in
favor of their continuance, regarding
them as agencies for the promotion of
peaceful and harmonious relations be-
tween employers and employees.
But Atterbury was persistent. He
filed three minority reports favoring
the scrapping Of working agreements,
and when these reports were submitted
to the railroads they were approved by
small majority. Then was launched
the campaign to discredit organizations
Of workers and mislead the public into
the false belief that they were respon-
sible for the disastrous debacle in trans
portation.
It is significant that half Of the
railroads are satisfied to continue the
national agreements. That seems to
disprove the charge of Cuyler and At
terbury that they interfere with the
successful operation Of the carriers. If
half Of the roads have no just cause
for complaint, it is a reasonable as
sumption that the other half are de-
iberately disappearing conditions
for an Interior purpose.
Color is given this assumption by
the sworn testimony of Atterbury that
the Pennsylvania railroad is opposed
to organizations and has maintained an
elaborate system Of spying and espion-
age to discourage the organizing Of it's
workers.
It has been charged from the begin.
ming that the Morgan group Of bankers
had conspired against workers. organ.
izations and were using the railroads
for their own selfish purpose. Wher-
ever Morgan has influence intolerabIe
labor conditions obtain. He maintains
the 12-heur day in the steel industry
and employees murderous gunmen to
maintain state of feudalism in West
Virginia and Alabama, where he is a
dominating factor in the production Of
coal. His present purpose is to estab-
fish in the transportation industry the
unhealthy and barbarous conditions
that have persisted in steel and Goa!
until they have become national re-
proach and scandal.
All this is being brought out in the
proceedings before the railroad labor
board. The public is getting a clearer
conception Of the underlying facts III
the present struggle. Thus is propa-
ganda overtaken by slow-moving but
memorable truth.
All the millions Of words of lies be-
ing disseminated by the propagandists
Of brutal employers will not serve to
permanently blind the people to the
facts upon which final judgment will
be based.
Morgan and his lieutenants are play
ing their last desperate game, and they
will fail, as they deserve to fail. For
them to win would mean that justice
has gone out Of the world and that
mankind is slipping back to the misty
age of serfdom.
PROTECTED PRoFITEERs.
MI cyI