The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1921-02-18

Coercion Must Cease.
Washington, Feb. The strike threat
OF the railroad brotherboods of Chicago
differs little from the train Of similar
gestures INDUCED in by the leaders of
those organizations in the last FIVE
years." declares the Republican Pub.
licity Association, through it's prssi.
dent, Hon. Jonathan Bourne. .Jr.
Strike threats have been made to
coerce the Railroad Administration
the President, Congress, and even the
Supreme Court. Now the demonstra-
ton Is leveled at the Railway. Labor
Board assembled to adjust the diffsr
ences between the railroad executives
and their employees The former strike
threats came when the country Vas
either exerting itself to furnish supplies
to the allies. to wage war VI its O n,
or to recover from the effec OF that
conflict. With those abnormal indus.
trial situations az fulcrum, the
brotherboods were able to $50 the
strike as lever to compel acquiescence
to their demands. Conditions are still
abnormal but in different way
Thousands of men are out of work, and
the strike threat loses much of it's
effectiveness when it ia realized that ii
would not be difficult to fad men to
take the places of all strikers who chose
to remain away from their duties.
Arrogance of the brotherhoods, be
ginning with the passage of the Adam
son law in 1916. submitted to by q
Democratic Congress, contributed ma
terially to the signal defeat Of that
party last November. The American
people were tired of seeing their public
officials bowling meekly TO each new
demand Of an insignificant minority OF
their number. Wilson'S consisten,
course Of spineless submission had beer
aggravating in the extreme. In An
gust, 1916, came the Adamson law
nothing more or less than wage in.
crease. So indignant was one patriotic
Democrat, the President pro-tempors OF
the Senate, at the holdup of Congress,
that he refused to sign the measure,
In March, 1917, on the eve Of our
entrance into the war, came another
strike threat, this time because of the
delay of the Supreme Court in render
ing decision on the constitutionality
of the Adamson law. It was upheld by
a vote of to d.: What the brother.
hoods would have done had the decision
been otherwise can only be conjectured
In December Of the same year the
brotherhoods submitted new demands
with hint OF a strike il mott complied
/ with! Soon thereafter the reads were
taken over by the Government shhd
4 then followed long, series of wage ad
vances willingly granted by Director
General McAdoo practically whenever
equested by the employees tn An.
gust, 1919, came q strike that tied up
everything in the vicinity OF, Chicago,
and spread over the country, and in
April. 1920, the nation was treated tc
the notorious outlaw strike, centering
in Chicago and seriously affecting oul
entire transportation system.
Practically every one of those
strikes and tn reatened strikes Was tt
enable the employees Of the road I,
keep pace with the ris ny cost 81 living
Such an argument was inherently falls
and without q semblance Of justice
The United States had to pay billion
Of dollars for the war. and every Doc,
had to sacrifice accordingly.
THE pea of the brotherhood leader
for those wage schedules is even nor
reprehensible today than it was whe
originally granted. Defistion il tskin
place all along the line. The price OF
practically every product IL falling an
taking down with it the rate Of wages
that entered into it's production. Tb
rail wage schedules alone have nc
suffered, being protected by an arb
trary and artificial arrangement know
as the National Agreement, which th
roads themselves are prohibited by la'
from abrogating. The Labor Boar
: will have the solid support Of the con
munity IL it orders the lowering {
wage rates inordinate when granite
and now almost the sole remainin
portion Of our industrial structure tht
has not yielded to the forces of defi'
ton.