The labor world., 1921-12-17


Put Soft Pedal on.
The soft pedal was put on the
rulin| OF the board when it was
held that eight hours would be the
basic day. but that overtime pay
would not start until after ten hours,
which means that the cight-hoilr day
will be ignored by the roads and
section men will return to pre-war
conditions. They have driven back
10 nOrIAalcv.
Durin" the threatened railroad
strike the Big Four Brotherhoods
were ruundlv scored by railway ex-
ec:'tlve:S for showing lack of respect
fer the government. The labor board
had made Il decision affecting the
E:c:, and managers held they should
accept it in GOOD grace. The news
papers took the railroad end of it
;:!ll uI,."-l to the scoring.
They arc Not Fair.
But they are not fair now. any
n'"rt l1"H they were when strike
was threatening. Last week the
pcnnsylv2nia road refused to abide
/, \ decision Of the railroad labor
board, and its officers went into a
'r'.cial court and asked for an or
der AGAINST the United States rail-
r"aG labor board restraining it from
publishing a decision finding that
road guilty of violating rules lad
d"'Nn r.. the board.
Federal Judge Lands issued a
temporary Injunction on the grounds
that publication of the boards rul-
ing would 'cause dissatisfaction and
disSenti"n in the ranks of employees"
The board decided the Pennsyl-
vania violated it's DEGREES by refus-
ing to allow union representatives
to confer with railroad executives
On ':in,lCl: Of working cci1ai siUns
The unions alleged there was an
election held in Pennsylvania shops
for members of a committee to meet
employers. The Pennsylvania would
not rccOGniZe union representatives,
thus violating a ruling Of the board.
Ilam-Strung Papers.
There has not been a word from
ham strung newspaper in the coun-
try against the Pennsylvania Off
ci-ls for their fight on the railroad
labor board. They are not scoring
the rail officials as they did the rail
unions. They are not telling them
to respect government authority and
play the game in accordance with
the letter and spirit of the Esch-
CumlrinS act. They are reserving
their seedlings for the next big rail-
road labor break
At Washington the railroads are
coming in for strong criticism by
members Of congress on account of
the manner by which. costs of op-
Grafton and maintenance are multi
piled through railroad supply COM
panies in which rail officials have
d pecuniary interest, and arc fat
tening off purchases from them by
the railroads.
Some Big r. II. Graft.
DR.. Frank H. Warne, economist
for the hrotherhoods, charged be-
fore the senate committee on inter-
state commerce that these railway
supply companies and they are num-
bercd into thousands have reported
huge surplus earnings to be added
to their already accumulated sur
plus secured through high prices
to the railroads for supplies pur-
chased,
Railway managers, the witness
charged, are holding on to theil
sources of graft while they are
pleading With the public to demand
vase cuts for workers to prevent
insolvency for carriers.
The witness reviewed investiga
tiOns recently cundlctcd into sup.
ply contracts by the interstate com
mCrce commission. showing that &
number of reads had imposed heavy
costs upon the government during
the period Of Federal guarantee.
Repair Costs aie Multiplied.
Eel airs in private shops, the wit
ness said, cost many times what the
Same work would have cost in the
cu.NDany's own shops.
Tho striking fact revealed by the
cr:2::!isSirn's investigation, Mr.
Narnc added, is that ''hundreds Of
engines We're repaired by the Bald
Win locomotive Works during the
period Of private operation but un
der government guarantee of tht
standard RETURN"
None of the locomotives, he point
ed out. was sent there during the
Federal control period immediatel!
preceding, nor were any sent afte1
the guarantee period terminated.
In 1920 the railroads paid two ant
arhalf times the preWar pricess fo1
( locomotives. more than three times
the preWar prices for steel cars ant
213 pc" cent more for composite
cars. Passenger coach prices in
creased 2lS per cent. These tremen
dous increases are reflected, the wit
ness SAID. in the financial state
q nents of the favored supply con
Germs, and indicate where the rail
reads money has gone. 81
The United States Steel company
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