The Cordova daily times., 1921-05-18
RAILWAYSAND EMPL0YES ON
 EVE OF FIGHT
BY COL. WINFIELD JONES

railway wage board and the president are able to compromise the differences between the workers and the roads. The case may be stated in a few words. The roads claim that wages must be reduced or they cannot pay dividends on the immense capital invested in the lines. They are plan ming for huge wage cuts all along the line. The workers, while ac- knowledging that they are now re- ceiving larger salaries than ever be- fore, claim these increases in wages have hardly kept pace in their pay will mean hardships, as long as the present high cost of living is not re- duced. The roads claim that the (high cost of living has been reduced and is still being reduced slowly but gradually, and this fall in the prices of necessities warrants a reduction in the scale of wages. That is the case in nutshell.
 Hundreds of thousands of railway workers who are unorganized are practically at the mercy of the roads when wage reductions are decided upon. But not so the four big
 brotherhOods. These organizations are even more powerful than the American Federation of Labor and are better organized and better man. aged than the federation. They are so organized that they can tie up the whole transportation system of the country on short notice after strike vote is taken. The fear of this is the only thing that has prevented the roads from immediately making dras- tic cuts in wages in every class, and these reductions would probably have
 begun soon after the armistice
 Nine months ago the railroad wage board fixed the wages of the workers The roads at that time accepted the scales as announced by the board The brotherhoods accepted the scales after some delay Now the roads pro- pose to cut many of these wage
 scales. The workers refuse to accept
 the reductions. They threaten a
 strike, nationwide in scope. if reduc-
 tions are made. The wage board
 knows thats if wages are not cut the
 roads will be operating very soon
 with great deficit which means ulti-
 mate receiverships and bankruptcy.
 The workers claim, however, that the
 roads are aextravagantly managed and
 that more than a billion dollars a
 year could be saved by economical
 management
 ! If the wage board reduces the
 wages the workers declare they will
 have to strike to enforce their de-
 mands. Some of the workers oppose
 a strike
 There is one argument against the
 workers. That is that wages in prac-
 tically all other industries are fall
 ing and have been reduced steadily 1 d
 If strike occurs the government
 will have to step in and take posses
 sion of the lines. This will have to
 be done by a special act of congress-
 The administration and congress will
 not allow the whole country to be
 tied up by strike Such a situa-
 tion would not and could not be per
 mitted to develop.
 i If the government is forced to take
 control, as during the war, the first step toward permanent government
 ownership will have been taken, and
 the advocates of the Plum plan will
 have won the preliminary skirmish in i their battle for government owner ship. There are thousands of citizens who believe in government owner ship, and on the other hand thous-
 ands are opposed to it. If the strike occurs there is no other solution ex- cept government control, even if it be only temporary.
 DUH WOrkerS ana rOaQS are appeal
 ing now in various ways for public
 support. In general it may be said
 that the public does not now care
 rap about the dispute. The public,
 however, will care very much if
 strike occurs and the whole transpor-
 tation system is disorganized Public
 opinion will then soon force con-
 gress to immediately settle the con-
 troversy either by fixing new wages
 by legislative enactment, which how
 ever, is unlikely, or by the govern
 ment taking over operation of the troads.
 Many congressman are opposed to government control They recall the
 fizzle made by the government during
 the war in handling the roads. Otharc GOV bowouor klot tl1 ,,o,