The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-10-21
THE RAILROAD CRISIS

The prospective railroad strike
brings an issue before the country
that is of grave concern to the whole
people. 1t is an economic as we'll as
an industrial issue, and upon its
proper settlement depends much of
our future welfare. 1t cannot be con-
sidered merely as labor dispute, for
it involves government and business,
finance and trade, production and
transportation, and in it's many ram
ifications penetrates not only every
avenue of the Industrial center but to
every town, village and farm. This is
so because transportation is the pri-
mary essential of all industry, of all
production and of all commerce, and
all of these sooner or later collapse
when transportation is. paralyzed. 1t
is therefore necessary to consider
this impending strike as q national
crisis that cannot possibly be limited
to its industrial phases, that must, on
the contrary, be viewed as one in
which the economic issue is para
mount.
The war impressed upon the people
of this country as never before the
necessity of adequate transportation
facilities; that we not only must have
railroads but that they must be going
concerns, maintaining sufficient SER
vice for the needs of the country and
developing facilities in step with re-
gional and national requirements. 1t
was further recognized that the well
fare of the people demanded that this
service be continuous, uninterrupted.
An attempt was made to apply these
lessons in concrete form in the Trans
portation Act of 1920, which author
lied and commanded the Interstate
Commerce Commission to establish
such rates as would give to the rail-
roads taken as a whole a reasonable
net return upon the actual values of
their properties, and which created a
Labor Board to have supervision Of
industrial disputes between the rail-
roads and their employees, with view
to the establishment of justice in the
settlement Of such disputes, and no
less to the maintenance of uninter-
rupted service. Under this law the
Interstate Commerce Commission ad-
vanced railroad rates and the Labor
Board advanced wages, both being
considered necessary, in the circum-
stances of the time, to achieve the pur-
pose of the law. In general these acts
were accepted by the country without
complaint, being justified by the con-
ditions and being in conformity with
the letter and the spirit of the law.
But conditions have been reversed
since then. Prices at that time were
at the crest, and the demands of trade
were such that the additions to the
cost of transportation were hardly felt
The depression that set in soon after
these rates and wages were estab- |
lished nullified to large extent, If |
not entirely. the effort of the Inter-
state Commerce Commission to pro-
vide the railroads with sufficient rev.
enue to give them a fair return on
their properties, while at the same
time the rates established for this pur-
pose became an increasing burden up
on the commerce of the country now
sorely pressed for bare existence. IN
der the altered conditions the rail-
roads, even with the higher rates,
were failing to earn net income,
some of them not even operating ex-
penses, and with credits checked were
in dire distress.
Approaching this situation, and in
view of the somewhat lowered costs
of living, the Railroad Labor Board
felt justified in ordering 10 per cent
reduction in wages, effective July of
this year. Under this order the rail-
roads have begun to report net in
comes. But in the meantime a de-
mand for lower railroad rates has
been increasing in extent and vehe-
mence, particularly from the agricul-
tural sections, and it has become more
and more apparent that reduction of
rates is necessary to the business re-
vival which is essential to the welfare
Of all classes of people. To meet this
demand the railroads, are proposing
a further reduction of railroad wages,
which would restore the scale to about |
what it was when the advance was
made by the board, and a correspond I