The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1921-04-19
nationwide COMBINATION
CONTROL ALL OUR INDUSTRIES

complete, in the past nine months
were more than 100000.
A letter from Ration, New Mexico
OF March IL last, charged that on the
Santa Fe, in January, after six ma
chinists had been laid off, the re-
naming machinists were worked over
time 1916 hours in that month.
Examples of what the report call
ed the lay-off policy" were instanced
from indianapolis, Los Angeles
Nashville, Oswego, N. Y, Horton
Kansas, DuBuois, Pa, and Ottawa,
la.
A report from Oswego, N. Y,
charged that "In March 1919 the shop
here was full of steel flat cars (that
was under government control) and
the foreman only had about "a men
cutting them down. The rest of the
,, men were walking about doing moth
ing at all and drawing their pay, but
there was no lay off then. The gov
ernment was paying for it, and not
the N. Y. C. Now we have all kinds
OF work and we are all laid off"
1t was charged that in January at
Winston Salem foreman on the
Norfolk and Western was caught
pulling tags off bad order cars, while
at Bluefield on the same line fore
men were alleged to have orders not
to have defective equipment repaired.
An Eckman, w. Va, letter from a
roadroad worker read: There is
pulled out OF here every day cars
with no brakes at all.
The report carried a statement
charging the Baltimore & Ohio Rail
road Company with laying off car me-
chanics while cars are deliberately
run with cracked plates, cracked
wheels, broken truck frames and 12
other specific kinds of breaks.
by far the most Illuminating fact"
said the report, "in any attempt to
estimate that lies back Of these rail-
road layoffs, is the fact that practi-
cally all Of the larger systems have
been contracting with outside con-
Germs for repair Of hundreds of loco
motives and thousands of freight cars
which would normally be repaired in
their own shops and yards" A list of
alleged outside repair jobs included
Union Pacific, repairs with Pacific
Car and Foundry Company.
Great Northern, with Seims-Strem-
bel Car Repairing Company.
Louisville & Nashville, with Ameri-
can Car and Foundry Co.
Michigan Central, with Illinois Car
Manufacturing Co. at Hammond, Ind.
New York Central with A. c. & F.
Co. at Detroit, Byan Gar Co., Hege-
wisch, I'LL; American Car & Foundry
Co., Depew, New York Merchants
Dispatch and Trans. Co., East
Rochester, NJ Y.
Mr. Lauck here named companies
repairing cars for railroads, which he
said had been hiring car repair me-
chanics whom the railroads laid off
He gave names of some of the work
men and dates Of their transfers.
The report charged that the roads
new policy is to subcontract in order
to remove from government control
many OF their men. Numerous repair
companies, many of them said to be
new concerns, were named as taking
over railroad repairs. These in
cluded:
Hornet Repair & Construction Co.,
Hornell, N. Y, Erie work.
Buffalo Steel Car Corporation, work
for eight railroads, including the
Pennsylvania and the Wabash. ~
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company.
Several small shipyards. a
Burnham Car Repair Co., work of
the Indiana Harbor Belt Line.
Siems-Strembel Co., capitalized at
$600,000, at st Paul & AK /
Empire Car Company at Kankakee,
Illinois
Phoenix Transit Co., whose presf-
dent the report declared twas the son
of President F. D. Underwood of the I
Erie railroad" The report said that
this company received the Eerfe's
1arbor work i
The report charged that the r. 3.
Owens Construction Company, main
,aining tracks between Hornell, N. "
and Jersey City s'took over an office
'orce which consisted of all the
officers and clerks the Erie had on
he same work. They added fifteen
Der cent to the payrolls as overhead
expense and Mr.. G.. B Owens is re-
ported to have cleaned up $4,000 a
month for period of one year
When there appeared to be proba-
,ility of an investigation the contract
vas abolished -