Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1921-12-30
FARMING OUT OF
REPAIR WORK is
LEGAL FRAUD
By CARROLL BINDER

railroads in farming out their repair
work TO companies in which they are
interested and thereby evading those
parts of the Federal transportation
Act which demand decent conditions
for employees was exposed by Frank
p. Walsh, attorney for the Railway
Employees Department of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, who APP
peared before the United States Rail
way Labor Board in the case against
the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad.
Walsh handled the situation without
gloves from the first. He took the
position that the small road is but q
fragrant example of the way in which
the roads of the nation are schemlng
to make huge profits at the expense
of their employees and the public and
charged that the hold-up game is di-
rected by Wall Street through the
Association of Railway Executives.
Developing his case by cross-exam-
ination of George Harnauer, vice
president and general manager of the
Indiana Harbor Road, a line only l20l
miles long but very sympathetic to
the policies of the larger roads,
Walsh showed that there is nation
wide conspiracy to avoid the provls-
ions of the Transportation Act byI
contracting and leasing out to sub
contractors and padrones the most i'm
portant functions of the railroads.
"The so-called private contrac-
tors" said Walsh, "are pretending
not only to actually maintain the
rights of way of the railroads but, in
dependent of railroad control, to have
charge of the repair devices upon
which the lives and limbs of the tray
cling public must depend for safety.
C. j. MCGOWAN, vice-president of
the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen,
told the board that the road had re-
fused to negotiate with the unions as
prescribed by law; had let the car re-
pair work out to companies, which
had not previously been engaged I'M
the railroad business; that one of the
companies was not Incorporated until
ten days after the road posted no
tice that repair work would be per-
formed by this company instead of by
the road; that the company had in
creased the hours and decreased the
rate of pay as well as introduced
piece work--all in violation of the
rules of the United States Labor
Board and the provisions of the Fed
eral Transportation Act; and that the
contracting company discharged EN-
ployes without investigation and
threatened to discharge employees who
served on union grievance commit
tees.
Walsh then quizzed Hannauer. The
latter admitted that he received and
asked for no competitive bids in
awarding the repair work of his road
and that he had taken this step with
out consulting the directors or other
officers of the road.
The head of the firm which received
the contract for the car repair work
ran a coal yard in Hannauer's home
town, Hannauer admitted, and his
knowledge of the business of car re-
pairing was dubious. Walsh asked
whether this man did not drive a coal
wagon? Are you facetious? ?" asked
Hannauer. This man is a substan-
tial citizen"
"A man may drive a coal wagon
and yet be a substantial citizen" re-
torted Walsh. 81 drove one myself
once"
The experience and competence of
| the contractor who received the
award to do the locomotive work was
vague to Hannauer. Walsh asked
whether it was not true that this man
had no tools or equipment and no cap
| ital when he took over the yards of
the road, that he drew on the rail
road for all his supplies and lacked
even single weeks payroll. Han
nauer was uncertain but witnesses
produced by Walsh testified that the
contractor is a mechanic who has little
money and even now goes to work
daily with a crew on a hand car.
Hannauer had a most uncomfortable
day. His memory as to how he got
the idea of farming out his repair
work, the manner in which the con-
tract for this work was negotiated
and the way in which the repair work
is done at present, proved very weak
and his power of recollection dimmed,
as Walsh probed into the deals with
sub-contractors. The roads attorney,
S. c. Murray, was obviously panied
that the vice-president of a railroad
should be quizzed so pointedly and he
resorted to all the legal technicalities
to have Walsh called off, but to no
avail.
Walsh invited Hannauer to admit
that his road retains absolute control
over all work done by these contrac-
tors, having its own employees in
charge of the operations with abso-
lutte power to modify them in any way
the road desires. you're simply
paying these contractors per cent
| for their work while you evade the
rules of the United States Railway
Labor Board" Walsh challenged.
Asked about individual foremen, Han
nauer was unable to say whether
they were now on the pay roll of the
contractors or of the railroad, so
involved are the relations of the two.
Throughout the hearing Walsh
questioned the good faith of the road
in its sub-contracting Once some
body protested that he reflected on
the honesty of witness Hannauer. 81
vouch for his honesty" replied Walsh,
"but | have a right to challenge his
statements" AZ think he'd keep an
honest golf score" he added.
Attorney Murray told the board it
had no jurisdiction in such case and
Hannauer introduced figures to dem