New Ulm review., 1921-11-02
r AIIR DAD FUEL IS
UP 500 PER CENT
THEIR OWN COAL COMPANIES
GARNER HUGE PROFITS
FROM ROADS.
PLACE BLAME ON ALLEGED
HIGH WAGES or RAIL
EMPLOYEES.

| The general strike arranged by the
Railroad Brotherhoods and later call
led off may have been a tactical blum
der. The cological effect upon
public sentiment may be distinctly
unfavorable to them. But, if the
facts were generally known, the reac-
tion might be quite the opposite.
| The responsibility for provoking the
strike rests squarely upon the shoul-
ders Of the railroad executives, who,
1by their Intentional and insidious
misrepresentation have deliberately
deceived the public as to the facts,
particularly as to the wages they are
paying their employees, and have
made it appear that the reason for
the collapse Of private ownership is
entirely due to the high wages demand
ed by their employees. This is abb
fsolutely false.
No Undue Prosperity. s
The official figures issued by the u.
| S. Railroad Labor Board show that
| the railroad workers, instead Of en-
joying undue prosperity, have been
receiving an average wage of only
I$1,695, per annum, which has now
been cut IL IL per cent and reduced
to 1,4S4, or less than $29 per week.
AS against this, the minimum stand
ard of comfort on which the average
man can support himself and his fam
/ lily has been fixed by the Bureau Of
Applied Economics at $4,000 per an
mum.
Do the railroad executives mean
| that they are unwilling to pay their
employees living wage or that they
cannot do so and operate the railroad
successfully?
! Under these circumstances it is no
wonder that the threat of a further
cut of 10 per cent almost precipitat
ed a strike. q
Coal Barons Reap Profits.
Railroad wages increased only 36
per cent (this has now been cut IL 1-2
per cent? between 1914 and 1920,
but the cost Of fuel, furnished by the
coal companies owned and controlled
by the railroad executives has in
creased 500 per cent during the same
period. Why? Because, when the
railroads were ordered to technically
|segregate their coal properties from
the railroad interests, the insiders
grasped their golden opportunity to
organize coal companies of their own,
who raised the price of coal to fabu-
lous figures, sold it back to the rail
roads and pocketed the difference.
Then they shamelessly turned around
and unloaded the deficits arising from
these and many other similar transae-
tions upon the Government under the
pernicious guarantees in the Esch-
Cummins Law, collected these
amounts from the Taxpayers, and are
now demanding another $500, ,O00,000
from the long-sufering public through
capitalizing their debts and requiring
that the War Finance Corporation
(on behalf of the Railroad Govern
ment) guarantee their bonds!
Never Paid Bond.
Do the people realize that not a
single railroad has ever paid off a single
bond? Do they know that no sink
| ing funds have ever been set aside for
this purpose? And that the, railroads
today have no intention of ever doing
so? .., b.
! Does the individual railroad bond
holder realize that the only chance
he has of collecting his principal is
by selling his bonds to another indi-
vidual as ignorant as himself?
And finally does the man on the
Istreet know that the railroad employees
instead Of receiving the high wages
we hear SO much about, are being paid
an average Of only $4.54 per day?
Shaned Into Silence.
The committee Of 48 has put these
facts squarely before the railroad ex-
ecutives and they were shamed into
tho "A .,o.,,;; -,