New-York tribune., 1921-02-18
Roads Plot End
Of Labor Board,
Unions Declare
Arguments Made Against
Alleged Plan of Carriers
to Save $500, 900, GOO a
Year by Cutting Wages
Further Delay Opposed
Executives Representative
Objects to Conferences.
and Asks a Decision


CHICAGO. Feb. Representative
of organized labor appeared before the
Railway Labor Board to-day in q
supreme effort to check the drive start
ed by the railroad companies to cut
'SSoo,ooo,ooo year from their ex-
penses by the abrogation of the war
time wage agreements, as preliminary
to general reduction of wages.
Frank P. Walsh. counsel for the
hrotherhoods, issued "a solemn warn
ing to this country and to this boardp
that if the railway executives were not
restrained the executives would render
the transportation act emascuiated and
abortive, "this board will be DESTROYED
insofar as it's efficient functioning is
concerned and we shall have endless
turmoil and instability in the railroad
industry"
B. M. Jewell, president of the railway
employees department Of the American
Federation of Labor, in an attack on
the executives stand, presented a dual
proposal to the board. He first request
ed recess until March IL to allow en-
pfoyees to prepare reply to the ex-
ecutives' objections to the wage agree
ments. AS an alternative he proposed
that the whole case be thrown out of
court and the controversy remanded to
a conference between the roads end
the employees =
Delay Is Opposed
Protest Immediately was entered nv
E. T. Whittier. of the carriers commit
tee, against delay and to any prop osals
for further conferences. He declared
that the question the board now faced
was merely whether these agreements
should be continued.
Mr.. Walsh told the board that If the
carriers did not comply with the law
the employees would inform the public
as to the real situation" in an at
tempt to prevent Congress from enact
Ing lawHgor financial relief of the rail-
roads.
AT this moment the carriers are at
tempting to dip their hands into the
United States Treasury and extract the
enormous sum of $750,000, 900, which is
cnly their initial effort" Mr.. Walsh as
serted.
The speaker reiterated the right of
the employees to organize and act as a
unit and declared such action was cor
templated in the transportation act.
The railroads could not accent the
benefits of the law without also agree
ing to labor rights, he argued. He sail
ne saw In the railroads efforts to
thWart the employees an attempt to
render unsettled, chaotic conditions
which would Finally lead to the OBJ
structlon of their own house." and re-
peated his request that railroad man
ayers and directors be subpunaed for
cross-examination
Employees Contentious
Mr.. Jewell's statement follows in
part:
"Our fundamental interest in this
case is the principle of collective bar
gaining on the basis of union recogni-
ton.
The representatives of the railroads
are not complying with the transpor-
Sation act either in spirit or in fact.
Ihe attempt is being made to destroy
unlonlsm as the basis of collective bar
both as an essential to the proper
application of the law and to the very
existence of this board
although the transportation act is
based on union recognition, these rep
resentatlves of the carriers aim to
weaken or destroy unions. For this
reason they refuse all general con-
ferences or national boards of adjust
ment, and confine their collective bar
gaining to individual railroads. By
centralizlng their own bargaining
power and decentralizing that of the
unions, they hope to weaken the
unions by attacking and crushing the
outlying local organizations.
lnsincsrity Charged
eve would emphasize thet this al
legged movement to reduce the wages of
unskilled workers is not sincere. If it
was desired fundamentally to obtain
wage reductions the representatives of
the railroads as whole would request
"a conference with the national repre-
sentatlves of the labor organizations
affected, and if they could not reach an
agreement to reduce rates of paw the
matter would be referred to this board
Ior adjustment as general complaint.
What the railroad representatives
actually are aiming at is TO impair the
principle of union recognition, destroy
the labor organizations by striking at
their local units, and in the end bring
discredit to this board by SO over
Swhelming it with individual complaints
as to make it impossible to function
effectively.
we, therefore, wish to urge that the
board take judicial notice os this case
by adopting the following course of
procedure;
Il. That the board refer the national
agreements which are now before it to
a joint conference of the representa-
tlves of the railroads and of the labor
organizations, with the recommends.
tion that their agreements be adjusted
by negotiation as soon as possible, the
board agreeing to pass promptly upon
any points of difference which may
arise from the negotiations.
"2. That the board request the repre-
sentatives of the railroads and the
representatives of the labor organiza-