The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-08-02
STRIKE LEADERS STRIVE
TO CONFUSE STATEMENTS
New York Commercially


volved in the railroad strike are un-
usually clear cut and undisputed.
There is, and there has been, no rea-
SON why the public should become con-
fused in the matter. Judging, however,
from current press comment, there
are not few who insist upon "seeing,
as through glass, darkly."
Even the chief executive appears to
be laboring under some misapprehen-
sion. And more recently Mr.. Jewell
has taken advantage of the opening
afforded him by the presidents proc
lamation to address to the president
and to the public-a message shot
through with half truths. evasions
and positive misstatements of fact.
In order to make it certain that
perfectly plain issue may not become
beclouded by such scuttlefish tactics
and by the nuddled thinking of some
who ought to know better, it is well
once more briefly to summarize the
facts of the situation.
AS to wages, the labor board, Great
ed by Congress to settle disputes,
after hearing all that the unions had
to say and after careful study of all
pertinent facts of the situation, decid-
ed that it was just to the men and only
fair to the public that on and after
July 1 shop wages be reduced about
10 per cent Such a reduction was
put into effect. The unions demand
restoration of the old scale. They are
striking, not against the roads but
against a branch of the federal gov
eminent.
The evidence" which convinced the
board that wages should come down
is irrefutable. Rates of pay on the
roads were far and away above those
paid by outside concerns for similar
work. Even after the July 1 reduc-
ton, wages are well above the gen.
eral level. Moreover, due to the de-
crease in living costs, the purchasing
power of rail wages even now is above
that of the peak in 1920. Retail prices
have fallen more than have rail
wages. No denial of these facts is
even attempted.
The whole case of the men as far as
it relates to wages rests upon the con-
tention that wages allowed under the
recent ruling of the board do not af-
ford the basis for an american
standard of living" What Mr.. Jewell
and his cohorts demand is that rail-
road shopmen must have food. shelter,
amusements and other comforts in
amounts far exceeding those the rest
of us can hope for.
Production of the good things of
life is limited, and nothing is more
certain than that there has never been,
is not now and will not be in the near
future, enough to go around on the
lavish scale the shopmen demand.
The demand of the shopmen with
respect to working conditions is equal
ly preposterous. AS everyone knows
to his sorrow, there was veritable
orgy of working restrictions of the
most efficiency killing type during the
days of public control
The labor board has been slow
enough in all conscience about restor-
ing more normal working conditions
To allow them to. start drifting back
to those existing under the old ina
tional agreements" would be crime
against the public. Mr.. Jewell and
the rest know perfectly well that their
positions on the roads-if they can
still be said to have any-are far more
hedged about with protective" rules
than any in outside industry.
AS to that redherring, the outside
contracting practice, that is the
noblest Roman of them all. Mr. jew
ell knows, and President Harding
ought to know, that not only the few
roads that have been ordered to de-
sist, but a great many more before
the strike began, offered as the price
of peace what they considered thier
rights in this matter and agreed to
cease the practice. So. likewise, with
the rest of the hundred or so cases of
alleged defiance" ON the part of the
roads.
The plain fact is that in very few if
any instances have the carriers failed
in good faith to abide by the rulings
of the labor board. If the unions are
sincere in much of what they say, why
do they not confine their strike to
those roads which refuse to obey the
board?
The strike leaders are trying DELHI
erately to confuse the issue. The pub
lie should be on its guard.
NOTICE