The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-06-23
MR.. HooPER's WARNING

Labor, Board, answering the formal
notice from the heads of ten railroad
labor unions that strike will be call
ed if authorized by the vote now being
taken, issues warning to these lead
ers and to the railroad workers under
them. "With the degree of friendly,
interest that l fell in these organize
ltions," he says, "and, with the, recog-
milton that accord to their great SER
vice to their membership, ! am hope
| full that they will not adopt a course
that will surely prove disastrous to
the organizations and unfortunate to
the men composing them" The sim
certify of Hooper's friendly interest"
has been manifested in a number Of
decisions favoring the workers. He is
the chief representative of the public
on the board, and there has been
nothing in his conduct as member of
that body to Indicate any bias toward
the railroad management. His duty
is to be unbiased in any direction, and
he and the two other public members
have shown no bias in their decisions,
but they have displayed sympathetic
concern for the welfare Of the work.
ers and the integrity of their organi-
cations. The present decision has not
been rendered without prolonged
hearings from both sides. in the course
of which the labor representatives
presented much testimony on family
budgets and standards of living. "A
fair statement Of the facts will con-
vince any disinterested man." says the
statement of the majority of the
board, "that no injustice has been
done to these employees by the present
decision, and that the decrease in
their wages is conservative and is
based upon the law and the evidence.
= 1t is well to remember that the
time will never come, in this or any
other country, when the ordinary rules
of common sense and business, call
them economic laws, if you wish, can
be absolutely ignored in the conduct
of any industry" That, in fact,
seems to be the issue that is being
raised in this case. The law under
which the Labor Board operates re-
quires that wages shall be fixed upon
the following considerations: The
scale of wages paid for similar kinds
of work in other industries; the rela-
ton between wages and the cost of
living; the hazards of the employ
ment; the training and skill required;
the degree of sponsibility; the char
acter and regularity Of the employ
ment." This rule of the law recog-
nizes that the relative cost of livinf
should be factor in the establish
ment of wages. but it also recognizes
the force of what the board terms
"the ordinary rules of common sense
and business" in the employment and
pay of labor-the differences of con-
ditions, of skill and of responsibility
that demand differences in the rates
of pay, and the economic laws that eff
feet the scales of wages in industries
not under supervision of the board,
but which under this rule must be
considered in the establishment of
what the law calls "a Just and rea-
sonable wage" But it appears to be
the demand of the union leaders that
a theoretical Giving wage" or "say-
ing wage" shall be made the basis Of
wage determination without regard
to economic conditions in the industry
paying the wage. Whatever may be
the merit of that principle its appli-
cation must Of necessity be restricted
by economic circumstances, and the
reduction by the Labor Board is made
in the conviction that economic cir
cumstances make it absolutely neces-
sary.
The decision of the board is based
upon the practical considerations pre-
scribed in the law, and upon the ev-
idence presented in the hearings. The
board, as we have said, is an agency
of the government, judicial tribun-
al established by the Federal Govern
ment, in part to do justice to all con-
cerned in the industrial relations of
the railroads, and in part to secure
continuity of service. The object, in
short, was to prevent strikes by pro-
viding the means of adjustment which
would make strikes unnecessary.
Therefore, unless the decision of the
board is obviously contrary to what is
"just and reasonable" the government
must sustain it's action, and use all
its powers to maintain the railroads
in full operation. It's responsibility
requires this, and, unquestionably,
public opinion will demand it.
The warning of Chairman Hooper,
it follows, is filled with serious mean
ing. The railroad workers who
threaten to go out can do great deal
of damage to the country by such
strike, even though the brotherhoods
refuse to go with them, but what can
they possibly accomplish for them
selves by such action, under the cir
cumstances? Failure is inevitable,
and failure is bound to be disastrous
to their organizations. The strike
would not be against decision of the
employers, but against decision of
government tribunal, based upon prin-
cinles of iustica to the railrnnd intnr-