Evening star., 1922-08-20
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
THE American people are fed up
on coal strikes and railroad
strikes. They are fed up. too.

lTNHE American people are fed up
! on coal strikes and railroad
| strikes. They are fed up. too.
| on the manipulation of tho
market and excessive prices for coal,
which is necessity. They are look
ing to the President and to Congress
to find q way QUITO prevent a re-
| currence of such industrial warfare
as the last few months have seen and
in public necessities such as fuel.
Some of them are anxious to smash
the unions-labor. Others are anx-
ious to smash the operators and rail-
road executives. But both factions
unite on one thing, relief from exist
ing conditions.
| The President, in his address to Con-
! recognized the need of fundamental
changes in the laws to prevent re-
currence Of tie-ups of fuel and trans
portation. He asked for no action at
this time, however, on the ground
that hasty legislation might be worse
!! than none. The President did ask. on
the other hand, for temporary legis-
Iation to protect the public against
coal profiteers.
Remedy Of Doubtful Value.
Government ownership and opera
! Observation-Disclosures as it is some
| times called-is suggested as a rem
| edy. But it is very doubtful that it
! would be a remedy. and the chances
| are it might be worse than the exist
ing disease.
If the government should take over
and operate the railroads and the
| mines. 1t would be for the purpose of
doing away with strikes that tie up
| transportation and prevent the people
from getting the fuel they need to
| warm themselves and run their in
dustries. 1t would be for the purpose
OF preventing exorbitant charges for
fuel. The prices of transportation
are already regulated by the govern
ment through the Interstate Com
! merce Commission. Would that be
the result?
In the first place. the miners ard
i the railroad workers go on strike be-
cause they are not satisfied with the
| wages they receive or the conditions
! under which. they work-or both. 1t
! is not unbelievable that the workmen
| might be dissatisfied with the wages
they receive and the working condi-
tions under government ownership
and operation. What then? Either
the government would hate to yield
to their demands-or they would
strike. No one has suggested, So far.
that merely because the government
4 was operating the roads. the unions
a strike against the government
would be little short of rebellion.
Right to auit Work.
Every man has a right to quit work,
IL he desires, in this country. Any
| thing less would be virtual slavery. But
| he has no right to prevent other men
from working-he has no right to con-
spire to tie up the transportation sys-
tenn and the mines of the country, upon
which the lives Of the people depend.
l
| operation of the roads and mines
! would give-or rather what it is
hoped it would give-is the settle
/ ment of labor controversies and the
fixing of prices of fuel at reasonable
rates. The prices of transportation
already are fixed by government
agencies.
| G
government ownership and operation
would bring about is control of the
labor situation and the prices of coal.
This control could be exercised by
! the government without putting the
| American people into debt for sum
| so large that 1t would dwarf even
the war debt. For if the government
takes the roads and the mines. it
| would pay for them. 1t has been
roundly estimated that the value of
the railroad properties is $20.000.o00,-
| 900. The coal properties would run
into many billions. too. The gov
ernment has no funds except those
| it obtains from the taxpayers. The
| taxpayers, therefore, would have to
: settle this bill sooner or later.
Wa9e.Fixing Board Provided.
The government already has set
up a body to fix wages for the rail-
road workers-the Railroad Labor
Board. But there Is nothing in the
law which compels acceptance of its
| decisions Public opinion is the
power relied upon to enforce the de-
! cisions. But public opinion has not
! functioned to that extent in connec-
tion with the railroad shopmen's case.
The Labor Board handed down it's
decision and the men went on strike
|Gs G Go4