The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-08-03

| BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
| Especial Despatch to The Reformer.)
Copyright 1922
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3.-President
Harding does not consider the reply of
| the railway executives an insuperable
barrier TO a settlement of the strike The
| important fact to be borne in mind is
| that the railroads have agreed to the
| first point in the compromise, namely,
| they will recognize and obey the decisions
| IF the railway labor board. Bound by
| that pledge they cannot. therefore, re-
| fuse to obey such decision as the board
may make in the1future on the mooted
| question of seniority rights.
In other words, the President has the
| leverage now to request the railroads to
| submit to the labor board the settlement
of the seniority problem. L. Dewitt
| Cuyler, head of the railroad executives,
would have preferred that procedure and
told IIr. Harding so last week at the
White House. Mr. Cuyler didn't see how
the railroads could publicly reverse
themselves. Mr.. Harding insisted, how
ever. on making the effort to persuade
them and believed public opinion would
compel the executives to announce their
acceptance Mr.. Cuyler was skeptical
and uncertain but promised to outline
1 the Presidents views.
Not Hopeless Situation
| Most unexpected. therefore, to Mr.
i Harding is the answer which the rail
| roads have made. but it cannot be called
II diScouFaging. The situation is by no
mo IN
the surface. For one thing, the Presi-
dent cannot conceive that the railroads
lwho have been so severely criticiZing the
shOpcrafts men for striking against the
government, can turn around now and
ignore the governments proposal for o
against the government, too. is the ques
ton asked in official quarters.
But to understand what is coming ont
must read carefully the text of the reply
Of the railroad executives. 1t will be
noted that while the chairman of the
quoted extensively as having cOntended
that the strikers had forfeited their
seniority rights. the labor board itself
did not pledge itself irreyocably to thai
position. All that the resolution of the
labor board embraces Is a statement thar
strikebreakers are entitled to protection
and have the right to work. Nowhere
is there a definite decision of the board
that the strikebreakers shall be giveI
4 seniority rights over the strikers or that
the latter had forfeited them. This paves
the way for consideration without
prejudice of the whole problem by thu
n labor board.
Workers Acceptance Expected.
Mr. Harding, of course, expected :
complete acceptance by the railroad
1 | workers who have been on strike ant
until he had that his strategy was neces
4 sarily one of silence. If the White
House modified its position on seniorit!
before the workers could take formal &c
4 ton. on the compromise proposal laid be
fore them by President Harding such {
4 course might interfere with the accep
lance by the union representatives o
the plan itself and further complcate thu
y situation. An acceptance from one party
is powerful influence in any strike cri
sis If il should become necessary L
modify the third point in the propose
to the effect that the seniority question
be left to a national arbitration board
or some other impartial tribunal SO as t.
| afford the railroads graceful way tC
recede. the governments position as {
mediator would be strengthened.
The rail strike may, therefore, be sale
to be near an end and even though th'
maneuvres by which it is to be termi
mated are taking a much longer time
than was anticipated by the chief exec
utive and his associates, there is every
reason to be confident that presidential
influence viii settle the strike and SEND
the men back to work before many days
have passed The railroads are really
sparring for position in the future. The
official view here is that they have made
a mountain out of a mole hill. 1t is
realized. too. that the interviews given
by officials of the railway labor board IN
the heat of the controversy were ill-ad-
vised and that but for some of those ut
terances a formula of settlement through
the board itself now would be matter
of history. The President knows that
while the seniority question has always
been troublesome in strikes it rarely has
happened that the strikers forfeited
these rights in the last analysis The
strikers are experienced workers and
they are more numerous than those who
have remained at work BY the usual
process of elimination they come to the
top, notwithstanding their participation
in a strike.
Nub of the Question.
The question narrows down to this
The labor board chairman, aroused by
the refusal of the workmen to obey a
summons from him and TO recognize de-
cision of the board, made public state
ment saving the strikebreakers would
have rights which could not be ignored
by the board. Now, however, since the
strikers are ready to recognize the labor
boards decisions, should the penalty of
their earlier refusal be made permanent?
No such severe punishment was handed
the railroads for violating labor boards
decisions and that's why the government
here, through President Harding wants
| byegones to be considered byegones and
the main issue kept in mind-the work
ers have agreed to obey the future deci-
sions of the board and the managers have
pledged themselves to do likewise