Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-07-21
THIS SECTION NOT HIT


fected by the strike of the railway
shopmen is the information obtained
Yesterday afternoon as the result OF
interviews with railroad men here.
About the only complaint that
hear" said b. A. Correll, agent for
the Carolina & North Western Rail-
way in Yorllville, lis that shipments
of gasoline and oil are little slow.
SO far as other freight is concerned
there is no complaint so far as L have
been able to learn. We are receiv-
ing and shipping about as much
freight as usual. Gasoline shipments
have slowed up. Most of the gasoline
that comes here is received from
Charleston and traffic in gasoline is
somewhat crippled"
81 am not able to detect any dit-
ference in business on account of the
strike so far" said p. w. Patrick,
agent for the Southern Railway when
asked about the matter. Freight
business here is running along about
normal and while of course it is hard
to tell what the effect will be If the
strike continues and extends it's pro-
portions, at the same time there IS no
noticeable interference with business
here up to this time"
Railway employees in Yorllville as
in every other town and city are
keenly interested relative to the strike
and they make no 'hesitancy in dis
cussing the situation and giving their
views. The whole trouble is the re-
suit OF the railroad management
TRYING to cut our wages down 10
pre-war level" said one railroad man
Yesterday. I'VE can't stand 1t. we
can't live at it. My wages have been
cut 30 per cent. since 1920 and there
is another cut on the road now. LiV-
ing costs have not come down any
thing like in proportion.
"For instance, three weeks ago.
bought a 25-pound sack OF sugar ana
paid $1.65 for it. bought another
25-pound sack of sugar a few days
ago and I paid $1.So for 1t. YET my
yyo pes have been cut 35 per cent. IN
likely be cut more. The average
clerk in the average store is getting
better wages now than the average
railroad man. While of course there
are exceptions, the average clerk in
store has not been reduced from
wages he received during the war
while railroad workers have.
"Waees of executive officials of the
railroads have not been cut at all"
the railroad man went on to say.
have reference to train dispatches ana
other officials higher up.
Railroad workers" the speaker
went on to say, believe that this
whole business would be settled much
quicker and more satisfactorily II there.
were no such thing as Il Labor Board
in Washington. That Labor Board
was created by and for the. railroads.
Every decision that they have return
ed has been against the workers and
in favor. of the railroads. 1t Is com
mon talk among railroad employees
that President Fairfax. Harrison OF
the Southern Railway is saying that
he could quickly settle with shopmen
of the Southern Railway, II there were
no Labor Board. Members of the
unions look on this Labor Board as a
useless commission and q commission
antagonistic to the rights of the
laboring man."
Practically every railroad worker in
Yorkville is connected with one OF
the railway union crafts. Agents
Patrick and Correll are members OF
the Railway Telegrapher's Union and
Of course if the order comes for the
telegraphers to walk out they VIII
obey the orders Of their union.
Information is that all the shopmen
employed in the shops of the Caro-
lima & North Western Railroad at
Hickory, n. c., have walked out. They
are under the jurisdiction Of Spencer,
n. c., and all of them promptly walk
ed out when the order came, leaving
the master mechanic there without
hands. According to one report in
Yorkville, the master mechanic at the
Hickory shops wanted to move crew
of section men down to Hickory to as
sist in repairing an engine; but the
management of the railroad declined
TO act on the suggestion.
"The shopmen are going to win this
strike just as surely as anything" one
Of the railroad men said confidently
Yesterday. Railroad men Of all
classes recognize that this is n fight
for existence and all classes are going
to fight until the last ditch. 1t is i'm
possible for the railroad companies to
fill the shops with non-union men;
because such nOn-union men as they
might be able to employ are not skill
ed men and are of little or no value.
"It is so with the conductors and
the engineers and other railroad men.
Oftentimes one hears some foolish
citizen remark: Oh, anybody can be a
railroad conductor: he doesn't have
to do a thing except collect tickets
But if one who is inexperienced were
to try to step into a conductors shoes
he would find things altogether diff
rcrcne. One has to work on a rail-
road many years and be rich in eX-
pcrience before he ever rises TO the
position of engineer or conductor"
There was n time" commented
another railroad man yesterday, when
the railroad companies could have
beaten us down to u pre-war basis.
II after the war the railroads had
been willing to reduce freight charges
and passenger fares back TO where
they were before the war, railroad
workers would have had to accept n
reduction to prc-war wages without
4 fight Public sentiment favored
such Il policy. But the railroad COM
Danics thought 10 beat down our
wages and to keep freight and passcn-
ger rates high in order TO hog the
whole thing for themselves. The re-
suit is this strike of the shOpmen
inh IN, hn t,E