The labor world., 1922-10-21

can be brought back to the shops
Morale of Men Still Good.
Court injunctions, intimidation by
private armed guards and state
militia, attempted bribery, coercion,
'outlawT1" by the Railroad Labor
Board and doIble-crossirg by the
President Of the United States have
failed tc<break the morale or deter
minatio of these 100000 organized
railroad workers in waging a fight
for human rights in a lawful and
constitutional manner
When the history of this gigantic
struggle is fully written it will form
one Of the most Illuminating chap
ters in the American labor move
ment, a struggle from the day the
government returned the roads. to
private management to the present
moment, in which the employees nave
been forced to contend not alone
with the more than 200 class one
railroad managements, but with the
Railroad Labor Board, a tribunal
created by Congress that for over
two years has sought to limit and
circumscribe the activities of the or
ganized railroad employees.
While the conference was on in
Baltimore between President Jewell,
members of the executive council
Railway Employees Department and
several railway executives who had
become dissatisfied with the 'arro-
CANT attitude Of other manageme ents,
Attorney General Daugherty came
secretly to Chicago and filed suit in
the United States District Court in
the name Of the United States of
America against the officers and
organizations of the shopmen. This
was the last desperate drive to pre-
. vent a settlement which would re-
cognize the rights Of the workers
and to aid the autocrats of the rail-
road industry in forcing; the men to
return to work upon terms dictated
solely by the managers.
Action Not Surprising.
This action is not surprising in the
light of President Harding's change
of front over night from proposal
shopmen's representatives that
would insure an honorable settle
ment to one that demanded COM
plete surrender of the strikers to the
railroad executives. Since this time
the men have regarded the strike as
lockout, and such it is.
Daugherty'; drastic Injunction has
not even made a dent in the strike.
It has only served to make the shop
men more determined than ever to
win complete Eictory. Injunctions
will not repair cars and locomotives,
nor will the throwing of hundreds of
strikers into prison help the rail-
roads. 1t requires skilled mechanics
to perform this service, and it so
happens that they are members of
the railroad labo" organizations.
After securing the country for
three and a half months the man.
agements have failed to find COM
petent men willing to act as strike
breakers in sufficient numbers to
relieve the disserviceable equipment.
Strikers have been offered bribes
ranging from 500 to $780, and pay
far exceeding that fixed by the
Railroad Labor Board as Just and
reasonable but to no avail. AS a
result most of the roads holding out
are compelled to place. embargoes
on shipments. In Illinois only about
60 per cent of the coal mined is be-
ing transported to market on ac-
count of car and motive power be-
, ing deficient. This is creating a
A-fuel crisis as winter approaches.
Equipment Is b ad.
Should the Interstate Commerce
commission enforce the federal
/safety appliance laws on the rail-
roads more than so per cent of the
present equipment Of many roads
would be junked And the condi-
tion of equipment on these roads is
growing worse from day to day.
What few mechanics hey have
among the strikebreakers are devot-
ing their time to minor repairs to
keep trains moving, and no classified
repair work is being done. This is
.piling UP future trouble in heaps for
the. railroads, as everyone who
knows anything about the industry
will readily admit.
With the approximately 100000
strikers returning to work during
the past two weeks under signed
agreements, the financial strain will
be quickly relieved. Each man 50
returning is pledged to contribute
the amount of two days pay each
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