Evening star., 1922-08-05
Pledges and Promises Made Strike
breakers Are Binding.

President Harding's espousal of the
seniority rights cause Of the striking
railway shopmen meets with little
country With hardly an exception
they are aligned squarely behind the
railway executives in their position
that the men who came into the serv-
ice as strikebreakers shall have
the promises made to them when they
were employed carried out to the let
ter. Some papers sympathize with
the strikers. and express the hope
that the Labor Board will be afforded
an opportunity to come to their as
sistance. This great majority. how
ever, hold that restoration of senior
ity rights to the men who struck
simply would open the gate for very
serious trouble in the event Of future
strikes of this character. few hold
that the Labor Board should be al
lowed to settle the question in any
way 1t sees fit.
"In refusing to grant the strikers
seniority" the Brooklyn Eagle be-
lieves. "the railroads are actuated by
the desire to penalize the unions II
they cannot wreck them. The goy.
ernment has not hesitated to decide
the priority of coal shipments. and
is In a position to exercise effective
control over all freight and passen-
ger business. If the existing emer-
gency justif1es such drastic action It
would seem that the Labor Board
should have the power to decide the
priority of workers"
In the view of the Knoxville Senti-
mel the irony of the situation is that
the seniority issue has arisen since
the strike was called and grew out OF
the strike condition" while the st.
Paul Dispatch points out that res
mean the immediate discharge OF
thousands of new employees to make
room for the strikers. If such a con-
cession should be made to the strikers
it would be extremely difficult or inn
possible to hire new men in any fu-
ployes to remain at work. Every
strike would be 100 per cent effective
at once II the workmen had no fears
Of losing a preferential right to work.
Every strike would be won automati-
cally as soon as declared. There
would be every chance to win by a
strike and no chance to lose. The
and soviet rule would exist only in
name"
While there should be exceptions
in the case of men who did not par
ticipate in the strike. whose absolute
wy, eapnot pnot Ss,sns. be the
new employees. the strikebreakers,
can certainly be satisfied without
going over the heads of returning
strikers. Some compensation can
be found for the seniority rights
promised them" The Baltimore News.
of reasoning. arguing that the rail-
roads are on record as having
pledged "that the strikers would not
be considered mere absentees, but
as having definitely left the roads
service. and that. any man entering
auirs seniority rights over any one,
former employe or not. who came
in after him. The pledge ought to
be kept. Even II the obligation of
honor be overlooked. It ought to be
kept on the grounds Of national ex-
psdiency. Labor troubles are not go
tlement Of this one controversy. and
it would be mighty foolish for the
nation to place itself beyond power
Of convincing appeal in future crises
to It's reserve labor supply to come
in and help It keep transportation
Similar views are held by the Wall
Street Journal. which asserts that
"vhen q contract or a promise IL
made no President has the right to
break It. Business men refuse to
have dealings with the weleher. To
the mon disposed to work the gov.
ernment says: 60 to work for the
roads and help keep transportation
roing. But as soon as the emer.
9ency fs over you must step aside and
give place 70 those who have at
tempted to cripple the business but
whom we shall now welcome back
ana kill for them the fatted calf.
Your work u done. get out Never
again could a strike be broken; the
halter would be tied around the neck
Of transportation with the free end
riyen to Gomparn and Jewell Al