The Washington times., 1922-08-06
FORCES
ORGANIZED As
|! NEVER BEFORE
Women Workers and Wives Of
Rail Strikers Come to As
a sistance of Men.
DOING PICKET DUTY DAILY
Thousands Of Employees Get
New Jobs at Better Pay Than
Railways Offer.
By A. CLOYD GILL.

I By A. CL0YD GILL.
A new day Is dawning for the
working man in Virginia.
In the reeent.struggle with The
powerful railroads. that traverse
the Old Dominion, the labor union
has found itself.
The union man will have to be
reekoned with in the future in
the political and economic life of
the State.
An organisation Of working
forces, the scope Of which has
never been known In this section.
10 now quietly under way, en-
gineered by skilled union leaders
who have the unqualified support
Of hundreds Of Virginia women,
who UP to the present have taken
no leading part in affairs ordi.
nsrily left to the men.
Results Of Rail Strike.
Here are some of the results &C.
eruins to the labor union man Of
virginia that are attributed to the
great, rail strike:
1. The half dozen union organiza-
tions which have been working in.
2 aependently are now presenting a
solid front.
2. Women workers and wives Of
striking men are now fighting in
the open.
3. Men and women who had, prior
20 the strike, taken no part in the
struggle, haze been discovered and
deYeloped 10 public speakers and
sxscutiyes.
4. Hundreds Of nonunion workers,
seeing the sincerity and deternina-
tion that marked the union forces,
have cast their lot with them.
\ 5. Thousands of man, who had
long been convinced they were fit.
ted only for railroad work. have
gotten outside Jobs at better pay
than they ever got In q railroad Of.
flee.
q. The color line has been eradi-
Gated. White and colored workers
are meeting on the sanne common
level. Both participate In the de-
liberations looking to better work
ing conditions. q living wage apd .
This writer has spent most Of the
Roanoke, Richmond, Newport News,
and Norfolk. He has talked with
hundreds of strikers in these points
and with the officials Of the rail-
roads.
Two railroads stand out promi-
nsntly In the State-the Norfolk and
Western and Chesapeake and Ohio.
They are the two big coal.hauling
non-union mines Of Virginia, West
Virginia, and Kentucky.
First @. q o. Strike.
The present strike is the first that
has ever been general on the Chesa.
rsake and Ohio. It 10 the first strike
e1perience that thousands Of the en-
ployes have ever known. Schooled,
hewever, by leaders Of long expert
ence. they have stack to their guns,
and many Of them will never return
20 railroad work unless q settlement
Il reached that satisfies all their
Demands.
The majority Of the Virginia rail-
road employees were born ana reared
IN that State. The Norfolk and
Western boasts that II has the only
An-American staff Of employees in
the country. The Chesapeake and
Ohio leads It close second. Offlctais
of the road say they do not want
foreigners In their service so long
a. thSu can niCk from, xafivo 49,,
workers.
II is q habit with working men and
women in Virginie to save for rainy
day. This means that most Of the
employees on strike in that State arg
prepared for q protracted contest.
In the Liberty loan drives during
the late war, Virginia railroad men
were among the leading purchasers
Of bonds. Hundreds Of dollars worth
Of Liberty and Victory loan bonds
have been cashed in by them during
the past week. and the Victory bonds
have brought little better than psr.
Was long as they last, I'll hold out.
and I have a brother that mas several
soaked away" one striking employe
told this writer.
Strike benefits are now being paid,
although many Of the strikers de-
CtAreu tney were Wiling 10 continue
the strike without calling on their
respective unions for financial aid.
In the four leading Virginia cities
the strikers have a general chair
man and mass meetings are for
members Of all the striking crafts.
At these, meetings, not only the
strikers take a part, but representa-
tives from the big Four" brother.
hoods are appearing almost daily to
lend encouragement and promise to
Join them at the first call from their
own headquarters.
Women Playing . Part.
Violating all precedent in vir-
gtnia, the women workers are now
playing . leading part.
The men have been doing all the
work. We women will now bear
Part Of the burden" Miss Annie Nc.
Donald, OF Richmond, told a score
OF women clerks on strike.
These women are now appearing
daily for picket duty at the general
offices OF the Chesapeake and Ohio
In Richmond.
Fifteen hundred men and q few
women strikers heard Miss McDon.
ala make her maiden speech We'd
nAeday morning At the Richmond
IN