The Cordova daily times., 1922-08-15
CAM0UFLACE SAY RAIL MEN
 STRIKE ISSUE

While leaders of the railroad strike join with the heads of their national unions in declaring that no settlement is possible until the railroad execu- tives recede from the united stand they have taken that the strikers will not be re-employed except as new" men, railroad managers come back with the assertion that the seniority issue is largely camouflage and would not interefere with an effort made in good faith by the unions to end the trouble, says the Seattle Times.
 The railroad workers to whom sen iority and pension rights are of great concern, the railroad managers agree, are the brotherhood men, mem bers of the so-called Big Four, the en- gineers, firemen, conductors and train men, who are brakemen and switch men.
 MOSTLY MIGRATORY WoRKMEN
 The striking shopmen outside of railroad shop cities, the railroad man. agers assert, are largely more or less migratory workers whose term of ser vice with the railroads, generally speaking, had been short
 The brotherhood men on the other hand the managers assert, are as class men who have long terms Of service to their credit and who are jealous of their seniority in that runs" that give good pay for short working hours are the reward of long service on the road.
 It is for this reason, they contend, that the danger of walkout of the brotherhood men in sympathy with the shopmen is exaggerated, despite the stress laid by the press dis patches upon what has been inter preted as a covert threat of the broth erhoods to order walkout.
 Seniority, the railroad officials as sert, is something that the railroad workers organizations have instituted and which does not figure in work ing agreements. Regarding pension rights. the railroad officials declare that pensions are merely gratuities given for long and faithful service and do not figure in the present contro versy.
 "The railroad unions have estab lished the seniority system for then own purposes and it does not concern the railroads" declare the railroad managers. "We contract with the unions to have our work done and we | don't care who does it; whether the man is an old employe or a new one is not our concern. So far as pen sions are concerned, that is not a union affair. The railroads estab- lished pension systems voluntarily ana they could abolish them with a stroke of the pen and the employees could not claim a breach of contract.
 Hence the opinion we hold that there is more camouflage than truth in the cry the unions are making for seniority restoration of all rights to men returning to work.
 "Seniority right in the case of the shopmen merely means, broadly speaking, that in case men are laid off because work is slack or because forces are permanently reduced, the men oldest in the service shall be given employment preference. If the shopmen were to decide today to re- turn to work, many of the men young CT in service would find their jobs filled and would have to wait or move on.
 WORK WILL BE PLENTIFUL But the chances are that in view of the constant shifting about that goes on in the shops sroadhouses places would soon be open to them if they made application for work and worked at their trades outside the shops until vacancies occurred. For the men who could be given work the loss of seniority would mean little in view of the fact that there is every indication that shopwork will be plen- tiful for a long time, once this strike is declared off.
 "The old employees who joined the strike reluctantly and who have for feited their pension rights with re- tirement only few years distant are the real sufferers from the misguided lnn d archin of tha Shnnnraft nninnc