The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1922-10-06
r. R. Shopmen
Lose In Strike

AS the kept press Of America fail
ed to tell the truth throughout the
course of the railway strike, as it
used every effort to break the morale
of the men on strike and to praise
and encourage the scabs and strikers,
So today it fails to tell the truth as
to what the real result Of the conflict
has been.
No headlines have announced the
fact that the JewellWillard agree
ment was in reality surrender on
the main issues of the original walk
out and that it was a compromise to
save face on the subsequent PROPOSE
tions, of seniority. Even this COM
promise 1he Northern Pacific, Bur-
lington, and over half the mileage Of
the country are not yet ready to con-
cede. Whether the men on these sys-
TENS will retain anything of their
rights to their jobs remains to be
seen; but the indications are that the
condition of the equipment, the fact
that numbers of scabs does not make
up for lack Of experience, and the re-
lieving Of pressure by the opening of
other work will eventually force the
same sort of half compromise surren-
der from the so-cailed "hard- boiled"
roads as it has already forced from
the roads entering the Willard COM
promise.
AS the big business kept press fails
to speak the truth, so also have the
official publication and communica-
tons of the existing craft unions and
brotherhoods so far failed to tell the
truth
The reason is obvious. Both groups
of publications and both groups of
managers back of the publications
fear the effect of emphasizing the
failure which has occurred. Both
groups fear that emphasis on the fail
ure will all the more serve to empha-
size the remedy which must be ap-
piled. They wish to get the men back
to work before the truth has burned
into their minds so deply that it leads
to action.
Iieace the lack of gloating in the
Dlg business press; hence the failure
to- spit out the bitter truth.
hence, also, Tie emphasis on the
Daugherty injunction. vi value IN
trying to whip the men stu on strike
into tnelr kennels like dogs-but by
no means the real cause OF the de-
Ieat.
The real cause of the defeat is craft
unl0nIsm; the real and only remedy
is industrial unionism.
livery thinking man on the roads
koWs it. The only questions are
whether the bitterness Of the truth
will lead hun to action and what IS
the proper line OF action to take.
The coal miners with large supplies
OF coal on hand and no immediate pub
lie necessity Tor production won OH
every point; the coal miners have an
industrial union IN which when one
ma strikes all strike. The rail men
working in an industry, in which pub
lie service was ever necessary ana in
slstent, lost. The rail men struck as
divided craft UNIONS. Further argu-
ment should be superfiuous, the facts
speak for themselves, ana Iouae4 tIlaa
any words.
The question now is: Should the
rail workers undertake to reorganize
and fuse their existing organizations
into single industrial union, or
should they form dual organization
on an entirely new model.
The transportation brotherhoods,
reciprocatlng the action of the shop
men years before in similar strug-
gle in which the shoe was on the 9TH
er foot, remained true to the worst
traditions Of narrow craft disunionism.
And so today We see the United AS
sociation of Railway Employees fully
launched and rapidly growing among
the shopmen of the northwest and Of
the Northern Pacific system.
The new industrial rail union is
like a fast moving express train as
compared with the hearse- like move
ments Of the old organizations. But
it is not always possible to board
fast train in motion from a station
airy position. It is often better to get
up enough speed TO run alongside the
faster train before making the flip.
Hence the shopmen will keep up their
membership in their old unions, try
ing at the same time to speed them
up to the same rate as the new linz
tied express, hoping thus that the
fip-on may be made with as little Jar
and danger Of a crash as possible.