Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-23

Washington, u. u. aug. ~ ne
fate of the railroad labor board hangs
in the balance as n of the results
of the strike that has upset the trans
portation business of the country. a
proposal to abolish the board is Under
consideration and may develop into
one of the big flights in congress this
winter. 1t is also suggested that the
headquarters Of the board be moved
from Chicago to Washington. Many
labor leaders make no secret or their
desire that the railway labor trlDuna!
be eliminated as a factor in industrial
relations. Samuel Gompers, president
of the Federation of Labor, is ocn-
spicuous among them They are OF the
school which believe that there should
be no gOserliheAI interference III
and employees, which combats the idea
the controversies between employers
tnat there snouid be amy limitation OF
the right of workers to strike, and
which resists all propositions looking
to compulsory arbitration
Some of the more powerful of the
railway executives are wholly in symp-
athy with these views of labor chief
tains They are the bitter enders'
who have been fighting organized labor
for many years and who believe that
all conflicts between capital and labor
should be fought out to a finish The
only kind of industrial peace that they
regard as desirable is that which comes
when one side or the other has been
beaten into complete submission.
These opponents of the railway labor
board predicted it's failure when the
transportation act Of 1920 was pass
ed. Needless to say they have not done
their utmost to make the operation or
the board a success On the contrary
they have played much the same game
that the critics Of the government ad-
ministration of the railroads played
placed every possible obstacle in the
way of it's functioning satisfactorily
Friends of the board in congress
and out, therefore, will not adopt a
policy of non-resistance in the face
of the promised assault upon it, but
will counter with a movement to give
the board increased powers-to put
teeth into the law, as they express it.
They contend that if the board has not
been wholly effective, it is because it
has not had a fair trial and because
it has not had sufficient authority.
History Of the Board
The board was organized in April,
1920. and its first task was a wage
case in which it granted increases all
along the line. This decision was &C
cepted by the arrangements Of the va
rious RAILROADS. However, it was
while this case was pending that the
controversy was started that was the
first menace to the efficacy of the new
law and the new tribunal. During fed
eral operation of the roads a national
agreement covering rules and working
conditions had been negotiated between
the unions and the RAILROAD admins
tration and national boards of adjust
ment. bipartisan in character had been
established to settle differences which
might arise under the agreement. AS
soon as the railroads were returned to
private control it was made cleap that
the railway executives would fight the
national agreement. 1t was also APP
parent that whereas the new law pro-
vided for the creation of national ad-
justment boards similar to those that
had functioned under government oper-
alton. the executives were determined
that none should be established.
Officials of the railway labor or
CARNATIONS asked the executives to
meet with them and arrange for the
adjustment boards. The executives re-
piled that the new law did not make
the establishme nt of these boards com
pulsory and that they would not agree
to any such agencies on a national
basis. They indicated a willingness to
establish regional boards or boards on
individual railroads or systems.
These adjustment boards were in
tended to handle the almost innumer-
able cases of minor Importance which
would swamp the railroad labor board
if the subordinate agencies were not
created. The railway workers there
fore charged that the executives were
deliberately trying TO break down the
law and make it impossible for the
railroad labor board to function eff
GENTLY.
Whatever justification there was for
this charge it is a fact that the board