Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1922-06-21

fest percentages 81 bad-order cars 10
Its history. e
Take .,the. case of labor. The i'm
preston has been spread broadcast
}that the increases in railroad wages
during Federal control were the pro
Fduct Of intrigue and political pressure.
THE facts are that the major In
creases were made upon the recon-
mendation Of bipartisan board Of
Earbitration headed ,by aFranklin K.
Lane, which Thoroughly considered
Eboth sldes.. 5 .ss. .:s
FOLLOWING Federal control. the wa.
Fges were further judicially considered
Thy the Labor Board created BY the
Esch- Cummins Act, and the result
was further Increase of about q per
cent built upon the increases granted
during Federal control. !.
! !, Z "In its report, the Labor Board said:.
1t has been found by this Board gen
orally that the scale Of wages paid
railroad employees is substantially be-
low that paid for similar work in out
side industry; that the increase in
living cost since the effective date Of
General Order No. ~ and it's supple
ments has thrown wages below the
ipre-war standard of living of these
l,employes; and that justice as well as
|the maintenance Of an essential in
dustry in an efficient condition re-
quire a substantial increase to prac-
tically all classes.
"Since that. time the, wages have
been reduced r. per cent. Further
more, call your attention to the fact
that the national agreements, which
have been the subject of SO much re-
cent unfavorable comment, were en-
tered into during the director general
ship Of Walker D. Hines. man Of un-
blemished integrity and conceded alb
ility. who was for years prior to Fed
eral control perhaps the foremost
spokesman: Of the railroad industry
| Railroads a. Menace to Nation
RI Now: let us return to Director Gen
eral McAdoo, who managed the roads
during the first year Of government
control. ..
Testifying before the Senate Com
mittee on Interstate Commerce on
February, /, 1922, Mr.. McAdoo said:
-"The outstanding fact is that after
private operation: OF the railroads had
resulted in bringing them in 1917 to
such a deplorable condition as to be
a menace to the country (see testi-
mony Of President Samuel Rea, of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, quoted in Bull
letin No. Of this issue),. the govern,
ment operated these: roads for the
year 1913, with practically the same
plant as in 1915---the same lack of 10.
comotives, the same poorly repaired
freight cars! the. same Inadequate ia:
cilities and terminals and out. of date
ErOundhouses and, repair shops-met
every, demand upon the transportation
system Of. the country; paid living
wage to labor; paid to the owners
'i over $500, 100000 III rentals, which
they could not possibly have earned
under Spsiva tes control" "72 = zas@I
.ssssssssssss.% How allies Were Saved
I TIE first $Eproblem that faced the
1:Railroad Administration was to feed
Europe and supply munitions to. the
I5soldiers in the field. - .s.+--..
In December, 1917, the RAILROADS.
1 under private management-had i de
|livered at Atlantic ports 500, 900 tons
less than the amount of Fl God fixed as
necessary to support the allied na
tons by the Paris conference.
The allied premiers notified Presi
dent Wilson that this condition must
:, be changed America must m AXE
i good it's promises-or they would moi
Z be responsible for the consequences.
In one month and one week after
this situation was brought to the at
tention of the president by the prime
ministers of England, France and It
. |aly-With the roads under. government
I control more food was available a
eastern seaports than the ships fur
y ntshed by this country and the alllee
B nations could transport.
J. If private management it,
q hydra-headed control-had been per
:. Emitted to continue to ,muddle the sit
! uation the war might have been lost
/: Triumphs Of Unified Operation
In January and February, 1918, Mr.
!. McAdoo said, New England was il
4 peril for want of coal "At one tim,
]. it seemed as if nothing could proven
: that section from freezing!" Coal wa