New Britain herald., 1922-07-27
EMPHASIZING THE OBVIOUS.


 The Chairman of the Railway Employes Publicity Association has charged that the President of the United States has practically attempt cd to place American Labor under the gun" He warns that if this done nothing short of revolution will hap pen"
 The President, by wire, has emphasized the obvious truth which is plain to all men except those whose vision is distorted through their own desire to see the matter from their viewpoint only Had an attempt been made to draft men to work, threat ening to use troops to compel them to work, there would have been a basis for the charge of the leader of labor. No such attempt has been suggested. The right of men to refrain from working has been reit- erated It Is an inherent right under the law The right is recognized. moreover, of banding together to make the strike effective, if workers so desire.
 As men have this right so men have the right to work. It is this right that is being protected. That right is the thing that is being placed under the gun" As long as American Labor" does not interfere with that right, American labor will be nowhere near the government guns. All this is obvious. Freedom to work is being protected or Is to be protected by force if necessary if the promises of the government are carried out. There is no abridg ment or threatened abridgment of freedom; it, freedom, is to be assured.
 It is reported that the President is trying to influence the railroads to make one concession to the strikers restoration of seniority rights, In this may be seen the perplexing question that requires careful weighing of the probable results that would come from such concession. Unh esita tingly one insists that the rights of the strikers should not be restored as the first step. They were told they would lose those rights if they persisted in their strike. Prac- tically all of the complaints on which the strike was based have been aban- doned, and the new demand restora- tion of rights, remains. In urging concession by the roads in this mat ter, without mentioning the em- ployes who have remained at work one goes at the matter in the wrong direction. First the rights of the employees who have remained on the jobs should be considered; then, if at all, the restoration of the, rights of strikers should be considered.
 But here arises practical diffi- culty. If the non-strikers are given any rights above those of the strikers, the strikers would urge. even if their seniority privileges" were restored, that full restoration had not been made. The non- strikers must be taken care of in some manner which would have nothing to do with the seniority rights. and this, of course, involves payments of money bonuses which, probably, the railroads would be unwilling to do.
 Ardently 1t may be wishe ed that full protection to men willing to work would bring efficiency to the railroads to the end that there would have to be no backdown In regard to this matter. If that is impossible, cer- tainly the restoration of rights" to the strikers should not be considered of more importance than practical recognition of the rights of the non- strikers.
 FLIVVERIZING MEXICO.