Evening star., 1922-08-02
NEW YORK PAPERS;
. BACK RAIL CHIEFS
Executives Stand Against
Restoring Seniority Rights
to Strikers Wins Approval.


whua taking the stand that the
railroad strike should be settled. ana
or such ground as will preclude
repetition of present conditions. the
Heading, New York dailies sympatnlze
5eenerally with the unwillingness OF
the railroad executives to accept
President Harding's seniority pro-
posals.
Pointing out that the unions have
admitted the failure Of the strike that
strike without public sympathy starts
out failure. the New York Times tooay
states that IAN essential and out
standing element in the settlement 10
: the agreements OF both SIDES tne
Z. railroad managers as we'll as tne
: union employers to submit all their
; controversies to the Railroad LABOR
, Board and to abide by its decisions.
!: This result will both restore con-
!: fidence in this governmental BODY
!. and heighten respect for the I'd"
: under which Congress created IL
!. Where clear principle is involved
!. there ought to be no yielding Ihls
; Is surely the case with the Presi-
: dents proposal that all the strikers \
:. be allowed to so back to their former
: positions with seniority and other
:. rights uninIpaired' That would give
!. them an actual advantage over the
: men who had faithfully kept at work
= The latter did a service not only 10
: the public but really to their union,
!. since they kept it alive in the SHOPS
. and thus maintained an organization
: with which the Rilroad Labor Board
!: could deal The proposal virtually
: TO penalize such employees seems
highly unjust"
: the New York World believes, when
!: he asked that the strikers go back
= with their seniority rights.
: This seniority question thus be.
- comes the only question in the way OF
: an immediate settlement and IT IS, tne
: World continues lat this point that
: the railroad executives balk. They
: refuse to accept this part OF the Presl.
. dents proposal nor are they without
|. reason in this refusal
!. Many of their shopmen remained
:. at work. and they wish to recognize
: this loyalty, which was large factor
!: In enabling them to keep going ana
): to save the public from serious IN
!. convenience. That is certainly rea-
: sonable desire and will have the pup.
= lies Endorsement. Some. at least. OF
= the large numbers of new hands taken
: TO replace the strikers are competent
workers anu were SeSaNS
!: jobs if they proved fit. These men
= also are entitled to consideration. and
on that question the public, which is
: the chief loser from an interruption
: of railroad transportation, Will again
:. side with the railroad managers
The first is unqualified and unre-
: served acceptance. by both the rail-
: roads and the shopmen. of the de
: cisions of the Railway Labor board
:, The second Is restoration of the
StatuS ouo of JulV 1. save the reduC
: tion in wages.
!: The shopmen when they dehed the
: boards decision followed a precedent
: made by the railroads For months
/. the railroads have fiouted the boards
. decisions. The moral delinquency is
: double. not single. .
!: Complete and uncoaditihed ac-
: ceptance of the boards decisions is
the great essential. Gaining this, the
public will have won the strike:
/: losing it. the public loses all The
: only way known to civilization for
. resolving disputes is through the
party. A particular decision may be
: wS6ng or right: no sort Of court is
. perfect; but decisions when made
: must be obeyed.
AS to seniority there is a vast
. to-do over nothing or very little. The
chief privilege of an old employe is
his pension right. This the men on
strike have already paid for.
Ihe ShOpmen nave lNQlCdlSO liei
willingness to accept the settlement
il is time for railway executives to
do the same. Mr.. Loree and his as
: sociates, whose utterances have caused
alarm, may remember the experience
of George F. Baer and how he was
-sunable to sustain the claim that he |
was vice-regent of heaven. The
railroads should accept. and at once
The railroad executives SO far are !
: not able to agree with President
settlement nrODO-
sal in respect of a feature it con-
tains, involving what must be for
: them inescapably a cardinal iHoral
+. Issue. the New York Herald says.
In the last analysis they might not
be able to agree with the proposal
. as a whole il that feature were to
be held inseparable from the gen. ,,
eral proposal
E This moral issue is the binding OBJ
legation into which the executives
have entered with the men. old and
new, now standing by the roads.
! These men are there. sticking it out,
old men and new men. under the
; solemn pledges Of the employers that
. they would not lose their places, would
: not lose their first seniority rights,
would not lose any Of the privileges
. and benefits acquired by them and ;;
guaranteed to them. strike settle
. ment or no strike settlement.
: I'm so far as this moral issue, this
: sacred obligation of the roads to their !
) faithful, loyal men now at their posts
. and keeping the railroads in opera.
. tion in the teeth of the efforts of
!: the strikers to tie them up, Is a de-
: termining factor-in so far as this
might cause the executives definitely
: and finally to disagree with the Presi-
dents proposal, President Harding
. himself could only respect and honor
:. them for their stand.
:: THE American people would not
: merely respect and honor the rail-
road executives for that stand in Sbe-
: half of fulfilling their obligation to
: the loyal men and in respect of strip
: ping them of nothing that was
: pledged to them; the American peo-
: pie would back them up in that stand
to the limit"
!. Accept" says the New York
: Tribune to both railroad executives
: and the men.