The Connecticut labor news., 1922-08-25

cent of railroading that is "coal and steel' and that the o5 per cent that IS human" should be given no protec ton whatsoever? Would 1t not seem absurd to argue that the minority money investment should rule the in dustry and be protected from loss by every power of the law; and that the majority labor investment, not only should have no voice in the control, but also should be subject to destruc- ton at the will of the minority in terest? Is 1t not clear, since the rail way executives exercise their author ity subordinate to the requirements of the public interest, that If they at tempt, in the exercise of their limited authority to destroy those labor in vestments, which it is in the public interest to protect, they. should be held to act just as lawless1y as though they had attempted to destroy the money investments committed to their protection?
 The refusal of the labor investor to continue to make additional in vestments under non-acceptable con ditions, provides no basis for denying to him rights which have accrued from his~previous investments. If the first mortgage bondhoiders of rail- road refused to advance more money on a second mortgage bond issue, the executives of the railroad would have no authority to give to the second mortgage bondho1ders a prior lien, III order to punish the first mortgage bondholders for refusing to invest more money, or, in other words, for carrying on capital strike If the officers of railroad should promise in order to make the second mort age investment attractive, that they would give the second mortgage bondholders priority over the first mortgage bondholders, the courts would hold such a promise of the ex- ecutives to be void.
 Seniority Is Prior Lien on
 Employment.
 Tn like manner, if inN fairness and and justice to the public interest as we'll as injustice to the workers, the senior employees in the transportation industry should be held to have a prior lien upon positions of employ ment, any promises of the railway executives to destroy that prior lien should be held void as a lawless at tempt to destroy valuable private rights and to disregard the public right to efficient public utility service.
 It has been repeatedly threatened and the threat has been repeatedly carried out by the leading railroads Of the country that, when the wages and working conditions established by the Labor Board for the shop craft men do not meet with the ap- proval of the railroads, they may dis Ill contract out their work to private lower wages and less favorable work reply that they have agreed to ac- cept the validity of Labor Board decisions condemning this practive. But they accepted with the under standing" that they might bring law suits ito question the validity of such decisions Then if the decisoins l are held illegal or only "advisory,' it | Is clear that the executives will obey 1 them or not as they choose
 The fact that the arrangements do ] not agree to furnish work, although | they ask that the men agree to ac- cept work offered, gives another evi- dence that the railroad executives have not yet seen the fairness of treating men with at least the same that they give to dol lars. More than half the money in vested in railways is represented by securiteis bearing fixed rates of inter est. Compensation for this money must be regularly paid The bondholders cannot be dis charged in slack times. If there are surplus funds which cannot be used oroftabl yin the operations the ex- ecutives must invest them in other to keep them working or ,lse pay for idle money. But if there s a surplus of railway employees in lack times the executives accept no for continuous com for labor investments. On he contrary they insist upon tine