The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-04-09
RAILROAD ORDERS
FOR EQUIP NJ N i
B OOST BUSINESS
Roads Spent S440,000,00
During 1922 for Wages
and improvements
BY WALTER b. BROWN

Special Dispatch to The Age Herald.
NEW YORK, April S.-The trans
portation question is coming into the
foreground in a specially noteworthy
manner 1t is to be the principal
topic for consideration by the next
Congress largely in a program for
radical attack. 1t Is fortunate that
Congress will not meet until Deem
Der. because in the intervening pc
taking a campaign of education
which may place the whole
problem in a new light The United
States Chamber of Commerce which
is to hold its annual meeting in New
York next month will make transpor-
taton its principal theme, and will
undoubtedly lead to a wide public in
terest in many phases of the prob
lem that have hitherto received but
little public attention.
Within the past week there has
been a meeting here of the Associa-
ton of American Railway Executives
and at least one fact has been
brought out which should have an
important bearing on the attitude of
industrial workers toward the rail-
roads. This is the announcement
being the first official statement that
the railroads of the country have au-
thorized since January ], 1922, for
cars. locomotive trackage and other
facilities, the expenditure of S1,540,-
600 900 of which $4,000 900 was ac
tually expended during the year 1922.
This leaves S1.100, 200 900 yet to be eX-
pended and which will be undertaken
as rapidly as the work can be done
and the financing arranged.
o o o
Aided Recovery.
1t requires but little ealeulat ton to
see how important part the eXpen-
~. IL, Il
in the marvellous Industrial recovery
of 1922, and which is now in full
swing. Fully 20 per cent of this. or
approximately 100000, 900 has been
expended in wages but for that mat
ter the whole sum has been placed in
circulation, increasing the buying
power of the community not only to
the amount of the figures already
quoted, but in an ever widening de-
gree as the money is turned over and
over. If this sum were taken out
of the years operations, our steel
mills would not be running to 100
per cent of their capacity, car load
ings would not be at a record point
and there would be vastly different
story to tell t. that to which We are
now listening.
The railway executives must de-
pend for the huge remaining sum
which they need upon borrowed
ment of the savings of the people. If
the radical element in Congress
should have their way, there would
be practically ne such thing as Sc
curing this new capital because there
Is no way of compelling investors to
place their money where there is any
doubt of an adequate return, or for
that natter, of the return of the
money itself. Employees of the steel
companies and of the equipment COM
panies and of all others who are par
Elephants in the wage distribution no
matter how radical they may be in
their beliefs. are going to think twice
before they risk their own employ
ment for a theory. AS has been
stated before. Congress will prob
ably do great deal of talking, but
will accomplish very little in the
way of actual revision Ct the trans
portation act If the railroads can
be let alone, they will work out their
own salvation and with it the sal
walton Of the country.
Textile Wages Highes.
One fear which recent events have
brought forward is the possibility of
an increase in the production cost of
manufactured articles due to in
creases in wages. The New England
textile mills will on May ! put into
operation an advance of 1917 per cent
over recently prevailing scales nut IL
will. in a mea sure, offset reductions
that accompanied the deflation pc
riod. Advances in the steel industry
have occurred, but as yet there has
not appeared general demand for
increases; one reason fer this is that
labor did not undergo deflation to
any considerable extent and certainly
not In proportion to the deflation
which industry itself experienced. If
labor would only be content to let
we'll enough alone, it will probably
do more than any one thing to sta
bilize industry upon its present salts
factory basis. The strikes and I'M
employment of too recent memory to
inspire much enthusiasm among the
rank and file for their repetition. but
what is likely to happen under the
more or less radical leaderships of
the labor unions remains to be seen.