Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1923-07-20


IN Soviet Russia.
When the shopmen were forced to
strike, the railroads apparently for
got that they hadn't any money and
they found millions Of dollars with
which 10 fight the strikers. Where
the money came from hey did not
disclose. Perhaps they found q
heavy sugar daddy as DO certain
young women along Broadway, TO
hnanee them. But the more reason.
able assumption is that they took the
money out Of their empty" treas
nries.
Money was sptnt lavishly. Dollars
were poured out in an unending
stream TO hire strike-breakers whose
chief work was in grazing the rail
road shops by their presence. Hun
dreds of thousands of dollars were
paid TO strike-breaking agencies
which cheated the railroads right and
LETT and ran up grossly exorhtanl
bills for food, supplies and other ex.
penseS attendant upon entertaining
strike-breakers on big scale.
How the railroads suffered during
the strike is summarized by Arthur
j. Neumark, in an article which APP
peared in the Magazine of Wall
Street, which, as can be judged from
its name, would not be inclined TO
"razz" the carriers. Mr.. Neumark
says cautiously that the railroads
finally emerged partially victorious
from their fight with the shopmen, but
"at the costly price of reducing the
condition Of their equipment to far
below normal standards" He con-
tinues:
THE loss was overcome, however,
and once more the railroads sue
eeeded in rectifying an adverse stu
alton. In the fall of 1922, the un-
usually high amount of 10 per cent
of freight cars and 81 per cent of
locomotives were unserviecable. By
the first of May the unserviceable
freight cars had been reduced to 90
per cent and unserviceable loeomo-
tives to 1914 per cent
Mr.. Newmark neglects to mention
that the Improvement in the condition
of railroad equipment began with the
return of the efficient union shop
workers to many of the railroads,
when the carriers discove u thai
fighting strike was an exp, sive
business and when, under the leader
ship of the Baltimore d Ohio, many
settled with the shopmen. Since then
their earnings have shown notable
Improvement.
Now even many of the railroads
that couldn't see that il was good
tons with the employees are showing
good earning statements. due to
general prosperity in all lines of
trade.
In view of the facts just outlined
the question naturally arises, "How
do the railroads get that way?" Are
they incapable of learning anything,
despite many costly lessons previous
to the shopmen's walkout9 We're
not their pleas of poverty largely
products of a vivid Imagination. to
put it mildly, and wouldn't their re-
covery have been much quicker If
they had not wasted time and money
in fighting the shopmen? An EN-
phatic "Yes!" is the only logical an.
swer to these queries.
/ In the months and years to come,
pretuences of poverty similar to those
of the railroads in 1922 may be made
by other big industries whose work.
ers are resisting unjustifed wage
cuts or striving for wages that will
enable them and their families to live
as self-respecting Americans should.
If strikes come, there will be the same
old cry of "We're broke. dead broke,
boo-hoo" while millions are spent
to fight the workmen, with conse-
quent heavy loss to the employers
and retarding of industrial recovery.
Then, if union men and the public
will remember the antics and specious
pleas of the railroads during the shoo-
mems strike, and how Father Time
refuted the fearful arguments Of the
railroad managers, they'll be better
prepared to judge of similar pleas
from the managers of other indus
tries. They'll have facts at hand that
if made known widely will make the
public inclined to accept the en-
ployers' statements with several
heaping tablespoons of salt. Then
will be demonstrated again, "You
shall know the truth and the truth
shall make you free"