Evening star., 1926-10-23
MEN AND MONEY
By NJ. S. Rukeyser
tCopyright. 1920

|
| peak traffic quickly, without car
| shortages and jams near the termi-
nails. Behind the modernized and en-
| larged locomotives and improved
! freight and passenger cars is the i'm
| proved morale of. officers and men.
Two methods for dealing with en-
| ployes have been eXemplif1ed by pol
| icy of the Pennsylvania, on the one
hand, and the Baltimore and Ohio,
on the other. Gen. w. w. Atterbury,
| new president of the Pennsylvania
| Railroad, has apparently successfully
| fought the threat of union "domina-
| ton and has set up company unions
! free from the influence of outside
| walking delegates. The Pennsylvania
management feels that the new instru-
| mentalities for cooperation between
| management and men and the han
ding of grievances is not only prac-
ticable, but an important cause Of
| heightened railroad efficiency.
B. & O. Uses Trades Union.
On the other hand, Daniel Willard
of Baltimore, head of the Baltimore
and Ohio syStem-a liberal and an IN
novator-has made a creative contr1-
button which has brought peace with
| outside unions. Under the Baltimore
and Ohio plan, which several otner
progressive railroads have adapted to
their own needs, the company coop
crates with employees in the shops
through the International MachinistS'
Union Instead of fighting the unions.
the company uses the machinery OF
trades union as an instrument Dy
which employees make suggestions for
improving working conditions ana
| working processes as we'll as for the
handling of negative matters such as
grievances and complaints.
The genesis of this new spirit In
| trade unionism came shortly before
| the disastrous shopmen's strike In the
Autumn of 1922, and the following
year the Baltimore and Ohio adopted
| the new program, tentatively, in the
| Glenwood shops outside Of Pittsburgh.
| A year later the management felt that
| sufficient good had come out OF the
experiment to extend the principle TO
| all it's shops Other railroads watched
| with marked interest, and the Chesa-
peake and Ohio, the Chicago and
Northwestern and the government
owned Canadian National Railways
| followed suit.
Now the Canadian National is about
| to assume leadership in this move
| ment and extend the new principles
! from the shops to employees in all
branches Of the railroad service.
Going Little Farther.
| In revealing this plan to the writer
| the president and chairman OF the
Canadian National Railways SAID:
| I'VE are going a little further than
| the Baltimore and Ohio in extending
the plan of cooperation with en-
ployes. We are still at the fringe. but
| are so satisfied with results that we
expect to spread the principles to
other branches of the service. This
policy entails the acceptance OF the
| trade union and represents dlsposl-
| ton to cooperate with it. l am or
| the opinion that unions are here TO
| stay, and even if employers could
break them up, I do not think 1t
! would be advisable.
| I'm all my career 1 have never
found labor leader go back on his
| word. find trades union officials
! fair and honorable, and have seen
the unions make some valuable sug-
| gestions All our men are organized.
The 3. & o. plan fails to spread to
some Of the other American roads De-
cause of the opposition Of manage
ment to dealings with outside unions.
Under the B. & 0. plan the union
assumes constructive interest In
the performance of the railroad JOB
|
men are made with the advice of
Otto Boyer, jr., a consulting engineer,
employed by the international Ma
chinists' Union.
Revolutionary Movement.
The new form of company-union CO.
operation represents a revolution IN
the trades union movement. 1t con-
stitutes an adjustment to prosperous
American conditions and departure
from traditional practices based on
the MARKHAM forecast that the lot of
workers would become more Wretched
through the years. William Fl. john
ston, head of the International Ma
! chinistS' Union, was astute enough to
observe that the trend in America was
| toward higher wages and an 1mprOV-
| ing standard of living.
Mr.. Johnston was the first practi-
cal labor leader to formulate the pol
J icy that trades union ism should rep
resent something more than a strug-
gle against employers for shorter
hours and higher pay. The new con-
| ception is that men could progress
| best by taking a constructive interest
in the main objectives Of manage
ment, which are to give service to the
| public and develop a profitable busi-
ness.
The union has been particularly in
| terested in stabilizing employment,
| and, in appreciation of the new CO.
operative spirit, management has
undertaken to do as much repair
work in it's own shops as possible
! instead of farming it out to other
companies and thus making employ
| ment in the shops irregular. Man.
| agement has further agreed to divide
with the men the benefits resulting
from their suggestions for improved
methods.
| Mr.. Johnston's program Is an
answer to the old-fashioned criti-
cism that labor unions were neces-
sarily obstructive, tending to reduce
productivity and block progressive
methods. In England it is true that
| the unions oppose the Introduction
Of labor saving machinery, looking
upon new scientific methods as COM
| petitors instead of as forces which
heighten prosperity and improve the