The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-10
BY H. M. WICKs.

Railroad workers who have seen
their standards OF life beaten down
through direct wage cuts and thru
indirect cuts through the operation
of the stagger system are the vic
tins Of a new concerted attack by
the Roosevelt administration.
This attack Is an inseperable part
of the Roosevelt plan to place the
railroads under federal Co-ordinators
who will have authority TO scrap
roads that do not pay or that COM
pete with the big trunk lines. 1t is
a plan to centralize the railways into
powerful systems TO protect the in
vestments of finance capital, to slash
wages, to throw tens Of thousands OF
railway workers out of jobs, to raise
fares, to boost freight rates and pass
the cost on to the consumers.
During the last presidential cam
paign the greatest enthusiasm was
aroused when Roosevelt, in a direct
appeal to the railroad workers, spoke
of "reScuing" the railroads from
their crisis and clearly left the i'm
preston that this would be brought
about in way that would aid the
railroad workers. We again get
measure of the further perfidy and
demogogy of this man when we COM
pare his prediction words to his
present actions in the White House.
Admits Growing Crisis.
Newspaper accounts state that
railroads are to be subjected to sim
liar treatment as the weaker banks"
that is to say they are to be ELI
minated
This railway coordination is in
line with the Roosevelt policy of re-
organizing the whole economic life
of the country on vastly lower level
for the masses than anything ever
before experienced in this country.
1t is an admission that the govern
ment recognizes the hopelessness of
revival Of industry" that will
again place in operation the vast
transportation system which, during
the period Of relative sterilization,
were operating full blast.
Weakens Whole Structure.
Furthermore this reorganization"
of the railways, like all other capt.
talist measures to overcome the eff
fectS of the economic crisis, only
deepenS the crisis. This will be
especially pronounced in the case of
the railways because enormous
amounts Of railway securities are
held by savings banks, insurance
companies and other kindred con-
Germs, and will further weaken these
institutions already Keeling under the
terrific impact Of the economic crisis.
1t will mean ruin to additional num-
berS of depositorS. 1t will endanger
holders and beneficiaries of insurance
policies.
So, while the railroad workers bear
the direct brunt of the attack, there
are vast sections OF the population
that will also further suffer as a re-
suit Of this latest action of the Roo
seVelt administration.
Part of General Drive.
This attack on the railroad work
ers is part of the general offensive
against the toiling masses. The goal
toward which Roosevelt is driving is
clearly seen in his urging the forced
labor bill which aims to beat down
wages to the level OF dollar a day.
Hence this attack on the railroad
workers cannot be regarded as some
thing separate, but as part OF the
general capitalist offensive, along the
whole line of attack. The entire
working class, the poor farmers, the
impoverished professionals, engin-
GERS, small depositors-all these are
under the attack OF the government.
The capitalist press does not at
tempt to conceal the nature OF this
attack on the railroad workers. The