The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-06-03
Roosevelfs Railroad Bill~A Bill to Cut Wages
and Increase Unemployment

scheme will 10 that extent prevent
realization Of the savings"
The whole course OF this railroad
legislation to date reveals a close
hook-up between railroad companies,
the government and the Brotherhood
chiefs, all working in their own way
to impose on railroad labor the bur-
den Of restoring railroad pronsS. The
three forces apparently pull at cross
purposes from time to time-giving
workers the illusion that fight is
being madesin their interest-but the
net result, whichever appears to win,
is that labor gets it in the neck.
The provisions Of Roosevelt's rail-
road program were first made public
toward the end of April. The bill
calls for suspension of the antitrust
laws to permit federal coordinator
and regional railroad groupings to
work out economies in operations by
elimination of duplicating services
joint use Of terminals and trackage
and financial reorganization. 1t also
calls for repeal of the recapture
clause OF the transportation act and
federal regulation Of holding com
panies. .,
Even child could see that the pro-
posed economies" would be made at
the expense of the railroad workers
and the original measure contained
no provisions for even easing over the
drastic lay-offs contemplated. Yet
Grand CHER Alyanley Johnston Of the
Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers
immc ely announced to the press
his of the Roosevelt railroad
bill, debating 1t TO be "eminently fair
in its safeguards to labor"
The Treachery Of Brotherhood
Officials
Johnston's approving statements APP
peared III the same news items as
quoted the Association of Railway
Labor Executives (of which Johnston
is a member) protesting against the
loss of jobs involved and declaring
demagogically: 1--we shall insist that
this intolerable deflation of labor by
cutting down jobs and wages must
stop" .--.r-
JohnstonlS calculated treachery IRE
vealing not even the proverbial hon
or among thieYes") is nothing new
in the railroad industry. w. G.. Lee
Of the Tranmen, for instance, used
almost to Specialize in the role of
Judas Iscariot whenever the railroad
unions Appeared to be achieving a
united front for strike or other action.
In this case, there is little doubt
that Johnston "a Hoover supporter in
the last election) made q deliberate
play to curry favor with Roosevelt,
hoping for a loan from the Recon-
struction Finance Corporation for the
defunct Standard Trust Bank in
Clevelands He knew that the opposi-
ton in the B. of L. E. was out to
hang him on the shady tree of this
bank failure which has cost so much
of the members money.
Not beiHg"so desperately concerned
about their own Jobs at the moment.
the other Brotherhood chiefs could
afford to assume some concern for
their members jobs. They gathered
in Washington and, in between poker
games, began to battle" for labor in
their usual yicarious fashion-through
statements prepared by their lawyer,
Donald r. Richberg Richberg point
ed out that 100 per cent of the OPP
Grating economies proposed under the
bill would. be achieved at the expense
of the railroad employees" He is like
wise authority for the already quoted
estimate of from $4,000 to 100000 lay
offs.
Wage Cuts and Less Employment
Railroad labor was treated, through
the capitalist press and the paper
Labor, to another sham battle and
another glorious victory" The ia
Dor amendments for which the
Brotherhood chiefs had lounged so
long and SO hard in their Washington
hotels were adopted by the Senate.
The two main amendments affect
ing employment quoting the United
Press account) calls for freezing Of
railway employment at the number
on the payrolls in May, 1888" and