The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-20
X. r. Bosses
Threaten Is
PC. Pay Cut
Whitney Silent on Rise
of Strike Sentiment
Among Rank and File
By SEYMOUR WALDMAN
Daily Worker Washington Bureau

Daily Worker Washington Bureau)
WASHINGTON. March 10.
don't know anything about it, Alex
ander F. Whitney, chairman of the
Railway Labor Executives Associa-
ton, told the Daily Worker today,
when asked for comment on the
rank and file strike sentiment which
is rising against the announced de-
termination Of the owners to keep
the railway workers on coolie
status.
W. F, Thiehoff, chairman Of the
Conference Committee of Managers,
this morning issued a blast per-
emptorily warning Whitney and his
labor" associates to either accept
continuation Of the 10 per cent wage
cut for ten months after its expira-
ton on June 30, 1884, or to consider
the conference" closed. with IS
per cent basic wage cut in the off1ng.
under the provisions of the Railway
Labor Act.
It is significant that Thiehoff
rubbed the noses Of the Whitney
delegation in the sand of President
Roosevelt's Feb. IA letter which pro-
posed the continuation of the 10 per
cent cut for another six months.
Roosevelt's letter, released simulta-
neously with the owners proposal
for a Is per cent wage cut, was gen.
orally interpreted as maneuver to
forestau the expected demands for
wage increases to meet the great rise
in the workers cost Of living 1t is
quite obvious that the Roosevelt Ad-
ministration is following the lead Of
the railroad management. In fact,
the owners consider their refusal to
increase wages part of the MIRA.
program.
The labor executives, said Whit
ney. at his headquarters at the Will
lard Hotel, the Ritz Carlton of
Washington. will reply tomorrow
morning to today's blast from w. F.
Thiehoff, Scorning Whitney's request
for the restoration on July 1, 1884, of
the basic rates Of pay Whitney's
organization last Saturday rejected
the request Of the 200 Glass rail-
roads for the continuation Of the 10
per cent wage cut for ten months
after its expiration on June 80, 1884.
To Proceed With Cuts
Thiehoff, for the owners, warned
Whitney and his associates that if
they persisted in refusing the for
mers' offer to defer" another re-
duction of per cent (making the
total Is per cent? in the basic rate
of pay, your continued declination"
leaves before us for consideration
only our notice of Is per cent re-
duction in basic rates of pay to be-
come effective on July /, 1884"
In short, says the owners ulti-
matum, we'll proceed" in our plan
of cutting wages further under the
terms of the Railway Labor Act.
Thiehoff arrogantly dismissed the
/ Railway Labor Executives Associa-
ton figures on the great increase in
1888 railroad profits, declaring.
your statement deals at great
length with certain statistical data
of q highly controversial nature.
Little purpose would be served in
undertaking to reply thereto in any
detailed way at this time in the light
of your declination of our compro-
mise offer Ito defer another cut),
your complete disregard of the let
ter Of the President of Feb. IA upon
which our compromise offer was
based, as well as your unqualified re-
lection of the reduction in basic
rates of pay of which we have given
you notice pursuant to our agree
nent with you and the provisions of
the Railway Labor Act"
Thiehof insisted today that the
roads are operating at deficit" de-
spite the fact that nearly all of the
systems show very substantial net
operating profits for 1888. The latest
announcement, released on March 8
| by the Bureau Of Railway Econom-
| les, the statistical organ of the man
agements, declared that the Glass I
railroads net operating income for
January 1884, showed an increase
of 1917 per cent over the CORE
spending month of 1882. IN addi-
ton, their taxes decreased As per
cent, from 1,40,201 in January,
1888 to $20,770,333 in January, 1884.