The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1937-10-07
SEEN
HEARD
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CAPITAL
By Carter Field ~
By Carter Field ]

Washington. are certainly
signs in Chicago, at the conference
between railroads and labor, that
on the part Of those particular la
Dor leaders at least there is promise
OF rule of reason.
For the first time since this coun-
try started to work out of the de-
preston, labor, in these confer
ences, despite the knowledge that
the administration is on its side,
has shown a disposition to let the
employer live and make a profit.
This doesn't sound as though it
were much of concession. Some
might think that of course labor
would have to take this stand, as,
il there were no proits-if the en-
ployer did not 'live"-there would
be no jobs.
Every employer who has had la
Dor troubles, however, believes that
it is simply impossible to exaggerate
the Importance OF dealing with la
Dor union representatives who agree
frankly that the employer should
not only Give" but should make
profit. And 1t does not often
happen that labor representatives
in conference with employers,
have been willing seriously to dis
cuss abandoning restrictions on
their employers which they hoped
to obtain by lawl
A case In point In the railroad
labor negotiations is the bill pend
ing in congress, which restricts the
length of freight trains-generally
called the 70-car bill. Most experts
agree that this idea is not primarily
In the interest Of safety. In fact,
some contend that it would increase
rather than diminish hazards. 1t
is primarily to force the employ
ment OF more men to operate more
trains. But the railroads contend
that it would not only increase
their pay rolls, but would cause con-
gestion in railroad terminals at
times when there is a rush to ship
perishable freight.
Sounds Reasonable
Now the point is that this bill
passed the senate-the greatest
deliberative body in the world -
with hardly any discussion. 1t was
stopped in the house not because
of the actual strength of its OPP
ponents, but because of other things.
Those who wanted to stop it had
the advantage of the crowded clos
ing days Of session. They had
the advantage of the wages and
hours bill and others far more spec
tacular than the 70-car train bill.
But railroad representatives here
admit privately that they have small
hope of killing it next session if the
railroad unions continue to press
for its passage.
So the willingness OF SO many la
Dor representatives at this Chicago
conference to call off passage of this
law was not an empty gesture. They
were giving up something they
thought Of real Importance in order
to permit the railroads to make
enough money to give them an adj
vance in wages.
It all sounds reasonable enough,
but it was spectacular in labor re-
lations history, of tremendous inn
portance to every employer of labor
and to every person living in this
country as indicating a long step
towards industrial peace.
Most observers are inclined to
think that this conference is a straw
in the wind indicating the trend of
labor relations for the next year.
This view may prove too optimistic.
There is no certainty about it. But
it seems probable for several rea-
sons. One is that intelligent labor
leaders realize they have much
aroused public opinion to deal with.
There is more sentiment than they
like for something they would fight
to the last ditch to avoid-respon-
sibility of labor unions for their ac-
tons, clinched on them by law
forcing incorporation Of unions.
Find Ally in Lewis
The bituminous coal producers
may find John L. Lewis a very DO
tent ally on one of the problems that
is worrying them more than any
thing else.
This is government competition
for the coal industry from hydro
electric power developments. IT
just SO happens that Mr.. Lewis is
very strongly persuaded that all this
hydroelectric stuff is the bunk. He
believes that electric current can be
produced more cheaply from coal
than from water power, even under
circumstances favorable to econom-
ical water power development. Fur
Their he believes that the engineers
of the electric industry have long
since pre-empted most of the sites
promising low cost development.
1t also happens that Mr.. Lewis
has expressed himself Very ~forcibly
about the lobbyists who come to
Washington paid by local chambers
of commerce and other associations
and maneuver to get big power de