Evening star., 1938-10-30

TALLY small In the light Of the ultt-
mate benefits that are bound to accrue
from some better answer to the gen.
eral railway problem"
One cautionary word, however, de-
serves to be said. Concern over the
railroads II tripartite IN character.
To the interest Of management and
Of the men must be added the in
terest Of the public. In some Of the
proposals that have been advanced,
the public interest seems not to have
been fully appreciated. It must be
remembered that 1t Is this third party
that In the last analysis supports the
entire structure, for the railoads exist
for the public and not the public
for the railroads."
Hopes for Mere Far -Sesing
Financial Policy.
This board Is also hopeful that tiie
outlines Of . more Vigorous, more far
seeing financial policy can be pursued
by management with the cooperation
OF Government 90 as to avoid not only
the financial losses Of the past, but
also the creation OF corporate struc-
lures with too little fiexibility inherent
In them to permit them to survive a
period of declining business activity.
Those and kindred considerations, it Is
true, do not promise the; quick finan-
cial relief offered by . wage reduction.
Some Of the proposals, however, fore
0hld0Oy yn1{Af {~ hA -
future. And others, though the relief
they may afford will take longer for
realization. have, perhaps, an ultimate
significance to the welfare Of the rail-
road industry of such importance that
their realization should not be jeop-
ardized by discord between men and
management over the means for secur-
ing immediate relief. Both men and
management must realize that after
this board shall have discharged its
function, whatever its decision, they
Will still be living with the railroad
Their livelihood. their success, will de-
pend upon how ably each can grasp
the problem of the other"
The prevention Of wastes" as a sub
stitute for wage reduction. 1t was as
serted before the board that wastes
aggregating 81 5000 a day could be
prevented and that the pursuit of such
a course by the carriers would obviate
the need for efIecting savings through
a wage reduction. The elimination of
such waste. however desirable. the
board finds, constitutes a long term
measure which Affords little In the
way Of immediate relief.
The relevancy OF the increased pro-
ductivity OF labor. There has been
increased productivity Of railway labor.
Ihs may have resulted from several
causes, among them increased efi-
cheney Of the employees and modern.
lzation OF plant and equipment In
sofar as the increased productivity IS
shown to have resulted from the in
creased efficiency Of labor or to have
caused heavier responsibilities or sac
rif,ces to rest upon the employees, this
should be recognized in their compen-
sation Insofar, however, a. the In
creased productivity Is shown to have
resulted from the efficiency of manage.
ment or from investment OF capital in
modernized plant and equipment, that
Is not true except as additional sacri-
nee or responsibility Is incidentally
imposed upon the workers. Rather.
such gain should 60 to the carriers
insofar as necessary to yield a fair
return. b@yohd-%hich 1t should 20 Z
the public through better service and
lower charges"
Relevancy Of the cost OF living-The
board is inclined to believe that on
the whole, wage earners and other
consumers flnd that the same in
comes go somewhat farther TODAY
than in 1929 or in 1920 in meeting
normal wants. These considera tions
become relevant. however, only when
a reduction of v}ges is justified on
other grounds. ]
Main Reliance Placea
On Average Hourly Pay.
Comparative relevancy of average
hourly, weekly and annual earnings
The board, when drawing conclusions
concerning trends and comparati tive
Levels OF pay, places main reliance upon
average hourly earnings.
Trends in wages and earnings of
railway labor and of labor in other
industries-"No evidence is found that
railway employees have benefited more
than have employees in other indus
tries taken as a whole. Indeed, their
gains in hourly earnings have been not
quite as large"
Current rates OF pay of railway en-
ployes and Of other comparable work.
ers-'No general assumption can be
lndulged in that wages OF
large groups Of railway labor are
on level that is higher than wages
Tor such comparable class of labor
that we have been able to find"
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS The
board observes that the suggestion
that has been entertained by some Of
suspending for period of time, more
or less dependent upon the volume OF
tramc, the wage increases granted in
AC0s WOuAO lIlII UUuCS somewhat In
equitable element, assuming for the
purpose of illustration that a reduc-
ton of about that percentage should
be made. This flows from the fact
that differentials in wage rates among
the various groups of railway en-
ployes exist. That the difIerentials
prior to 1887 operated too favorably
In behalf Of the more highly paid
employees seems tacitly to have been
admitted at that time. for the in
creases benefited percentagewise the
lower-paid groups Of employees more
than those in the higher brackets.
Consequently, to suspend these in
creases would be to operate according
to the anology Of regressive rather
than progressive taxaton-making the
.ETHIN