Evening star., 1939-08-11
Unwise Wage Demands
Harmful to Workers
Employees Should Cooperate
With Distressed Firms.
Writer Says
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star
To the sight-seer in Washington today
1t may sound strange to be told there
was once trolley car line to Mount
Vernon. There was trolley line to
Baltimore. And one to Rockville. Ten
years ago there we're streetcar lines to
Chevy Chase Lake and Kensington.
The line to Mount Vernon was aban-
doned because of river boat and highway
competition. To Rockville the line lost
out to bus and private automobiles But
| the line to Baltimore finally went under,
at the very last due in part to unWise
demands for wage increases. Yet even
| up to the very last day, the last hour and
| the last run men believed some miracle
would suddenly take place to save the
| line from passing into oblivion.
For three years prior to its passing
| the Washington Baltimore line had
| been on the crippled list, operating in re-
| ceivership. The men who had for years
made their living operating the cars de-
manded more pay. Among carriers the
| street railway and trolley companies set
| the pace in the matter of receiverships.
| In the year 1919, for example, 48 street
| railway companies hit bottom, involving
total Of more than $320000000 in Sc
| curities. In the preceding year 20 street
railway companies went to the wall with
loss of more than $230,0O0, 900 in stocks
and bonds In the 13 years from 1915
| to 1927, inclusive, 259 street railway and
| trolley companies, involving a total cap
italization of ST ,627 ,973 7s7, went under
| The Washington Railway & Electric
| Co. stands today as one of the few COM
panies of its kind still paying dividends
! to ockholders-thankS to It's subsidiary
| power company.
Men working in any kind of trade or
| Industry are entitled to a good living, if
they can get it. But men employed in
| the industries which are going backward
ought to recognize the facts before they
| IND themselves out of job. There are
too many industries and small business
concerns being driven out of existence
today for man to sit still and listen
| without investigating the facts to the
| arguments of some union leaders Con-
ditions are pretty much the same in every
line of business. High taxes, keen COM
| petition for business and selfish labor
| leaders! If man quit job driving a
| bus or Streetcar, for instance, thinking
| he would be able to pick up a truck
| driving job in a day or two he would
soon learn that his initiation fee to get
| into the union here in the city of Wash
| ington would be quite large There
| are plenty of statesmen jobs if one can
| produce-no others need apply. And
| there are plenty of small commission
| jobs where the field is overcrowded and
| where man cannot make 81 a day. Any
one with fairly good paying job should
| hold on to it.
An ex-railroad man stood at the cid
| depot at Chesapeake Beach few years
ago, wondering about a job. As he
| boarded the train for WASHINGTON he
| decided to have little chat with the
conductor standing beside the step of
| the coach. He asked the conductor for
his opinion about employment with the
beach railway
Well said the conductor, rubbing his
chin and shaking his head sadly. Il
don't think there would be much use try
ing this company A few men own the
railroad and they want all it makes"
But as he spoke those men who owned
| the company and wanted all it makes
were studying ways and means to keep
| their heads above water, pay taxes and
salaries and repairs. They were not ever
considering dividends at all, because the
road was operating in the red Losing
money hand over fist, it finally went
under and was Abandoned!
Few railroad men ever find better
paying jobs than the ones they lose, and
they lose them fast enough by letting
nature take its course. 1t is folly to
hasten the day by demanding more than
a suffering industry can pay. Many
railroad men would gladly take cut in
pay If they were positive it was the only
way their companies could survive. But
| the union leaders can't see it that way.
They had rather see their members lose
out than give an inch. They shout no
IN capital letters at every hint of pay
cuts. They are more interested in pay
advances than regular employment and
strikes are never costly to the leaders
! themselves
| They grab at nickel and lose 81 in
every strike.
The latest in the Washington area is
the little auto railroad across the Poto-
mac in Virginia. A few days ago the
men struck for an increase in pay. No
sane person could see how the company
was paying their salaries at all, with
little passenger and no freight business.
The company said the advance would
cost more than it would earn in two
years. But, the company did give q
cent-an-hour increase in pay. Not even
an optimist would concede that the little
railroad could last longer than time
enough for its cross-ties to rot out. Then
where would the money for replace
ment come from?
So, on August 8, the company asked
the I. c. c. for permission to abandon
service. Earlier than expected.