Evening star., 1949-12-26

lowed 10 1ollOW thelr natural bent ana spent
the evening at local restaurant.
A MOTHER.
BIames Transit Employees
For Troubles of the Transit System
To the Editor Of The Star:
The recent award Of the Arbitration
Board, determining the issues between the
Capital Transit Co. and its employees. is q
demonstration Of the bias and prejudice
Of the U. 8. Cancellation Service against
invested capital. The Cancellation Service
was not interested in securing an unbiased
agency. but chose men of known prejudice
against capital investment, for membership
on this Arbitration Board
The public which pays the bill and the
investor who furnishes the facility were not
considered from the time this prejudiced
outfit began its hearing until it wrote its
ridiculous opinion. 1t never entered their
minds that service may become too ex-
pensive for its customers. The customers
and the public be =. Labor must have It's
pound OF flesh.
I assume it is correct that only two transit
companies in this country pay higher wages
than does Capital Transit Co. The rest of
that story Is that both of these companies
are running behind millions Of dollars an
nually. and the general taxpayers are
making up the deficit from tax funds raised
by already too high taxes. That kind Of
business operation by politicians is charac-
teristic of public operation and leads only
to ruin Of the industry involved.
This Arbitration Board gave no considera-
ton to the ability to pay by the tranporta-
tion company-which ability in this instance
Is furnished by the riders-but obeyed its
master. the labor union. Labor itself gives
no consideration to the ability of its en-
ployer to pay in wage negotiations. 1t forgets
that wages must be produced by the busi-
ness. and II the industry cannot produce
enough to pay wages, and compensate the
owner. the law of diminishing returns
terminates industry and their jobs.
Capital and labor must be partners, and
business Unless this principle is applied in
these relationships, we will land where
Russia Is now, and where England soon
may be- New Zealand and Australia have
turned from socialism to individual enter
prise after narrowing experiences of failure.
If we destroy invested capital, then we
will have socialism or communism in it's
place; there is not much difference between
them. Labor cannot take out more than its
share Of the return without ultimate bank
ruptcy Of the industry, and the result Is
socialistic public ownership. The return on
invested capital must include sufficient re-
turn to cover risk Of investment also and
cannot be limited to what is known as "fair
return" The risks of the business cannot
be anticipated. Witness the Capital Transit
Co., which has an obligation of $500, 900
retroactive pay based on a rate of return
which did not include this item and could
not have included it. What should have been
done was to allow Capital Transit a sufficient
return above fair return to cushion against
q situation OF this kind.
n ha ~ nf ~;
principle will cost many transit employees
their jobs. This must be; there is no other
solution. In order to avoid bankruptcy,
transportation facilities must be curtailed
wherever possible. Non-rush hour bus and
streetcar service will have to be discon-
tinued, and time between runs heightened.
This of course may lead to less transporta-
ton usage and may lead to further cur
tailment. Routes that do not pay, but which
have been operated for the convenience of
the public must be discontinued in the inter-
est of economy.
Income and outgo must balance. The
riding public should place this inconvenience
where 1t belongs, on the bus and streetcar
operators and other transit employees in
volved in this wage proceeding. The Arbi-
tration Board is not without blame, as they
disregarded every rule Of economics and
served their masters in the socialist trend.
socialistic theory to which they bow.
When you suffer from curtailed service,
and stand on the corner waiting for bus
remember that the fellow who caused this
dilemma is drawing more wages for this
service than q majority of the people he
hauls. And when the bus and streetcar
operator finds himself victim Of curtail-
ment caused by this proceeding, let him walk
up to the looking glass and curse what he
sees for his condition. It is time for the
people Of Washington to wake up, and place
responsibility where it belongs.
DISGUISED RIDER.
Finds Public Representation
On Transit Arbitration Board Joke
TO the Editor Of The Star:
This administration is pressurized by
union labor. It saw to it that the so-called
public representatives on the transit board
of arbitration were men who could be de-
pended upon to lean the right way.
The result was foregone conclusion
the unions demands substantially granted:
every suggestion of the company for more
reasonable working rules denied
Representation of the public? What a
joke! M. w. BEAM.
Agrees with Gen. Eisenhower's Views
OF the Futility Of Security as = Goal
To the Editor OF The Star:
VIII Harold q. Stagg please tell us what
Is wrong with Gen. Eisenhower's slant on
security? -
Isn't security exactly what = man gets
when he goes to prison? II security is the
final objective Of all our living. If that's
the total answer to what We want out Of
life. then, Of course. just any price to pay
for It Is al right.
We've had lot Of talk about security
in recent years And 1t has been pretty
fascinating-ths talk, mean. so much %
II I.