The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 31, 1921, Page 3

=, public -points out these facts. IN THE INTEREST OF A SQUAR DEAL FOR THE FABMERS Entered as eeeond clnss mattm' ut the postoflice at gfiea;{;fll dd 427 Sixh E Ml 11 cation a ress avenue nneano s, Minn. Address ail remittances to The Nonpartisan Leader, Box 2072, Minneapolis, Minn. VOL. 13, NO. 9 —==ne] Tlonparfisan Teader === Published at aneapnlis. Minn., Every Two Weeks VER S. MORRIS, Editor. MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, OCTOBER 31, 1921 s A MAGAZINE TKA’.I‘ DARES TO PRINT THE One year, $1.50. Clnsslfled ntes on clnsslfled pnxe other advertising rates on appli Bureau of Circulations. C. Beckwuh Specnl Agency, advertising renresentnuvcs New York, (,meaxo 8t. Louls Kansas City, WHOLE NUMBER 284 The Truth About the Threatened Railroad Strike unyielding, selfish and “public-be-damned? attitude of the ° 3; NATION-WIDE “railroad strike is threatened because of the railway owners and executives in regard to the present high, confiscatory. railroad rates. The roads have intentionally tried to force the railroad workers into a strike, rather than yield to the universal demand for a rate reductlon which will stimulate agricul- ture and business and thus result in more traffic with a consequent increase in railroad profits. Railroads No other interpretation can logically be put upon Foment a the attitude assumed by the carriers which led up to Bi e the threat of the railroad brotherhoods to walk out ig Strike (ctober 30. Pressure for lower freight rates has become too great to be longer resisted. But the railroads do not intend to grant lower rates until they see whether they can not force another big cut in railroad wages. -They intend-to use the demand for fair rates, if possible, to force down wages further. They think that a strike will turn public sentiment against the railroad workers and hence p%acl{e blame for high rates on the workers. They will welcome a strike. fixes railroad wages under the transportatlon act, has issued a ‘statement that ought to convince the public where the blame lies. ' It will be remembered that the railroad labor board granted the railroads a 12 per cent cut in the wages of workers LAST JULY, and that this cut has not resulted in any lowering of rates. It should be understood further that the 12 per cent cut of last July in railroad wages put those wages back where they were in the summer of 1920 before the last increase was granted the men. After railroad wages were given their last boost, over a year ago, the commerce commission ; granted the 20 per cent increase in rates which has been in effect since them~ This increase in rates, it was said, was necessary to pay the increased wages granted at that time. But last July the 12 per cent wage cut restored wages to WHERE THEY WERE. Yet rates have NOT been restored to where they were - before the rate raise of a year ago. Instead, the railroads have notified their employes that they will seek another 10 per cent wage cut at once before' lowering rates as demanded by the pubhc HE statement of the mem- bers of the railroad labor board representing the : B UT as this is wrltten the railroad labor board, the body which Wages Were Cut Down Last July These members of the wage board say: On the first day of July, the"‘. the psychological effect would be instantly beneficial can not be doubted. Such reduction in the cost of living as might result from this and other causes would inure to the benefit of the railway employes and would constitute one of the statutory grounds for a further reduction in wages. At the same time it would have a tendency to reduce the cost of materials and supplies to the carriers and it would not then be necessary for the carriers to rely solely on wage cuts for a reduction of their operating expenses. Deflation should be general and, as far as possible, uniform. Up to this time the farmer is the only man that has deflated and he came to the earth with a thud. This was because-he did not possess the para- chute of organization to break his fall. HIS, from impartial wage arbitrators representing the pub- lic, puts the blame for the threatened strike where it should be—on the railroads. The railroads refused to give the pub- lic the benefit in lower rates of the big wage cut of last-July, but have demanded another 10 per cent cut, which has brought about the strike danger now impending. As the labor board members say, the farmer has been deflated, business has got a good start toward deflation, railroad workers have suffered the 12 per cent wage cut of last. Jl(llly,fbut rallroag rates are still nafiatet(;ih a}cr}lld instead of cutting them to correspond wi e XX(X‘(I:(te(l;: 11—313 d wage cut and the deflation of other interests, the railroads actually demand another big wage cut Oppressed before they will consent to lower rates! A word should be said in regard to the rail- road-workers. They did not accept the big wage cut of last July. They believed the cut was greater than the slight reduction in the cost of living up to that time justified. Bult.there was little or no chance of a strike of railroad men over that cut. The brotherhood heads, it is understood, - were opposed to a strike. If the wage re- duction of July had been reflected in rate reductions to benefit the public, a strike of the men would have been unthinkable—impossi- ble ‘But the men not only saw the railroads gobbhng all the sav- ings resultmg in the July wage cut, without giving the public any benefit in lower rates, but they were served the other day with formal notice that the roads would demand a further cut of 10 per cent before they would reduce rates. This was the last straw. The notice by the brotherhoods that a strike would take place October 30 followed. It was their only alternative under the conditions. TRIKES are bad. They are | SURE, REPEAL EXCESS PROFIT TAXES! S e el son vitally. ‘Chey are a violent and unreasonable method of set- tling industrial disputes. But what other weapon to defend railroad board made effective a decision which reduced the wages of railway employes 12 per cent, aggregatlpg about Labor Board $400,000,000 per—- Puts Blame annum, basing the - estimate on the on Carriers normal number of employes. Since then, by a-revision of only a part of the working rules of only one class .of employes, the carriers have received further benefits, amounting to' many mllhons of dollars. We would suggest that the ' wage cut of July 1 be translated at once into a reduction of freight rates. - This would be much more tangible and satisfactory to the public than to promise that future wage reductions will be passed " on to the people in the form of reduced freight rates. The people undoubtedly ex- pected this result when the July - wage reduction was made and its consummation now, though some- what delayed, would be hlgh]y gratifying. That: direct benefits would promptly follow and that —Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris. T PAGE THREE . _ ] themselves from Strikes Are oppression do the Bad for All railroad workers have? They are . Concerned ‘organized solidly to protect their own interests. It is too much to expect that they will not act when pushred ruthlessly 'to the wall by the railroad owners and ~executives. And it is a fact that the hard, selfish-and unyielding attitude of the carriers in regard threat, and that that -railroad executives and not the men must take the blame. There are indications as this is written that an effort will be made by the administration to settle the controversy, tempo- rarily at least, on the basis sug- gested by the railroad labor diate strike. The Leader be- lieves that the board’s recom- mendation for an immediate rate cut, before further wage cuts, certamly should be carried out. ‘v to rates is the cause of the strike . A board, thus avoiding ‘an imme-"