OCR Text |
Show NO STRIKE. It may be regarded as a certainty that there will be no great railroad strike in the United States while the war lasts. President Wilson and the brotherhood broth-erhood chiefs have been in conference and wage negotiations are to be conducted con-ducted by the employing roads and their employees beginning December 1. In the event of a deadlock there will be another White house conference. But there will be no Btrike. There may be compulsory arbitration or the government govern-ment may take full control, but there will be no tie-up of the transportation systems in the United States while the very existence of the republic is at stake. The people of the country would not stand for it and we do not believe either the railroads or their employees would deliberately be the cause of such a disaster. The demands of the men involve the outlay of an additional $109,000,000 upon the part of the railroads if their contentions hold good. The roads have asked permission of the interstate commerce com-merce commission to increase their present rates by 15 per cent and they have declared that even if the Increase is allowed they will be compelled to ask another raiso in the near future. Traffic Traf-fic has increased, but expenses have also advanced to an enormous degree and the net income has dwindled. Tt is generally gen-erally believed that the administration favors granting the increase of 15 per cent. Financiers and shippers have different dif-ferent views regarding the solution of the difficulty, but all agree that the railroads cannot continue to be operated unless they can secure more revenue. Some favor government operation so long as the war lasts. Others would have the government build ears and locomotives lo-comotives for the roads, to b paid for after the return to peace. Still others would lend thorn a few hundred million dollars. The employees say they must have more wages on account of the high cost of living and the roads insist they must have higher freight rates because of the great increase in operating expenses. It is evident, therefore, that more pay for the men will mean higher rates for the roads. The situation is perplexing and it will require much patience to straighten it out and we do not for an instant suppose that all the conflicting interests will be entirely satisfied with the outcome. But no matter how prolonged pro-longed the negotiations may be, and no matter what conclusion is reached, the people of the United States may rest assured that the railroads will not be tied up. |