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Show WAR LABOR BOARD FOR HIGHER WAGES Body Also Recommends an Increased Fare in Street Railway Appeals. By Universal Service. WASHINGTON, July 28. Decision of the national war labor board in the 25-cent 25-cent street railway wage appeals before it will be rendered next Wednesday, the board' announced today. The street railway officials are seeking to discover what position their companies will be in financially after the board's action, but so far are baffled. The war labor board decided that its duty was to fix a living wage for the men without reference to the abilities of the companies com-panies to pay it. And the board is committed com-mitted to increases for the men. It also agreed on application of companies, com-panies, confessing that the men should have the increases, that it would recommend rec-ommend to the president that he use his extraordinary war-time powers to permit the companies to increase their fares, as it was evident they could not pay the increased wages at the present fixer! fares. The board made such recommendations recom-mendations to the president. But street railway men are hearing, they think, with authority, that the president is reluctant to step into local street car matters, and that he feels some serious efforts should be made locally lo-cally in each case to adjust the fare situation sit-uation before the entire matter is hurled at him. Street railway men in the wage hearings hear-ings of the board told its members that all their companies would be bankrupt if the wage increases were granted without with-out corresponding fare increases. The war labor board believes local political po-litical feeling will be such that increases in-creases in fares will not he granted by the municipalities or .state corporation commissions and that the matter is bound to come back to the president for final action. |