Show t STARVATION AND DEATH THAT'S WHAT LURKS BEHIND THREATENED NATIONAL RAIL STRIKE DECLARES FAMOUS TRANSPORTATION EXPERT Blo Bloody dy Revolution Itself a Possibility Another Mother Is Government Operation of Systems in Which Event Even the Unions Union Have Declared They Would Remain at Work h By KENNETH W. W PAYNE Staff Special NEW YORK Aug ug 16 The The country wide strike of f our railroads railroads rail rail- roads which menaces menaces the entire United States threatens the of billions ions ions' of of c capital pit l idleness for th the workers of the country starvation and death throughout the land the upheaval of our social and political institutions institutions institutions-in in fact BLOODY REVOLUTION ITSELF Such Such ate are re the e possibilities brought out by Prof Emery R. R Joh Johnson son of the University of Pennsylvania whose books bools on railroad transportation for student and public and whose investigations of railroad problems for the United States government havo have won for him the position of one of the country's greatest authorities on American railroads In view of the recognition recognition recognition accorded his work indeed Professor Johnson has served on various commissions among them the isthmian canal commission as an expert on transportation and in a number of ot cases between railroads and he has acted as an arbitrator If the railroads of the entire country become tied up by a general general general gen gen- we will draw dangerously dangerously dangerously dan dan- eral strike declared Professor Johnson today close to a revolution The government naturally would be obliged to put forth every effort possible to move trains the very life of the people depending on what the government could accomplish All the military strength the government possesses would be called to its its assistance and this would naturally be bitterly resented by the railroad strikers and those in sympathy with them From time to time it has been suggested that in case of a serious strike the government government government gov gov- would be obliged even to commandeer the railroads affected If If the government took that action it would place itself in inDIRECT inDIRECT inDIRECT DIRECT OPPOSITION to the social forces behind the strike THEN WOULD COME A TEST BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE UNIONS The unions have already stated t. t that t they would continue working if the government took control of the railroads Editor Tho The first consideration in case of a general of the country's railroads is stopping of food supplies to the the largest cities clUes of the country Of the perishable foods the of milk and meats would work the greatest hardship and suffering Buffering For Instance shutting off the milk supply of greater New York Tork would mean immediate privation and in a short time starvation It is hard to conceive what New Kew York would do If Its milk mUk supply alone were cut off oft for ten days The store of staple nonperishable goods is limited in in every household every town every city It would not be many days without trains before the groceries in every community would be without supplies The stopping of trains would immediately throw 50 per cent of the workers of the country out of work and before long most of the working people of the country would be idle It would be the tho same with small factories and large plants such plants such as for instance the big steel plants of the country whose who operating depends on the unbroken movement of trains in and out The throwing of men out of work soon cuts off th their lr purchasing power Day laborers cannot go very far without their income since they have little or no credit The Tho result would be widespread suffering which in many communities it would be difficult or impossible to alleviate If the strike really takes place this fall it will occur at the time of the movement of crops This annual movement of the crops is a steady flow out from the farms for a period of three months Stopping the railway transportation of the country would not only stop the movement of the crops but It would cause the loss of a large part of the crops especially where the farmers depend on the railroad railroad railroad rail rail- road to move their grain and so have no storage facilities A general railroad strike this fall will interfere seriously also with our foreign trade which at the present time is abnormal About a third of it now consists of munitions and products associated with that trade and since this part of it is temporary In character we must if we are going going t to gain by the export of munitions be sure of definite delivery in order to secure and fill such orders |