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Show strike Is threatened. The earning sheets of the railroads show that they need more revenue. There is pronounced pro-nounced opposition to obtaining it by an increase in freight rates, as much of the current business depression and low rail earnings is said to be due lo high freight tariffs which discour age shipments. Railroad officials, contend that relief re-lief should start with lower pay rolls. Naturally, the employees cannot see it. Union officials claim that the railroads rail-roads are purposely loading up the railroad labor board with complaints and cases so that there will be a long delay in adjudicating the present question, while in the meantime the roads get the benefits of the wage reductions re-ductions ordered. The whole thing is so acute and at the same time so involved, in-volved, that it is very likely to be a subject of congressional action at an early date. NEWS REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS Meat Strike Rests in Conference of Packers, Union Chiefs and Government Officials. RAIL BOARD HAS ITS PROBLEM Congress Plans Early Consideration of Tariff and Tax Matters Germany an Enigma Allies' Tariff Experiment Ex-periment Interesting Dim Outlook of Peace in Ireland. countries to the point of exercising pressure for relief. If the German government has no other plan in the back of its head aid as the entire matter is largely one of economics, it will be solved by an unusual economic method the application appli-cation of tariff principles to war problems prob-lems not an entirely new method, but one which never before has been applied ap-plied on such an extensive scale. The spectacle then arises of victors making mak-ing a forcible but otherwise peaceful occupation of a conquered nation, exercising ex-ercising a supervision over its trade and industries, and collecting in the form of duties sanctions' is the diplomatic dip-lomatic word used to cover the ramifications rami-fications of the transaction the repa-1 rations demanded. It will be interesting to watch the methods by which the allies shall prevent pre-vent Germnn goods escaping the tariff embargo through the nearby neutral neu-tral nations. Already a modified blockade lias, been suggested, along with an . occupation of all the land borders, extending inward if resistance resist-ance develops, of Germany. To this end comes an intimation, probably most 1 skillfully steered from Paris, that Poland is ready to invade Germany Ger-many at a moment's notice. The allied al-lied Rhineland high commission has in effect recommended to the council of the allied nations that tariff schedules sched-ules shall not. be imposed which will crush the industries of the Rhineland territory, but shall have a punitive effect upon Germany. The plebiscite in Upper Silesia is expected to affect the situation. If Germany loses that rich territory she will be in position to claim still farther her inability to meet the reparations. repa-rations. If the election throws the country to Germany her economic position po-sition will be improved. In either event an excuse will be presented for further negotiations. President Harding lias announced that he will call the sixty-seventh congress con-gress into extraordinary session April 11. The tariff and tax programs have not been " definitely mapped out, although al-though the statement is made from authoritative au-thoritative sources that the President approves the proposal of Republican congressional leaders to pass a bill preventing the dumping of cheap foreign for-eign goods in the United States. A feature of this legislation will .be a section or a special bill placing the valuation of imports on a domestic instead of a foreign basis. Any tariff legislation is almost certain cer-tain to be of a preliminary nature as the vast number of schedules to be dealt with in a permanent bill will require re-quire many weeks' consideration probably into the middle of the summer. sum-mer. One of the talked about features fea-tures of the preliminary bill is an emergency tariff on agricultural products. prod-ucts. The administration has not been authoritatively committed to this provision although it has strong support sup-port in influential Republican circles. In response to the demands of business, busi-ness, tax legislation will come up for consideration ; immediately after, if not before, the temporary tariff bill. Secretary of Commerce Hoover has started out on the program of accomplishment, accom-plishment, the "dp-things" plan, which his friends predicted he would inaugurate. inaug-urate. One of the first problems he litis tackled is that of broadening the possibilities of American manufacturers manufactur-ers In foreign countries, a necessity if Uncle Sam's ships are to be kept in employment. Mr. Hoover has been meeting witli the directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, an affiliation of chambers of commerce and boards of trade all oner the country, with a view to closer cooperation co-operation between his department and the various trade and commerce organizations. or-ganizations. Also, it is the intention of the secretary to create an advisory, committee for each of ten or twelve chief groups of industries. It will be the purpose of each committee to 'form a direct connection between the particular par-ticular industries and the foreign agents of the Department of Commerce. Com-merce. Beyond the fact that Bavaria has defied the allied powers in refusing to disband its civilian military organizations or-ganizations and that the Berlin reichstag has tabled the order designed de-signed to coerce Bavaria, there has been little -change in the German situation. situ-ation. The action of the Bavarian leaders and the reichstag was taken despite reports tnat France intends to occupy Frankfort and possibly other oth-er important cities if refusal to comply com-ply witli the order persists. The whole German attitude to the unfulfilled terms of the Versailles treaty, the reparations program and the allied occupation is that, "we are damned if we comply and damned if we don't." The difficulties of either course are so pronounced that the leaders are in a quandary and proh-' proh-' ably disposed to let the questions solve themselves along present lines of allied al-lied action. In the inability of the German government to map out a clear course, Its leaders seem inclined to accept conditions as they are and assume an attitude of martyrdom, while they make feeble protests to the League of Nations and continue propaganda prop-aganda la the hope of affecting other By E. F. CLIPSON. Hopes for a settlement without strike of the labor difficulties existing exist-ing in the meat-packing industry, lodge in the mediation-arbitration efforts ef-forts of the United States government. Secretary of Labor Davis, although new to his position, has been brought quickly into a realization of its responsibilities. re-sponsibilities. In order that he may get off - on the proper foot and show the people that he is' the right man in the right place, he is neglecting no effort to bring about an adjustment of the trouble which threatens one of the most important items of the' nations na-tions good supply. Although the result of the strike ballot leaves no doubt that the employees em-ployees are in a mood to attempt a complete tieup and gives their representatives repre-sentatives a powerful weapon in the mediation conference at Washington, there is a distinctly optimistic phase in the willingness shown by both sides to take part in that conference. It indicates a desire for a reasonable adjustment, ad-justment, and the fact that the proceeding pro-ceeding is occurring under such important im-portant government auspices, warrants assumption that it will be more readily productive of results than if left simply sim-ply to negotiations between the packers pack-ers and their employees. In the latter event, with both sides thoroughly 'stiff-necked, 'stiff-necked, a strike would be the logical outcome. The affa.ir has great portent as showing how the present administration ad-ministration proposes to deal with the larger phases of capital " and labor strife, particularly as relating to the cost of living and the return to normal nor-mal conditions. An important development of the controversy pointing to possible met(f-ods met(f-ods of eliminating similar difficulties in the future, is the announced offer of some of the larger packers to democratize their .plants. The proposal pro-posal is to give employees a voice in labor conditions by separating the plants Into general divisions covering the principal products, matters of production pro-duction nnd mechanical departments, each division to be subdivided into voting precincts of about 300 employees. em-ployees. The employees are to elect delegates to a divisional council which shall in turn choose delegates to a general plant conference board, while the company names an equal number of delegates to both board and, councils. . It is proposed that the board shall make recommendations on employment, employ-ment, wages, working conditions, safety, safe-ty, sanitation, recreation, transportation transporta-tion and other matters of mutual Interest. These recommendations when concurred in by a majority of the board are to be regarded as decisions de-cisions binding on plants affected- In the case of a tie. the matter may go to arbitration. Union labor officials denounce the plan as one Intended to deceive the employees, disrupt the unions and substitute a shop union controlled by the companies. The government railroad labor board has a problem In considering the great mass of data and. in adjusting adjust-ing present difficulties, and others sure to ariso la the near future, between the railroads and their employees over announced reductions in wages. Shippers Ship-pers and organizations representing the public are demanding a voice in the hearings. The big question is similar to the one agitating the packing pack-ing industry, although no immediate Russia's revolution- seems to have been checked temporarily at least, with the evacuation of Kronstadtj, restoration restora-tion of a more or less orderly condition condi-tion in Moscow and the removal of the immediate menace to Petrograd. The operations . of the revolutionaries around the ,latter place were doometl to failure when they failed to take the stronger defenses of the city such as fortress Krasnaya Gorka. The Red government has been successful, suc-cessful, but its weakened hold is seen in the fact that the revolution movement move-ment started among the soldiers and sailors, the forces which made the establishment of the government possible pos-sible and heretofore have been its strongest adherents. As Indicative , of the seriousness with which the government is menaced, and its desire to placate other nations na-tions is tiie ratification of peace witli Poland and signing of the long discussed dis-cussed trade agreement with Great Britain. ' The Russians had been reported re-ported as massing heavy forces opposite op-posite the Polish frontier and making mak-ing strong threats of a spring offensive. offen-sive. But now they want peace. In the negotiations with Great Britain, which have been long drawn out and the subject of arbitrary appearance, at least, on the part of the soviet au-thorjties, au-thorjties, they have capitulated In several respects, the most important being an agreement to cease all propaganda prop-aganda in other countries. Great Britian agrees on her part not to mix in Russian internal affairs. St. Patrick's day did not usher in the much-discussed truce or even important im-portant negotiations for peace in Ireland. Ire-land. That such negotiations are not brewing and probable, cannot be stated so positively.. Undoubtedly strong agencies are working toward j the opening of negotiations. In view of the determined stand of the Britisli government and the equally strong attitude at-titude of the Sinn Fein, some change in conditions must present itself before be-fore either side feels like altering its position. Lloyd George is reported to favor postponing action on peace until un-til after the elections of the new Irish parliaments, believing that they will result in a new Dail Eireann with which he would be willing to negotiate a truce. Meanwhile the state of affairs af-fairs in the unhappy country continues j very bad with the daily toll of murders, mur-ders, executions and disturbances large and grievous. |