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Show WORK AOGETHER OR H RECK rat ' jHIP H Tho Weul Coast Lumbermen's a- H sedation through constructive dls H piny advertising In the newspapers la HH doing a great work to nwaken tho ftH people of tin' country to problems Bflflj confronting us. It says: B "At n lime when tho public mind H Is pessimistic, when Industry and tho H men or Industry nio idle, and the H, consumer refuses to consume, a tonic H of facts should produce n practlcnl H understanding of ptoblems lnvol- H ved and to that extent shot ten the H period nf leadJUHtment and reBtoro B The lumber Industry which nor- H mully pns GO per cent of nll.wageq H paid In Oregon and Washington, Is H stngnnnt. This Is primarily duo to BBB t'conomic readjustment through H which the nation Is passing, after Its flB free spending, post war financial, BBB commercial nnd Inobrlation. BBB Tim lumber Industry of the north flB wrst has , been particularly handl- B capped by 1920 freight advances H which put it at a disadvantage of H from $94 to $327.75 per car (or tho H freight charges In connection with fl! other lumber producing sections op- BBB crating on lower wago scales and BBB longer hours. Thus west coast lum- ber producers arc shut out of their most extensive territory. Lumber Is down to pre-war figures but other building materials do not BBfl follow suit, hence construction Is de- BBBfl Inycd. General commodity prices, BBBJj however, show a rapid decline. Bflfl Tho advertisement points out that peak prices aro detrimental to the BBHJ general good whether they relate to H commodities or labor, It says: "The BBBJ Idea that labor can escape readjust- H ment Is folly. Tho sooner tho scat- BBBI lug down In excessive wage costs, H the better It will bo for the public, BBB ' the, worKer and business. B "Especially Is this true of railroad BBH labor, the Inflated cost of which Is BBBI BpJ largely responsible for freight rates BBBJ that have strangled commerce." BpJ i From 1914 to 1920 Inclusive, tho BBBJ , roads wcro forced to pay an Increase BBS ; ot 270 per cent In wages to 1G per J , cent more employees. Theso lnereas- BBH ' es wero granted under federal con- j. trol which together with artificial BBH r working agreements have padded Hf railroad operating costs' In an out-l BBH rngeous manner. Following are lllus- BBH tiatlons of this legalized robbery. ( !Tho I'ero Marquette railway wns compelled- recently to pay $9,364 In back pay to four employees because their tltlea. under federal control, . were changed, by decision ot jibe dl- BBH I rector general. BBflj ' A car repairer on another railway I was paid fl.OOO for work ho never did. Ho was laid off, with other cm-BBflj cm-BBflj ploy ceo. becauho there was not work B l for LIni to do. When undor his "sen- j lorlty" rights ho became entitled to BBBj re-qmployment ho received back pay BBBJ nd overtime . , Hfllj - Four carmen on the Sunle Fo worn BBBI pciit out cn "in "n '" J a n'cce BBB uf Work which took four hours and Bflfl thlity-lhrcc minuted, Tho company BBB was compelled to pay theso men for Bflfl 112 hours work. HHH Four machinists on the, Norfulk Sc Pflfl Western, wero sent to an outlying PHH point wheru thoy actually worked JIB olght hours per day for tluce day. PHfl Each of them had to he paid straight JIB time for tho twenty-four houra lm BBB did woik nnd tliun nnd a half foi W7- PBB en ty-two houis he did not work. H Wllji Inlmi In olhci Industries Uk- PHl Ing Us deflation, it U manifestly un- PHJ fur that railroad labor should con- PHJj tlnuc to enjoy special privileges In ,v ...nv nr inflated compensation, 1 '' when such Inflation trndj to deprrrjo tho labor of tho Pacific northweut lumber industry and all other llnee, of tho right to steady, remunerative employment. ' Normal conditions In the lumber Industry depend primarily on active building operations In the U. S. and activity In west coast lumber depends on Its ability to roach tho big consuming con-suming centers of the east. Thus too we havo tho proepertty of the day laborer, tho mill operator and tho transcontinental railroad so closely linked that their Interests aro Identical and It Is a case of work together to-gether or wreck the ship. |