Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-07-23 | Page 2 | R. R. Wage Raise 'Sop to Worker'

fi. I WAGE RAISE SOP TO WORKER' Men Are Disappointed But Will Not Go on Strike, Gom- pers Declares WASHINGTON. July 2 2 Discuss-I Discuss-I lng thv wage award of th: railway la-1 la-1 :.ui hoard Samuel Ciontpers, president I of the American Federation of Labor I in a statement declared that whll. the railway employes are disappointed disappoint-ed it Is Indicated that they will not strike to enforce a fairer decision of their needs," Mr Gonripers said that the men affected af-fected by the award had a right to be disappointed at the first test of the wage making side of the Insurance act," He declared that a sop has been thrown to each rallwaj worker. ' and added thai "collectively they may feel themselves morally bound to accept i It." DOJi I N l I D HIGHER KAI L'S .. The labor leader anriour.ced his op-I op-I position to the; proposed Increases in railway rates to care lor the wage increases. in-creases. Such action, or the levying of taxes to make up deficient lea, would be necessary, lie declared if railways wire operated more efficiently. efficient-ly. Much pas been said in the press about the estimated aggregate wage Increase granted to the railway men of the country by the railroad wage board," said Mr. Gompers "The figure. fig-ure. fCOO.000.000 Is large and it sounds imposing and awesome. Most of us have no adequate Idea of what so much money means, or would look '.ike." In entirely unfair impression gains Ground by reason of this hulking of the issue The honest method of applying ap-plying the increase is to applv it to the Individual it is estimated that the average wage or a section-worker under the award, will be $101 00 per month, or less than 26 a week. The I average wage of an engineer will be about J2V.0O per month. or less than $70.00 per week. These are average.-;, a xreat many hundred of kers In th-.ee classifications win get less than the estimated average. SOI" TO THE WORKER A sup has been thrown to each railway worker under the operation of the ESsch-Cujminlngs law. Collec-tlvelj Collec-tlvelj they may feel themselves morally mor-ally bound to accept It, but the whole theory of that net whether as to wages, conditions of employment of the workers or the guaranteed dividends divi-dends of the railway companies is nn Indictment against the Ksch-Cummlns law which time will convict the authors. auth-ors. The railway men are disappointed disappoint-ed and they have a right to be The first test of the wage-making side of the Esch-Cummlns act is to them as much of a disappointment as It well could have been it is Indicated that the railway employes will not strike to enforce a fair-r consideration of their needs, but It must not be forgot- i , . i forgotten that If the award had been ho low as to compel consideration of i othei means Of redress the nu n could ! have struck only at the risk of In-I In-I Jurlng their own cauae "