Show railroading DING 1 I THE PUBLIC considerable progress has been made toward the restoration of prewar conditions the price of nearly every article of commerce has fallen perceptibly iid in not a few instances the lie pres tail price fee ls is at or clow below the prewar pre war price foodstuffs sell at a i low figure and the iho bricq of farm commodities is lower than for ninny many years there is one big stumbling block in in the way of price ledue i tion and t that hat is the high vage v age of labor T this his is particularly true of railroad labor tho the wages of factory factor y and mill employees of farm and ranch labor which rose roge to a high point during the war have lave been reduced but the wages of railroad employees which rose higher than any 0 ther other class with working conditions Avi which liell enabled them to either work short hours or obtain greatly increased pay for overtime over time after eight t hours have not been reduced the level of pay of railroad labor abich aich though working less hours than other labor is the highest in the world must como come down and working conditions must be so bo revised that railroad labor like other labor will receive an all honest days pay for a full days work no less and no more the national nation nl agreements should bo be abolished Tr asportation economies pre fire impossible while they last this I 1 is s a as true of Nor working king conditions as 0 of fA wages for example it anything should go wrong with a locomotive out on tile the lie road and a machinist was sent ent out to ht it lie ho would demand and receive thu the rate of so cents an hour for the list filst eight houis li ouis 1 as ill an hour tor lor the next eight hours and an all in an hour for the next eight consecutive hours or a total of tor for tile lie IN 24 hours ho was vas away from the shop regularly employed even though actually working but buc a few hours in other orda nords this machin though sleeping snugly and soundly in a pullman on oil his trip gets gats 1 70 an all hour for doing it this is only one of many Is it any wonder that lalli oad c expenses aro are consuming neaily all the earnings awnings arn ings that in spite of inci eased rates atos railroad lail road credit is tottering and that there is an all insistent demand a among tho the well anell informed public tor for a general revision of wages waged and working conditions and lid tile the cancellation 0 of f all national agreements in ill this respect it lias has been said and from the lore going there appe appears ars much leason tor for hel believing loving it that in making the national agi cements hoth both sides ol of the table set out to beate a situation that would be embarrassing embur embair assing to the railroads raili oads on oil their leburn to private conti cont control iol ol 01 whether NIli ether ol 01 01 not this was anas lone done purpose purposely tile the fact is outstanding that it was lone done most effective ly and must lie be just as effectively undone lone beffie wo ave can call hope for aurther progress on oil our way back to 0 o normal bioni the manufacturer |