DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42346#0310
2g8
THE NEW COMPETITION
afraid of public opinion, of the press, of adverse legisla-
tion—of their own shadows—partly because their shadows
have been rather black in the past.
If in the present emergency1 the roads should adopt
the course outlined, the Brotherhood of Engineers would
hardly be in a position to object to the invitation to all other
classes of employees to present their claims, since the move
would seem to be a big step in the direction of the federa-
tion of labor, the dream of the ardent unionist and the
nightmare of the average railroad official.
But the ultimate result would be the partial disintegra-
tion of labor unions along present artificial lines and in-
tegration in the normal vertical line.
Public opinion would certainly support the roads in the
fair and reasonable requirement that all employees who in-
tend to make demands shall do so at the same time so that
the sum total may be known by roads, shippers and the pub-
lic generally, and so that whatever amount is finally al-
lowed by arbitration or by some tribunal shall be equitably
distributed among all employees entitled to increases, and
not absorbed by some one or two classes to the exclusion
of others.
Public opinion would also support the proposition that
if the amounts demanded foot up to an absurd total, the em-
ployees themselves, without troubling either the companies
or the public, should scale down their demands until the
total is a figure they themselves seriously contend the
roads should pay.
Again, public opinion would certainly support the prop-
osition that after a gross amount has been awarded, the
employees should distribute this amount among themselves
without troubling the roads or the public; but if the pro-
posed distribution is unfair to a class or an individual, ar-
1 Referring to'the controversy with .the engineers which will prob-
ably be settled by the time this book appears—settled only for the time
being.
THE NEW COMPETITION
afraid of public opinion, of the press, of adverse legisla-
tion—of their own shadows—partly because their shadows
have been rather black in the past.
If in the present emergency1 the roads should adopt
the course outlined, the Brotherhood of Engineers would
hardly be in a position to object to the invitation to all other
classes of employees to present their claims, since the move
would seem to be a big step in the direction of the federa-
tion of labor, the dream of the ardent unionist and the
nightmare of the average railroad official.
But the ultimate result would be the partial disintegra-
tion of labor unions along present artificial lines and in-
tegration in the normal vertical line.
Public opinion would certainly support the roads in the
fair and reasonable requirement that all employees who in-
tend to make demands shall do so at the same time so that
the sum total may be known by roads, shippers and the pub-
lic generally, and so that whatever amount is finally al-
lowed by arbitration or by some tribunal shall be equitably
distributed among all employees entitled to increases, and
not absorbed by some one or two classes to the exclusion
of others.
Public opinion would also support the proposition that
if the amounts demanded foot up to an absurd total, the em-
ployees themselves, without troubling either the companies
or the public, should scale down their demands until the
total is a figure they themselves seriously contend the
roads should pay.
Again, public opinion would certainly support the prop-
osition that after a gross amount has been awarded, the
employees should distribute this amount among themselves
without troubling the roads or the public; but if the pro-
posed distribution is unfair to a class or an individual, ar-
1 Referring to'the controversy with .the engineers which will prob-
ably be settled by the time this book appears—settled only for the time
being.