A History of Organized Felony and Folly - The Clarence Darrow ...

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A History of Organized Felony and Folly had been lost in real estate and housing schemes, in an overall factory and other promotions. The suit itself involved only $200,000, paid to Barker by the grand secretary-treasurer in the form of checks ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. It was testified that Barker had told the executive board he never took a receipt for money paid under the head of "special or- ganization," and there is no doubt his reasons were good. Apparently, this money or part of it, went to finance another union in violation of an injunction, for a campaign to restrict immigration from Mexico, for promoting the Plumb plan, to lobby at Washington for an increase in brotherhood wages, etc. During the reading of the minutes of the investigation in March, 1920, one of the inquisitors remarked that the United Brotherhood of Shop Laborers might well be corrected to read "shoplifters," and the remark has become a part of the court record in the Barker trial. Debt of Unionism to McAdoo Whether it be in building or in railway operation, the costs are borne largely by the public which is the user of the accommodations or the services. In the case of building con- struction practically all the increased costs are passed on to the public in the form of higher rents and it is quite possible that something is added to recompense the owner for the additional risk incurred in erecting a building under a system that entails excessive cost. With the railroads it is probable that some of the increased burden has been borne by the se- curity holders, due to the fact that the railroads, by virtue of the public regulation of rates, are unable to exact from the public a fair return upon the investment. But, waiving this consideration which is not important as measured against gross revenues of the country's carriers, the cost of the arbitrary exactions of the unionized railway workers has been borne not only by shippers and travellers, but by every consumer of a commodity that has moved by rail. 92
A History of Organized Felony and Folly An illustration of this additional burden is contained in the experience of a New England railroad which had occasion to send a machinist from the shop in which he ordinarilyworked to a roundhouse some distance down the road to do a certain job. He was away from home 27 hours and 50 minutes. Six hours, or more than one-fifth of the time, was spent in traveling in a passenger coach. Seven hours and 20 minutes, or more than one-fourth of the time, was spent off duty at the roundhouse. The actual working time was 14^ hours, or a little more than one-half the time the machinist was absent from his home. The road paid him $20.88, almost one dollar an hour for the whole time of his absence, or nearly $2 an hour for the actual time worked. An Ohio road, under the National Agreements, put into force by Mr. McAdoo, had to send 5 machinists 101 miles from A to B. Each man worked 8 hours a day for 3 days. Each man was paid, not for the 24 hours worked, but for the 72 hours of absence, most of the time being at the rate of IV2 times the ordinary scale. Each man received $30 for his 24 hours of labor and $52 in addition, and for the latter sum he had rendered no service whatever. In August, 1920, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe in- vestigated the difference betw-een a car foreman and a car repair man. The inquiry was requested by the workman and consumed 82 minutes more than his regular working time. He entered claim for time and a half for 60 minutes of that overtime and for 5 hours' pay for the other 22 minutes. On final adjustment under the National Agreements he received pay for 6 hours and 30 minutes instead of for 82 minutes. The operation of one rule compelled the railroads to pay in the first six months of 1920 almost $6,500,000 for work that was not performed. This punitive payment was on account of a clause providing that when employes were required to check in and out on their own time they were to be paid each week one hour extra. Rule 7 required that an employe "called or required to return to work" should be "allowed 5 hours for 3 hours and 20 minutes' service or less." It further provided that he 93
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CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE "Uplifting" t
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CHAPTER PACE Unionists Slay Under W
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Introduction The Wall Street Journa
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