Thursday, June 26, 1941
Heppner Gazette Times, Heppner, Oregon
Page Three
Red Hats' Help to
'Keep Oregon Green'
The "Red Hat" camp of forest fire
fighting trainees near Corvallis has
now grown to approximately 175,
and flans are completed to send
some of the men to side camps es
tablished near Roseburg and near
Birkenfeld in Columbia county. Up
until late June the men had not
been called to any fires as the wea
ther appears to be cooperating with
forest protection organizations in
the current "Keep Oregon Green"
campaign.
The camp is sponsored jointly by
the school of forestry at Oregon
State college, the NY A, and Oregon
forest protective agencies. The "Red
Hats" are working in close cooper
ation with the "Keep Oregon Green"
organization, which is now estab
lishing centers in each town for the
sale of buttons, returns from which
are being used to spread the idea
of eliminating forest fires here in
Oregon this summer.
A word to the wise is useless.
THE labor unions have made their demands
upon the railways of the United States and
through the railways upon the PUBLIC. These
demands are vastly larger in proportion than any
they have ever made. The economical and efficient
operation of the railways is vital to the nation's
defense effort. Therefore, the Western Railways
present to the public the following facts:
The labor unions representing engineers, fire
men, conductors, brakemen and switchmen are
demanding a 30 per cent increase in wages,
amounting to 190 million dollars a year
although their present rates of pay are the
highest in history.
Other unions representing a greater number
of railway employees are demanding wage
increases ranging as high as 95 per cent
averaging 47 per cent and amounting to 580
million dollars a year although their present
rates of pay also are the highest m history.
Thus the wage increases being demanded by
the labor unions amount to 770 million dollars
a year, an average increase in excess of
41 per cent.
In addition, certain of these labor unions have
demanded advances in their pay not included
in the above figures, and more rules for the
creation of unnecessary jobs.
The situation, then, is this: The total cost of
complying with all the demands made would
be approximately 900 million dollars a year!
The average weekly earnings of railway employees
are now 15 per cent higher than in the peak year
1929, while the cost of living is 12 per cent less.
The demands of the railway labor unions are being
made when the entire nation has just been asked
to make a supreme effort for National Defense.
The railways cannot meet these demands without
a great increase in the cost of transportation. They
exceed by more than 700 million dollars the in
come that the railways had left after paying their
annual expenses, taxes and charges in 1940.
The railways have a vitally important job before
them. They need all their resources to continue
adequately to serve you and contribute effectively
toward the National Defense Program.
TRIE WESTERN RAILWAYS
Union Station, Chicago, III.