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here in your nation's capital is Senator George Smathers reporting to the people of Florida. This takes the form of an informal discussion. Let's join the discussion, Senator. For many years you've been studying the problems of American railroads. I wonder what some of the issues are in the president rail dispute.

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Well, the biggest issue, of course, in so far as the Brotherhood's are concerned, is the loss of 37 oh, jobs that fireman now have in the freight yards and on freight trains. As far as the carriers of the railroads themselves is concerned there, greatly worried about the fact that in this what they call featherbedding, they have to pay some $600 million a year for men whom they don't think are accomplishing anything.

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So that's the issue, as with respect to either side, what's involved as far as the country's concern to something else. Now, Senator Smathers, as we stand now, is it inevitable that we're going to have a strike unless some direct action is taken? Well, I hope by the time that people see this program that we will have, Congress will have made sufficient headway, too.

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Give some justification to the carriers not too put into effect the notice of dismissal of these men, which would bring about a strike. I think the Congress will work its will, recognizing that we cannot really afford a strike carriers can afford. It may be the Brotherhood's can afford it, but the nation itself cannot afford it.

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If we have a strike, for example, it's going to result in not only the loss of jobs with respect to the men in the railroad industry, which will start out with being roughly a 200. Oh, finally work up to 500 0. But in time there will be roughly as six million people who are now employed who will be directly out of work.

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And this will result in about a 15% unemployment for the nation, which will be the highest unemployment ratio that we've had since 1940. Senator, what steps have been taken since 19 TVs, and to bring this matter to a satisfactory, it's been a problem names manageability of the Senate that is surface transportation.

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Back in 1953 we held hearings on this very problem and we established pretty well the fact that there was some featherbedding in this sense that men were really not needed. The time and developments have in many, many ways. It changed the picture it used to take.

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For example, eight hours You run a train from Washington, your Richmond. That train now runs in an hour and 15 minutes. And yet these fellas are still keeping the jobs. And considering in their day's work, for now in 15 minutes, there are a lot of train crews that have to be changed at every time they cross the state line, and so on.

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Now, this has been going on since 1953 and more recently in 1959 under the Eisenhower administration. A committee was appointed called the Mitchell Committee, which concluded that the feather betting should stop thereafter In this administration, there been There has been the Rivkin committee and the Rosenman Committee and the two others committees, all of which have concluded that the feather betting does exist and that the carrier should be relieved from it.

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And even the Supreme Court of the United States has so ruled the time has come to really do something about it, and I'm hopeful that the Congress will face up to it and and actually meet the problem head on and get it solved. Now, is there any alternative to congressional action to stop this strike?

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I don't see any further alternative. If actually the carriers have taken a position that they've got to put into effect this rule, which would have changing the work rules which would eliminate these 37,000 firemen, the firemen have said under no condition would be accepted. They have been supported by the other unions in the railway picture.

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Uh, and and they have each side has refused to make any further changed. So now the country will suffer. Uh, maybe the unions and maybe the railroads could withstand to this strike. But the country couldn't because of what it would mean is not only in addition to the unemployment, it would mean there would be a shortage of goods.

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It would mean that prices would go up. It would mean that we would start inflation. It would adversely affect our balance of payments program. This is the kind of an industry in which the public has a great steak and we cannot afford to let a strike of this character.

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Go on. And so the time has come for a decision to be made in the interest of the general public in the country. Gentlemen, I see that our time is up. Thank you very much for looking in. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're looking again at this same time next week.

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Well, senators matters. This past week, the president sent a message to Congress relative to this problem. Now, what is his plan? What does he want done? Well, the President has suggested that this matter be referred now that the Congress refer the matter to the interstate Commerce Commission for the Interstate Commerce Commission to make a final decision with respect to these work rules and if the decision, which is made by the Interstate Commerce Commission, will last for two years now.

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The reason that the president, I think made this particular recommendation with is that there had been considerable static from both the Republican side of the island, the Democratic side of the aisle saying that they would not support compulsory arbitration. Senator Goldwater said he would not support compulsory arbitration.

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Senator Dirksen said he would not support compulsory arbitration. Several other Republicans said they would not. And, of course, the Democrats. Some of the Democratic liberal leaders who uh huh, stand usually with labor. They didn't want compulsory arbitration. So it appeared as though we couldn't get compulsory arbitration through the Congress thereafter.

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Nobody believes that we ought to have seizure except some of the Brotherhood's. But if you took the federal government took over the railroads actually in random, that wouldn't solve the problem. Featherbedding would still go on. And actually, three agencies of the federal government have already ruled that defender betting should be eliminated so the federal federal government would be obligated to carry out a decision of its own body, which would mean to eliminate these men.

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And, uh, I I don't personally believe that any satisfactory result would come from seizure, and I don't want to see the day with the federal government actually runs the railroad. We're the only country yet remaining in the world where railroads are privately owned, where the government does not run them.

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And so I don't think that seizure would have been a solution. So it turned out that and the consideration deliberations of the president and his advisers that he concluded that it would be a good idea to turn this over to the Interstate Commerce Commission, which, in point of fact, is the one regulatory agency of a sort of judicial, semi judicial category which has had experience in the matter of regulating railroads and providing for work rules and providing for what would happen with respect to the men who are laid off.

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This is of course, a big part of this problem is to what do we do with these 37,000 people who will be directly laid off and then some 55 who will be subsequently laid off? We just can't throw them on the scrap heap. We've got to have something to do with them.

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And so the the recommendations of the has had experience in this particular field previously, And I think this is, frankly a rather happy solution, although it's obviously just a temporary one, Senator, do you think there's any merit to union charges at the is inclined to favor railway management?

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I don't believe that there's any merit to that charge at all. As a matter of fact, I think the is just about as impersonal and objective of body as it's possible to get when you're dealing with human beings. I think some of the members have demonstrated that there belief that probably the carriers are right.

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I think there are other members on the commission who have demonstrated that they think that the Brotherhood's are right. That's a large body, as you know of men. But I think overall they're about as objective and non partisan as a group can be. I think that they will do a completely objective and fair job.

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Well, Senators matters from a practical approach. Doesn't want the actually uhh operate on a compulsive arrange. Well, this is This is a big There's a big argument now as to whether or not this isn't compulsory arbitration. The fact of the matter is that some of the well, first, the Kennedy administration says it isn't Goldwater says that it is.

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But I think that, as far as I'm concerned, is a moot question. Whether or not it's compulsory, arbitration isn't for my own part. I would be four compulsory arbitration in this particular instance because somewhere somebody has to decide in the interest of the general public and when you have two sides, which you're disagreeing one with the other.

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And they refused to resolve their differences or one refused to give in to the other. Why then? Of course, you have this stalemate in which we if we have, which would result in a strike, which would be very detrimental to the whole national interest, and somebody has to decide it.

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So I think this is a very excellent solution. Is a political issue, Senator. No, I think this is a completely sound and governmental an issue. I see that our time is up. Thank you very much, gentlemen, for asking me questions. Thank you very much, Ladies and gentlemen, for listening.

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And I hope you're listening again at the same time next week.