Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-03
ANOTHER STRIKE IMMINENT I
A Majority of the Philadelphia Street Car Elm ployes Decide to Enforce Their
 Demands.

Philadelphia, Jan. 2-Another strike of the employees of the Union Traction com pany is now seemingly inevitable. All efforts at compromise between the com pany and it's men have failed ,and the question now rests with the men them selves. At Il o'clock tonight the men began mass meeting, and as the poll of the road taken today showed a large majority in favor of striking, the result of the mass meeting seems a foregone conclusion.
 Today, when another strike seemed a probability, the Toynbee society, the Universal Peace union and number of other gentlemen interested in the welfare of the city visited and wrote to the head quarters of the Amalgamated associa- ton. counseljng moderation and advising the men against another strike. As far as Is apparent, these efforts have been thrown away. The men demand of the company that it abrogate the clause in it's latest agreement submitted to them that in the future all new men taken on the road shall be in no way affiliated or connected with. directly or indirectly, any labor organization. This clause the company firmly declined to eliminate. After the poll of the road this afternoon was known, another committee of the men called upon General Manager Beetem tonight to make last appeal to him to eliminate the objectionable clause. For over two hours MT. Beetem and the committee discussed the matter together. The discussion was conducted amicably, but both sides remained firm. At the conclusion of the meeting MT. Beetem stated to the men that the company would discharge none of its present em- ployes for belonging to the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees; that it would hear any grievances of the kLat tfn1 with them but that it was unalterably determined not to allow its employees to dictate to 1t in the matter under discus sion. He warned the committee that If another strike took place the burden of any disturbance and trouble that would follow would be upon the men, and that the company would fight them to the death, no matter what the cost, and that not a man who struck would ever be given employment on the road again
 He begged the committee for the sake of the men and their families to do all in their power to avert strike. The com mittee was impressed by MT Beetem's words, and they promised him that they would use every argument they could to persuade the men not to strike, but they had very little hope of success.
 They asked MT. Beetem to go with them to the mass meeting and talk to the men as he had talked to the committee. MT
 Beetem said that personally he would be only too glad to go among his men, but that if he went his presence would be misconstrued and that he would be thought to be there as the general man. ager of the company, and that therefore he could not agree to address the mass meeting Before the committee departed Mr. Beetem told them he would wait at his office until o'clock to learn the re- suit of the meeting. The committee was accompanied in its visit to MT. Beetem by Ex-Postmaster John Field, who en- deavored to act as peacemaker and who advised the men to accept MT. Beet ems terms and trust to his honor to ad- just all their grievances. J. Levering Jones, a large stockholder of the com pany and leading lawyer of the Phila- delphia bar, also addressed the commit tee and pointed out to them that capital had rights as well as labor, which labor was bound to be respected.
 How many men the employees will be able to take out with them if they strike Is hard to say. The officers of the Amal- gamated association are strongly oppos- ed to another strike and there is a good minority of the employees who are also against 1t. It Is possible, however, that every man belonging to the Amalga- mated association will strike, as many of the minority, while opposed to the strike, consider themselves bound in honor to support their association, and there are many other men who will refuse to work for fear of a mob. The company be- lIeves that 1t will have no trouble in get ting men to fill the strikers places, and MT Beetem tonight told the committee that within the past three days the com pany had received applications for situa- tions from 800 men.