The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-10-27
PLAYING 4 WAITING GAME
Great Northern Strike Has Not
Yet Materialized.
RELATIONS ARE STRAINED
Employees Assert That Order to Strike
May Be Issued at ANY Moment.
Northern Pacific and o. R.
g. N. Agreement.

Ihere have been no new develop
ments in the situation of the Great
Northern troubles during the past few
days, and the strike which has been
| promised daily for week. or more has
| not yet materialzed The employees are
| now said to be pursuing a waiting
game. They are no less hostile than
they have been for some time past,
but, as nearly as can be learned, are
awaiting more material evidence of
unity in their own ranks.
1t was stated in st. Paul by men,
Der of the general committee on griev-
ances, which was in session there Sat
urday night, that strike had been de-
| cided upon, to take effect at midnight
of that night. lit did not, however. The
reason assigned was to the effect that
the head committee was unable to
| reach the divisional heads of the diff
ferent organization Of the road to
serve on them notice of their decision.
Just why the latter could not be
found has not developed Friends of
the Great Northern management as
sert that the divisional heads purpose
ly hid away, fearing that such no
tice would be sent them over the wire.
The spokesman of the other employees,
on the other hand, say the different
executive officers did not know that
crisis would come so quickly and did
not place themselves in close touch
with the telegraph wires. They say
further that the fact OF postpone
| ment of action does not in any sense
dispose of the matter, but that the or
der will be issued within a few days
at the latest
1T was reported in St. Paul Mon
day. says the Minneapolis Times.
that United States Marshal Grim
shaw had prepared list Of SO names
Of men whom he would swear in as
special deputies on a moments no
tice, provided the strike took place
Saturday night, as expected. The
marshal was asked concerning the re-
port. He denied its correctness. He
said that he had not been advised in
any way as to the Great Northern
strike. If there should come strike,
he said, it would not necessarily con
Germ his office unless the mails or the
property of the federal government
should be molested.
1.-THE officials of the Great Northern
profess to be ignorant of any inten-
ton on the part of the employees TO
take extreme measures. They do not
deny that strained relations exist, and
have existed for months. but they say
they are confident the men will do ev-
erything in their power to arbitrate
their differences. 1t was announced at
the office of the superintendent of the
Great Northern yesterday that the
differences would be adjusted without
a strike
lone of the st. Paul yardmer of the
system when spoken to ABOUT the tfou-
BILE said it came mostly from western
divisions and was constantly stirred by
some of the hotheads of the road. A
fireman of the road said that one week
ago he thought that a strike would
take place within 80 days, but it did
not look now as if any strike would
follow. A freight conductor took
much the same view, while one of the
engineers said that his branch would
be the last to act in case matters go so 1
far as strike.
THE firemen ask for additional help
at terminals; an increase OF from $3.50
to $2.75 per hundred miles for work
on the hog freight engines, and from
$3.50 to $2.40 per hundred miles on
passenger engines. They also ask that
men be furnished at coal chutes to
break up and load coal, allowing the
firemen an opportunity TO get their
lunches and clean their fire boxes
One of the executive officers of the
Northern Pacific, in speaking OF the
report that the existing truce between
that road and the Oregon Railroad d
Navigation Company was IN Danger OF
being broken, said: The truce be-
tween our line and the oregon Rail
way & Navigation Company was made
in good faith. Its terms We're that a
dead line should be set in construction
work in the Clearwater valley, and
that, after the signing OF the truce,
each road should be permitted to COM
plete its construction to certain
point. The fact that the Oregon road
has already finished it's work as far
as the terms of the truce would allow
has given rise to rumors that the
Northern Pacific is not keeping faith.
Our limit. of construction on our ex-
tension into the Clearwater valley was
Stuart Idaho. At the time the other
road withdrew it's men we had not
completed our line to this point For
this reason they We're Kept at work.
AS soon as Stuart is reached they will
withdraw from the country. The truce
is still effective and is being kept to
the letter.