The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-05-06
TRANSIT SITUATION
GROWS CRITICAL.
President Whitaker Asserts Tia,
He viii OppoSe Granting of
Latest Demands.
STRONG TALK OF A STRIKE.
AwaiIing Result of The Directors
Meeting To -Mnrr0w--Tnion
Men Drrlarr They Can
Tie Up the system.

| ! strike Of tie - Louis Transit COM
! fiany'S employees seems imminent. Mem
/ hers of the employees unou declare that
/ they will fight for recognition, and Presi-
, dent Edwards Whitaker Of the Transit
/ Company has announced that he will advise
| he Board of Directors of the road ia
/ fuse IT, ag:e. To- their d, n,anls.
/ committee representing the union called
! on Mr.. Whitaker Friisy afternoon and
/ presented AN agreement which they desire
I sisuet by the mana gem. mt " the -. Louis
! Transit Company. The committee told Mr..
: Whitaker that the agreement was virtual
! iy their ultimatum and d.man,!ed his reply
/ 81 f" o'clock saturday afternoon Nj. Whit
| aker told the committee that the Board "f
/ directors or the company Suuid not Je
( called together hy that time. and asked
/ the committee to wait mntii Monday or
/ Tuesday FOR his rriiy. Mack M"s~k sec
reiary of the Transit Company Employees
| Union. said that Mr. WhiifE+.r's reply Was
| expected by TUESDAY ~ the latest.
/ IF the reply To our demands is NOT salts
| factory" said MIR M"ssik. There will sure
! ly lee strike. Ne have given the. conf
| !iauy PLENTY uf time TO consider all our de
mands. and If they refuse rhis time to
COME L" an agreement with our ureaui2a-
iion. We shall feel that We have given them
fair notice al our intrutiuns. and that the
only thing left for rs Ia ,lo is To- strik. or
| surrender oGr Organization. Th,. men are
all determined 10 stand by the union. aDi
I'M the event of Strik. thu whole system
! viii be tied up. The transit company has
not lived up l" lis agreement Of March 10
but the men have waited patiently hop
ing that 1he company would finally con
! "iude to make good its promises.
| For some time il has been no secret that
the directors Of the St Louis Transit Com
| pany have commended President Wh!ta-
/ ker's course Of action in dealing with the
I employees and IL is said to ba almost a GER
tainty that the board Will follow Mr.. Whit
ikerS advice and refuse TO aggee 10 the de
| nands of the union.
II the Board Of Directors does no- con-
slider the demands OF the union Just. the
I union Is willing 10 submit them to a:btrs-
tiou, said s. W. Lee. chairman of the Ma
| tionai Executive BOARD ''and We are con
I fiGent that any board Of faiT-niEded men
Z Will consider car demands just ani reason
abb" ana for the good of both PARTIES
( one o! the directors Of the 81. Louis
| Transit Company said few days ago that
the co"'uauy expected Il strike and MAS PIE
! pared tor II. ami !hIt there was TO danger
| nf the system being tied up by strike.
! Mack MesSik says that s.Ich statements are
/ ali bluff and made for effect
| There are about 2.~I traiEmen eInpl Dyed
! 10y the transit company. he said. and
2.@i Of them are members of our union.
~ The .nj shed men anu others employed i'll
other capacities. $50 belong to our union.
Claims of the Union.
1T IS true continued MIR. Messik. that
! the agreement of March was satisfactory Ia
lived up tn it everything would have been
! settled. The company did not live up 10 the
agreement. and It does not look like they
| mean tu do so.
! We were promised a teu-hepr working
day. We have not received il yet Inst aau
the schedule has been changed until OF.
Z roads il is worse than Il was before
! the agreement. Most of the runs are split.
and on the Sixth street lin" it is Impossible
foc forty men 10 max" more than - cents
day apiece. Some runs are thirteen and
! fourteen hours long. With itttIe chl lse
these runs could he made satisfactory. The
company offered to let a committee rep
resentng the union draw up schedule. bu.
when the committee did SO the company
refused to accept. although /; would have
been the means of saving them money. The
Hen on waiting orders are compelled to te-
main about the sheds about eight hours a
daY. The company agreed TO pay these men
half pay for this time. but they have uoI
| paid them d cent.
.'The only agreement that the company
! has live! up TO is the about putting :.
! man that misses his run at the foot of the
list for week instead Of permanently"
| About a week ago. II is said Foreman
Nvar of the Lindeil division organized a
! protective association from among the non
union men on the line. The members of this
! organization are not required to pay dues. IL
| is said but receive death and sick benefits.
Th, union men say that this Is one of the
means taken by the company 80 light their
organization
.
| President Edwards Whitaker said that he
! had done everything in reason 10 prevent
| any trouble. with his employees ana that The
| company mad faithfully lived IN 10 its
| agreement with the men i'll every particular.
We We're asked by the men to make GER
tian changes in oar schedules" said Mr..
| Whitaker. and when this was done the
men found that II WAS not as satisfactory
| az the old Arrangement. Now they want tu
return 70 the OLD arrangement. am re-
| sponsiele for the management of the prop
| erty AMI cannot relinQuish las control to THE
union or any one else at present
| In speaking Of the latest proposed agree
ment. Mr.. Whitaker said:
We made an agreement with the com
mitlee Oh March 10. which satisfactory
| to both parties.
They asked the company to agree that
any committee Of thc employees represent
ing organized or unorgaIii2.d labor will D-
| recognized when they desire to bo heard in
rela tion to any grievance
ITO this the company at once assented
and il WAS stipulated. We will meet any
Individual employ. or any committee OF
| employees In relation to any grievance
"On yesterday tie committee came in
| and the chairman announced that they alb
| rogated the agreement of March 10. they
presented new agreement, in which they
| demand that no man be- employed unless
he is member of the union. Though, he
| does not wish To join. or, if wishing Ia
join, the union refuses to admit him. they
demand that the company shall discharge
him.
4 will call meeting of the board as
. soon possible and the board will deter
mine. but / will advise most strenuousIy
. that they decline.
Will Protect Good Men.
. | Il will never consent that a good: man
| who does his work We'll shall be discharge I'd
because he does or does not belong to any
union or association of any kind religious
| political or social IL a man is "A good man
| and does his duty faithfully. he shall. st
| far rs | am concerned. bt. free TO order his
, | relations as he thinks proper.
| THE committee presented :heir deIna Nd
| as ultimatJm. 1t will be considered.
ANY man refusing take out his cal
! will be considered as leaving the service oi
| the company. and any man taking the cai
| out will be held entitled to that run"
| The demands of tie employees were th'
! main topic for discussion in financial cir
, | Giles yesterday. A prominent stocklolie
4 | i'm the St. Louis Transit Company. in speak
, | ing of the demands, said:
| IF they are acceded TO IL practic1ll!
| means that we must surrender our proper
ty TO the control of the union. to be lran
| aged In any manner they fit. The mel
seem determined to force a strike at an,
cost and ] think that 1t is just az y;ell 4
, have It now and fight it out. before tn
heavy summer travel begins. IL will SIX
the company a good opportunity 10 :letcr
mine which of its employees are faithful
| to the company's interests, and to weed Gu
: | the professional agitators and drones. |
: will be fight to finish, and the soone
a | II comes tn. better