The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-05-15
GREAT NORTHERN AND TRAIN.
MEN REACH A settlement.
HILL FINALLY BACKS DOWN
Agreement Signed to Redistrict Road
for DoubIe-Header Purposes
\ Both Sides Pleased.

st. Paul, May 14.-The Great North
ern has receded from its position
and the strike which threatened 10
tie up the entire system has been
avoided The trainmen have won a
victory and have forced concessions
from President Hill which have re-
suited in a new arrangement, copies
of which were signed and exchanged
tonight. The committees which have
been in conference with the manage
ment of the road for weeks will re-
turn at once to their homes.
General Manager Ward for the
Great Northern agrees to redistrict
the entire system. The double-header
problem, about which the principal
difficulty occurred, is solved by an
agreement.ato class stretches of road
on Observation-Disclosures trains are
operated as special districts. 1t is
agreed that these shall only include
parts of the system where double
headers are an absolute necessity and
that men shall not hereafter raise
the question OF double headers as re-
CARDS districts. In special districts
the men agree not to question the
number of cars that shall compose
a train.
On all except a few special districts
double headers are to be abandoned.
This, in brief, is the meat of the new
agreement.
Concessions were made on both
sides, the men following to the letter
Mr.. Garretson's promise that they
would not let the road outstrip them,
ono a spirit of fair compromise was
shown by Mr.. Hill. The road agrees
to limit double headers to a very re.
stricted territory and grants the de-
mands of the men as they relate
to the greater part OF the system.
The men in turn concede double head
ers on special districts and will not
object to them.
Throughout the conferences, which
lasted all day today, both sides showed
nothing but a friendly desire to come
to a common agreement and avoid a
strike.
The citizens committee, through
which negotiations were again reopen
ed, took no part IN the conferences,
but kept in touch with the progress
made.
Before the matters at issue were
taken up an agreement was entered
into to preserve silence regarding the
negotiations until a decision was
reached. This was carefully observed
until shortly after 6 o'clock when a
message was sent to Chairman Cooper
of the citizens committee that an
agreement would be arrived at. I'M
mediately afterwards the framing OF
the new agreement was taken up.
General Manager Ward stated to-
night that the conferences of the day
were of such a nature as to remove
all causes of friction. The relations
between the road and the men, he said,
will be more satisfactory than those
before. Regarding the agreement, he
stated that the management approves
it, and will follow it to the letter.
"The road" he said, could not be
outdone in generosity by it's men. The
men felt the same way. A perfectly
satisfactory solution of all our diff
culties resulted"
The grand officers, Messrs. Garrett
son and Newman, will leave at once
for Montreal, to begin negotiations
with the Canadian Pacific, which has
made a definite promise to grant what
ever concessions are secured from
other transcontinental roads.
The new arrangement sets at rest
all differences between the Great
Northern and it's men. The question
of wages was. taken up and settled
earlier in the negotiations. But for
the delay occasioned by the contest
about the question of double headers
the new wage scale would have gone
into effect over the entire system on
March ].
To the Public.
After May Is we will discontinue