The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-05-15
BRIDGEPORT ON VERGE
 OF A TROLLEY STRIKE
MEN THREATEN TO QUIT WORK
 THIS MORNING.

10 Hold a Meeting Early to Decide-The Questions fin DIspute-NationaI Prcst. dent DiIiworth Said to Favor Strike
 Company Apparently Prepared- Two Hundred New Men Recently
 Broken In.
 Bridgeport, Conn.,, May 14.-This city tonight is on the verge of strike which will tie up the local lines of the Connecticut Railway and Lighting com- pany with branches extending to Derby Woodmont, Fairfield, Stratford, South port and Westport. A vote to decide the question will be taken early to-mor- row morning, and the prospects favor a strike. HTt
 Six weeks ago the 22O employees of the company, who constitute branch of the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employes of America, submit ted to J. E. Sewell, the company's gen. eral manager, a request for the recog- milton of the union and the association Of which 1t is a part. fiat wage rate of 221s cents an hour for motormen and conductors, for the abolishment of swing runs, for maximum work day of ten hours to be completed within twelve and a half hours, for the employ ment os sufficient number of extra men to allow each regular man a day off each week, a choice of runs by the men. according to seniority and few other unimportant privileges.
 The company met this with counter proposition, framed at a meeting of the directors, granting all the requests but the recognition of the union and the flat wage rate. Instead of union recogni- tion the company agreed to meet and treat with any committee of the em- ployes. Concerning wages it agreed to adopt new scale raising the. minimum IS to 19 cents an hour and reducing the period of service necessary to attain the maximum of 21 cents from four years to three.
 This proposition was tabled by the trolley men on April 29. It was taken up at meeting early this morning and by an almost unanimous vote was re- jected. The previous request was con- verted into a demand, with an added de- IIlduu IUF Iiies sTeIilSldteLleLL u ulS" charged motorman.
 The amended demand was submitted to MT. Seweli at 4 o'clock this afternoon, with the information that unless a fav- orable response was accorded it by z o'clock this evening, the men would strike. MT. Sewell replied that he would investigate the case of the discharged rlotorman and would give him the ben eft of every doubt. In response to the other items of the demand, he said that the company would stand on the propo- sition it had already made: :... '
 The employees will discuss the situa- tion tonight, but each wears an air of suppressed expectancy. The officials of the company are equally reticent, but all are busy apparently making prepa- rations to meet emergencies. A month ago while there was strong probability of a strike, 200 new men were "broke in on the cars, but when the outlook changed these men disappeared.
 National President Dillworth of the Amalgamated Association came here this morning and spent some time ir conference with local labor leaders. He will attend the meeting tomorrow morning. It is understood that he will recommend strike, as the local condi. tions were discussed at a recent conven- ton of the association at Pittsburg.
 The company operates in and about Bridgeport ninety cars on eighty miles of track.