New-York tribune., 1904-09-03
TO TIE UP ELEVATED.


ton of Street and Electric Railway Employees.
which includes all of the low wage men on the
elevated from trainmen to ticket choppers and
lamp cleaners voted yes no TO the question:;
Are you in favor of sustaining your execu-
tive committee in the agreement made between
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and
Firemen?"
This agreement was entered into two weeks
ago. when the elevated men first learned OF the
low wage scale In the subway. 1t Is that al!
stand OF fall together. that if one organization
strikes the members of the other go out with
them. The Amalgamated members voted at NO
$50 East One hundred d-and-twenty- -ifth-st.
The grand officers Of the organizations made
repeated speeches at both halls. When men
drifted In singly they were apprised of the situ-
alton quietly by some one i'm authority. When
they arrived in crowds one of the leaders would
mount the platform and address them. Grand
Chief Stone Of the engineers had his coat off
most OF the afternoon. and in his shirt sleeves
made several spirited speeches He is the real
leader Of the strike. the man who remained un-
moved by August Belmont's appeals and threats.
When a strike is declared he is the man who
will give the order.
Early in the afternoon 1t was evident that the
motorrnen were going to vote to strike and that
the Amalgsmated members would stand by
not an extra policeman on the beat. The only
discussion was the probability of the COM
pany weakening. At no time there any
difference of opinion regarding the strike.
Just before o'clock the men heard Of The
visit OF the Interborough officials TO Police Com
missioner McAdoo to arrange for police FIotec-
ton in case q strike ordered. They re-
ceived the with laugh. but II seemed TO
make them more determined.
so they are arranging for the police. are
they said an officer of Brotherhood No. SS2.
the Manhattan engineers. We not going
to fight them with violence When we run the
trains into the yards the road will be tied up. |
They won't be able TO take them out again in a
hurry. The public will be sadly inconvenienced |
but that will make their protest stronger.
Every DAY the road is tied up the company will |
lose more than IT would cost them to pay a !
decent wage scale in the subway for num-
Der Of months
The public will not realize what an elevated |
tie-up really until the trains actually |
stop running. Harlem and The Bronx will be-
come an hour further away from City Hall. |
even If the surface lines can make anything like |
schedule time Four elevated lines are in /
volved. the Second. Third. Sixth and Ninth aves.
The first two cover the East Side from the Bat
terry to the Harlem River. and then run through |
The Bronx to the Botanical Gardens The last |
two cover the West Side from the Battery ~ |
and fifty ffth-st. They probably !
carry average OF 100000 passengers day. /
1t is true that surface lines run under all OF
the elevated roads and that other surface lines
I aTaIleI them. The surface roads fowever
have practically all the traffic they can handle
during the rush hours. The sympathy OF the
streetcar mer is undoubtedly with their ele-
waited brothers. They can be counted on TO do
everything I'm their power TO aid the strike. |
Besides, many OF them dissatisfied with the
wages paid and hours required by rhe Metropol-
itan. A movement toward the formation OF
union is said to be we'll under way among them. /
In OF a long elevated tie-up II is possible
that they will make demands on their own ac-
count.
II may be that the Interborough. will throw
oPen the subway, operating the trains with the
men who have lately been recruited So !
day scale and who are now being drilled. The
school trains were moving up and down the
line. j. seems more likely, however that the
new nlotormen would be put on the elevated in
case there is a strike and the opening OF the
subway delayed Mr.. Belmont declared that he
would do this IL the men insisted on their de-
rnands Grand Chief Stone told MIN that the
new motormen could not be taught TO handle
trains safely in less than thirty days.
The owners OF summer excursion boats are
watching the situation with interest. In case OF
a strike a steamer service will probably be put |
and the Battery with various stops on the way,
on both the Hudson and East rivers.
Probably no strike could be ordered which
would come home more quickly 10 the average
New-Yorke than the one In prospect on the
elevated. The coal strike and the beef strike
struck the public pocketbook. The building
trades tie-up felt by comparatively few.
But transportation strike means an expense Of |
time at the very hours when New-York Is In
the biggest hurry. 1t means personal inconveni-
ance to the hundreds of thousands who live 1
arfyra lfnT hist md ar,lr1l