New-York tribune., 1905-01-25
DEMANDS OR A STRIKE.
CONFERENCE TOMORROW.
Notormen Ready to Act Without
Consulting National Officers.

It was learned yesterday that the real demand
Of the employees OF the Interborough system is
for the reinstatement Of two motormen who
were discharged recently after collisions in the
subway and on the 9th-ave. elevated line. The
subway accident was at Worth-st In the 9th
ave. accident an electrician was killed In this
last the motormen declared that guard was at
fault in not signalling the train which crashed
into The stalled train. the latter was hidden
by a curve.
Regarding the possibility Of q strike if these
demands are not granted. they also declare that
the agreement OF last fall regarding the appoint
lnent OF motormen by seniority has been vio-
lated. W. /. Jencks. chief Of Division No. 1O5
OF the brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers. Of
which the motoTmen OF the Interborough COM
pany are members said last night:
There viii be another conference on Thursday at
Ar6lssina5ed % GssoolatioI and the officials of he
II they 40 not then zen aSree 20 tns s
last summer VIII take radical action at once
Mr. Bryan has been made 10 understand that We
be drRwbG k or compromise on our part our
s' Ter rom The rand chef Of the brotherhood tell
ing me 70 make the coapSty ~, IlNT & ep
now is such that they viii act first this time and
then send for the national officers,
The matter is now entirely up 20 the company:
II has it in its power TO avoid the possibility OF
intenion maintain the terms Of its written agree
ment
The grievance committee of the employees
called on Vice-President Bryan yesterday after
noon The conference lasted from 2:3o TO $50
O'Clock At its end General Manager Hedley
said that the meeting was arranged some time
ago, that nothing had been settled. and that the
discussion would be continued at another meet
ing. he admitted that the reinstatement Of the
discharged motorTnen had been discussed.
Earlier in the day Mr. Bryan had said that
strike talk was absurd. IF tried TO put in
the block system we could not the road at
all," he said. THE best experts in the world
were required to install the block system the
express tracks, but with the frequent stops on
the local rains the block system could not be
used. We have run the Manhattan Il" for
thirty years, without ever killing a passenger,
without the block system, and we are doing II
on the subway. AS we have carried 1900. .O00.
600 passengers on the Il" in safety, claim
We can do the same on the trains in the sub
way without the block system. The men are
not asking for such an absurd system"
There was no regular meeting of the leaders
OF the InterbOrOugh employees last evening.
though such q meeting was looked for, but they
had an informal talk over the demands, which
were more or less revised. and VIII be submitted
IN writing to Mr.. Bryan tomorrow. The prin-
cipal demand is for the reinstatement at once of
J. Pounds and J. Cause, two discharged motor
men, and trackman who was discharged NO
man in the opinion Of the employees, the list OF
demands says, should be dismissed for q first
offence.
inoiscTininate suspension OF all employees and
''the humiliation through denomination OF
IlOtormen."
The men demand that the motormen be no
longer required TO put main fuses in the motor
cars. and that the company place competent in
spectors along the line TO replace blown fuses.
The right Of seniority in promotion is de-
Tnanded, both the elevated roads and the SUBJ
way, and in cases where employees OF the sub
way fail TO pass an examination, employees on
the elevated roads who want the places are to
receive the preference when they pass the ex-
animation. Fifteen minutes rest at the end of
every trip is demanded. or ninety minutes day
The men require this, they say, to be 1t for the