The San Francisco call., 1906-09-09

1925 per day. Very truly,
PATRICK CALHOUN,
President United Railroads of San
Fuller and Zant received the COM
would submit it to the meeting of the
union which had been called for the
evening
REJECT CALHOUN'S TERMS.
At the meeting of the Track Work
ers' Union held last evening the mem
bers rejected Calhoun's terms as sub
mitted to them yesterday and in reply
to his offer sent the following letter.
Patrick Calhoun, President United
Railroads Company:
Sir-In reply to your communication
received by us this morning we beg to
advise you that said terms have been
submitted to and rejected by the union
and call to your attention the agree
ment which we sent you some time ago
which is now lying in your office un-
signed. We submit the above referred
to agreement to the board of arbftra-
ference of the employees of the United
RAILROADS and await with impatfence
the time when our differences may be
settled by arbitration Very truly
President Street Railroad Construc-
tion Workers.
The men will remain with the COM
pany until such time as it can be defin-
ttely determined whether the Board of
Arbitration will be able to settle their
grievance.
IMPORTANT POINT SETTLED.
During the day the threatened diff
Guilty over the question of closed or
open shop was terminated. and the
United Railroads will continue to offer
work to men irrespective of their affil-
iation with a union. The matter did
not come to a direct issue, and the
union men claim that 1t was never
their intention to make a stand at this
time for a closed shop. Nevertheless,
the retention by the company of the
linemen. who had taken the places of
the striking electricians, was a thorn
in the flesh of the union, and the an
nouncement by the company that 1t
would hold the men who had been
brought from the East to break the
Garments strike did not help the feel
ings of the strikers in each of the
unions. All this has been settled
The exact terms of the concession
which ended the trouble were not made
public in the statements issued by
either side yesterday, but it is under
stood on good authority that when the
old linemen return to their work they
will be placed in one Shift and the
non-unfon men in another. In this
both sides found a satisfactory ar
rangement.
From the voluminous nature of the
explanatory matter put forth by each
side over the settlement of this diff
Guilty it would seem that the strike
was passing into its annecdotage. The
joint conference of the unions was in
session until nearly o'clock yester-
day morning. There was prolonged
and heated discussion over nothing in
particular" the leaders said after the
meeting broke up. But when they
found that Calhoun had made public
the matter they termed nothing in
particular" but which was in effect
the concealed question of closed or open
shop, the explanations began.
SAYS THEY WE'RE MISLED.
McCabe lead off with the following
Concerning the statements OF differ
ences recently arising between Prest-
dent Patrick Calhoun of the United
Railroads and the representatives of
the unions recently on strike, am par
ticularly with reference to the signed
statement of Mr.. Calhoun on the sub
ject published in the morning papers,
the conference committee desires to
say:
When the Joint conference of street
railroad employees last Wednesday de-
cided to advise the striking street car
men, electrical workers, firemen and
construction workers to return to work
pending arbitration of hours and
wages, each and every representative
of the unions present understood that
discrimination against either ind1vid-
ualS or classes was not contemplated
by Mr.. Calhoun-each and every man
without hesitancy interpreted the let
ter of Mr.. Calhoun then before the
conference in but one way. In that
letter Mr.. Calhoun said:
Il write at once to say to
you that If, and when, the members OF
the respective unions who are now
striking are directed by their unions
to return promptly to work, l Will cor
and will Immediately proceed to arbi-
trate the questions of hours and
wages"
That sounds like a Straightforward.
tinction whatever between the several
groups of strikers, consequently the
members of the conference were justi-
fed in assuming without hesitancy that
Mr.. Calhoun not only referred to the
striking street carmen, the striking
electrical workers, the striking fire.
men and the striking construction
workers as groups, but that he inciud-
ed each and every individual striker
belonging to any one Of these groups
or unions.
THE ISSUE DEFINED.
The issue between the unions and Mr..
Calhoun was whether the strikers-all
the groups of strikers-would promptly
return to work and then open negotia-
tions for a settlement or whether they
would continue to contest until one
side or the other was forced to make
unconditional surrender
The conference, having faith in the
justice of the demands of the strikers
and having faith in Mr.. Calhoun's in
tegrity of purpose, agreed to the very
unusual condition imposed by Mr.. CAL
houn as essential to commencement Of
direct negotiations for settlement of
the existing controversies. From the
unions standpoint the strike conditions
were thoroughly satisfactory, and the
probability of defeat did not command
consideration.
Had any phrase of Mr. Calhoun's let
ter or any verbal statement attributed
to him excited the slightest suspicion
in the mind of any member of the con-
ference that Mr.. Calhoun contemplated
discrimination against any class OF
strikers or even against individual
have been rejected.
When, on Thursday morning, strik-
ing members of the Firemen's and Elec-
trical Workers unions reported for
work they were told that their SER
vices were not required. To say that
the union men were surprised is to
use an expression that but mildly sug-
gests the situation. Later in personal
the electrical workers and the firemen
Mr. Calhoun confirmed the action of his
subordinates in refusing employment to
the striking firemen and electrical
workers who had reported for work