Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-31
5000 MAY STRIKE
ON ONE RAILROAD
New Haven Men Object to
PieceWork System.
POLICY OF RETRENCHMENT
Western Roads Will Need Laborers
for Repairs.
READING ROAD LAYS OFF $50
Riot of Foreigners at the Inland
Steel Mills-Police Charge the
Mob-Several Hurt.
Western Roads Will Need Laborers
for Repairs.
READING ROAD LAYS OFF $50

There arc wholesale discharges
and reductions on some OF the
biggest railroads. and on the New
Haven line 5000 men are on the
verge OF strike against the in
PRODUCTION of piece work. The
general curtailinS and retrench
ing in the big commercial estab-
lislments. coming. as it does. just
before the election. Is certain to
acccntuate the hard times among
hundreds OF thousands. and is
strikingly suggestive OF political
movement.
NEW HAVEN Conn. March 31-A
conference of machinists. car workers,
union officials and the officials of the
New Haven road to determine whether
strike shall be ordered tomorrow was
held today. The union men say that they
reported to the road that. unless the order
to install the piece system is revoked.
general strike of 5000 men will be ordered
in all the car shops. The answer of
the railroad officials will be read at
meeting of representatives of all the
unions tonight in Trades Councils Hall.
A poll of the delegates here today show
ed that they are unanimously in favor
of ordering strike tomorrow, unless the
road backs down.
That the road Is prepared for the strike
the employees no longer have the slight
est doubt. The opening of employment
offices in various cities and the response
which this has met with, owing to the
fact that 50 many men are out of work
is evidence enough for the men that the
road does not expect the men will favor
going on TO the piece work wage scale
The employees doubt however. that the
railroad can employ enough strkebreak-
ers who know how to do the work re-
Qured for even long enough time TO
defeat strike.
The steamer Connecticut is expected
here from New York loaded with strike
breakers as soon the vote of the
unions 10 strike is announced.
Old Employees Go.
The few men in the employ of the New
Haven road at local shops discovered to-
day that the officials will keep up the
series of discharges. Thirty-five en-
ployes at the wheel shops on Spring street
were dismissed. The wheel shops are
the most important departments of the
repair work in the city. BY today's dis
charges the force in the wheel shop is
reduced to three. and one of these stated
that he expected he and the others would
be discharged tonight.
The policy of retrenchment in expenses
started by the New Haven road some
time ago, and which has gone so far. il is
said as to have decreased the salary OF
President Melen himself. resulted I'm the
discharge today of thirty women from the
accounting rooms at the general office
building.
Last winter there was so much work
10 do at the general Office building that
the clerks were forced to take turns work
ing for several hours during the evening
and in many cases there was no extra
pay for IL One of the women who was
discharged had been in the employ OF
the railroad for twenty-eight years
The New Haven ordered the piece work
system introduced in all its car shops
March l. but postponed the change at the
request of the committee from the car
workers unions to allow a series OF CON
ferences TO be held. 1t was next annourh.-
ed that the order would go into effect
March 2S. but it has been finally deferred
until April l.
Railroads Need Hands.
CHICAGO. March ;:l.-The Record
Herald today says:
In the next sixty days the railroads Of
the United States will have to find be-
tween 10000 and 3msO men to mend
their tracks and roadbcds and another
large army To go into their shops and re-
pair their cars and locomotives
The railroads canferinp IN C-bic.,o
alone VIII require more than 10000 Ia
borers.
Work will start in light tomorrow on
the roads which are The best favored hy
climatic conditions. and will be increased
rapidly until June l. when removal and
repair work will be in fun swing on every
railroad IN the country. The average
number of men needed by each of the
large Chicago systems is snuu and tho
wages offered are to ne about the same
as last year. when labor was scarcer and
more men were needed.
For day labOrerS the wages range be
tween 81 % and 81 .6o a day the average
being about sl.40. The highest fgur. is
paid for what called steel gangs who
are employed in laying steel rails This
year the railroads expect to be able to
procure a much greater proportion of
American labor than usual. owing to the
fact that times have not been so good and
many men are out of employment. Ii is
also expected that there will noi be SO
when the business recession came the
Italians returned to their native land In
shplodds.
Reading Discharges.
READING. Pa, March 3i.-At the close
of work in tie Reading Railway Com
panyS s car and locomotive shops last night
6r employees were laid off. This is i'm ad-
dition 70 80 who were indefinitely sus-
pended Lass week The force had been
previously reduced that less than two
thirds of the men are now at work. Fore
men have been paced in the ranks and
the plants are working our days of eight
hours each. Similar suspensions took
place at Palo Alto and Schuylkll Haven
shops. The revival in the coal trade ha s
apparently not stimulated work at the
shops as was expected
Hungarians Riot
CHICAGO. March 3l-Several persons
were seriously injured in a riot which