Arizona republican., 1909-12-01
NORTHWEST IN 4 KNOT
 Tied by sWitchnlen's Strike al $ Last Night
 THE STORY 0F EACH SIDE
Told to the Interested But Helpless, Third Party, the Shipping and Consuming Public-Predicted it Will Equal Strike of 1894

' days negotiations between the Switch mems Union of North America and a l joint committee of railroad managers I representing thirteen railroads of the northwest 2 strike involving 23Gl switchnen became effective at s o'clock tonight. The men are em- ' ployed by the railroads running west ard north of St. Paul frorsl Lake Su- rer'or to the Pacific coast. and unless speedily settled, the strike will mean the serious interruption of traffic
 The first effect of the strike was a sharp OG'ee in the price of wheat Tn the Chicago grain market lata tJ,.ay Roads entering the Twin Cities and iT!uth and Superior are largely grain carriers fr0Hi the west ToniGhs both sites to thc dispute issued statements.
 The railway managers say Tie roads of the northwest recognizing that the public is an interested but un- represented third party in tta contrO- ve:sy with the switchmen, through tile comTit:ee which~has per1 con- duc:ins thc;r nego nations H sire to place at the disposal of the public the following sdttz in connection with the negotiations:
 fh" .w:teimen in the pOTlhwest tcrritory mace simultaneous demands on thirteen is ilroads centering IF the ! win Cites fer an increase in wages ard for certain changes in service coalitions. At the suggestion uf r. T. Iiawley. I:cs.dent of the SwitchmeEs Union af NOrih Aperica. of whose rr- ga,i::a.i"n the swit'.l men o. th4 northwest are members, arr2ls .al-.its were n,;.de tC conduct negotiations m Gnc Crr1Ui cuLe.
 r Tn the conference the railroads were represented by a committee of ten managers and the switchmen by r. T Hawley and by other officers of the Switchmen's Union of North America The demands of the switch men were for double pay for Sundays, holidays and overtime, an advance of sixty cents per day of ten hours in the wages of switchmen, switch tend CTS. towermen. engine herders and as- sistant yard masters; modification of the rule providing for the payment of the penalty in case of failure to permit switchmen to secure their meals in the middle of their shift. at DtItouc hiiANh double pay in cases where it became necessary to work a portion of the meal hour and, eliminating the phy- sical examination and age limit placed upon switchmen entering the service.
 Five conferences were held in St. Paul in which the switchmen in no detail receded from their demands, which if conceded would have entail- ed an additional expense upon the railroads for switching service of from 40 to 45 per cent.
 ''The managers committee offered the switchmen an increase of 20 cents per day of 10 hours in the rates of pay of switchmen employed in the territory west of Havre. Mont. on the Great Northern railroad and west of Billings. Mont. on the Northern Pa cific railroad, differential in that ter ritory for switchmen having obtained for about two years.
 Further concessions were declined. for the reason that the rates of pay Of switchmen were increased over 13 per cent in November, 1906. and because the rates at that time established had not been reduced during the period of business depression which followed.
 "The attention of the switchmen was called to the fact that in 1906 the switchmen were granted a larger per centage of increase than any other class of employees in the train service. At the present the rate of wages of switchmen average over s100 per month.
 "On November 23, 1909, in submit ting it's final answer to the switchmen. the managers committee, assuming that the switchmen had joined in de- sire for an amicable adjustment of the questions under consideration, sug- gested that the demands be submitted to arbitration under the provision of the Erdman Act This the sWitchmen declined to do, and in their final writ ten answer to the managers commit tee, made a statement that they would not submit to arbitration under any circumstances"
 The statement then recites that on November g. after discussion of the proposal to arbitrate under the terms of the Erdman act, at the suggestion of President Hawley, joint tele- gram was addressed to Martin A. Knapp. of the interstate commerce commission and Charles P. Neill, United States commissioner of labor, asking them to act as mediators un der the E.rdman act.
 NAuap,lar h,