The Mena weekly star., 1909-12-23
Agreement Made to Pay 100 Gents on DOllar fer Homes of Employees if
 livision Is Moved.
Fad of Ten Day Conference Was Victory for Labor Organizations
 of Unusual Importance.
MENA'S CLAIM NEXT
]. A. Edson Asks for Committee From Mena to Meet With Him sat-
 urday the Day Set.


 Railway c mpauy has, shroug | J. 4. dson, its presid mt, agreed 10 pay 1C0 C als cn the dollar I the home. T it's Mena employee. , Ii the ivisi is m wed, and nc W asks for co iference wlsh a con- mittee of Mena cisiz ms with a view to clml. z to an uuderst .no- lag r.lative 10 tine relstiol of th 6 city the proposed cnanze
 The conferences that led up to ta. agreemenE between the com pany aud the Mena em mployees began about two mouths ago, a meeting bet ween President Edson and the grand officers and general committees of the five raiIway or ganiz ,iions resulting in a T. q test of the employees to furnish de tailed report showing the actual holdings they had in Mena. This, when completed. showed that th, companys employees owned in Mena something over S34O 000 worth of real prop,rly.
 On the 9th ot December Os- car Bush, Representing he conductors of the Kansas City Southern; w. o. Van Pelt, the ens sineers; F. w. Lewis the 6re- men; K. F. Mclaughlin the traiumeu and o. l.. Love the car- men. together with E. P. Gurus, vice president of the Older of Railway conductors; W. $. Stone, grand chief of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Y. k. Dodge, vice president If tie Brotherhood of Raiiway Tram men: A. K. D Ion, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomo- tive Bremen, and NJ. NJ. Ryan, president Of the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, who all repre- sentiug the railroad employees of Mena, again met Mir. Edson iu Kansas City.
 Early in the conference the company made an offer to the employees of 6623 per cent cash for their homes in Msua and stock in company 10 be org ap iz.d by the company to boom Mena property and dispose of the holdings for the balance of the amount demanded, l0o per cent. This was refused, and other prop ositious were presented aud con sidered, all Of wbich were rejected by the men, who stood firm for the original proposal pa yment in full for their homes. They won.
 It is estimated that should the division be finally moved, the road will have to buy of it's eul- ployees homes u the value of $l80. 900, the other property h. d here by the employees being al- most as much more.
 Following this settlement with the employees, President Edson wired to John H. Hamilton, a member of a committee that waited ou him several months ago in behalf of Mena, that he was desirous of mee II 2 the committee again, pointing out the fact that, snoul l the ch ngc be made, the railroad would be the h saviest in- dividual property owner in the city, and therefore would be in- terested ,n joining the citiz as to build up the city. He also stated that if such conference was ar ranged, h. would cause his att torneys to continue the injunc- tion suit filed in Fort Smith pend- ing the nego i,iions.
 It was agreed that this con- ference sht u q be held on Satur- day morning, and the committee left for Kansas City Friday.
 Oscar Bush and F. W. Lewis returned Thursday from Kat sas City, after an absence of two weeks. most vf which time they were in the conference with J. A, Edson that resulted in an agree ment for the railroad 10 pay the company's employees for their homes in Meus # the division IS moved. They feel that. from the side of the railroad employees or ganizations, the conference and the decision was one Of the most important and far reaching held Tn the history of organiz d lab 1T.