Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-24
YARDMEN TRY
TO END STRIKE
CONFERENCE HELD; LITTLE
ACCOMPLISHED
ANOTHER MEETING TO BE HELD
THIS MORNING
Railroad Officials and Representatives
of Switchmen's Union Fail to
Agree-Governor May Ar
btrate Differences
GAssoclated Pressl


ST PAUL, Mimi, Dec, 23-At a
conference today in the Office of Gov
ernor Eberhart attended by represen-
tatives of the railway council of the
American Federation of Labor and of
all Twin C5ty lines affected by the
switchmen's strike a proposition was
made, both by the railroads and by the
switchmen, for settlement of the
strike.
No agreement was reached, AMI 1t
was agreed to meet again tomorrow
morning. The conference was attended
by Governor Eberhart, by his seclc-
tary, Ralph w. Wheelock, by members
of the state railroad commission and
by State Labor Commissioner Nc
Even.
The proposition of the railroads is to
employ as many former employees as
they have room for under the present
agreement until the termination of the
conference now going on between
switchmen and railroads in the Chica-
go district when the Twin city roads
will agree to meet any wage increase
or any working conditions granted the
switchmen of the Chicago lines.
In their counter proposition the
switchmen agree to arbitrate under
the arbitration act of 1898, but insist
that separate negotiations be conduct
ed with the Twin City lines. The
proposition of the railroads to Gov
ernor Eberhart follows:
Proposition to Governor
"A conference between representa-
tives of the railways in the Chicago
district and representatives of their
switchmen is now in progress to de-
termine a scale of wages and the es-
tablishment of working conditions Tor
that district.
Rates of wages in the Chicago dis
trict and in the Minnesota cities Tor
switchmen. have been identical ana
the working conditions similar
Representatives of the Twin Guy
lines in conference this date have con-
firmed by majority vote the report TO
your excellency that those roads rep
resented will agree to re-employ such
of their former yard employees as the
roads may have places for, at the rates
of nav and under working conditions
in effect November /. 1908, and that ut
the termination of the Chicago confer
enee the lines here represented VIII
meet any additions in rates of pay or
working conditions that may be grant
ed by the Chicago lines TO their
sWitchmen, and that as hereto an
nounced, the differential of 2 cents per
hour in the wages of switcnmen VIII
apply in the territory of Billings ana
west on the Northern Paclhc railway
and in the territory of HaVre ana
west on the Great Northern railway
The swjtchmen's counter proposition
follows:
Counter Proposition
For the employees. we are aware
that a conference is being held he
tween the representatives of certain
railways in the Chicago district and
of their switchmen. We
have no information in relation to the
questions between the railroads and
their employees in the Chicago district
being likely to be submitted to arbi-
tratiOn.
"Representatives Of the switchnen
employed on the Twin City lines are
willing that differences between the
employees and the employing com
panies be submitted to arbitration un-
der the terms of the arbitration act OF
1898. with the stipulation that both
sides agree to abide by the award
given by the arbitrators. Furthermore,
that the hearings shall be conducted
bv representatives of the employees and
the employing companies without the
aid of attorneys, as far as IL Is pos
sble.
I'VE are not satisfied to leave our
questions to be settled by any faction
in Chicago, whether by arbitration or
otherwise, claiming that our questions
must be settled locally and kept sepa-
rate and distinct from all other ques-
tions: that as We are ready TO agree
to arbitrate and as the negotiations in
Chicago have not reached that stage
it seems to us it would be better to ar
bitrate here and proceed as If there
were no negotiations going on in
Chicago.
IF these questions and the subsidiary
questions as to the men returning to
work and agreement to meet the COM
mittee after the award Is given for the
purpose of amending the existing
schedules and wage scales in accord
ance with the award is agreed upon
we contemplate that it may be pos
sible to put an end to the strike within
a few hours and industrial peace will
be assured in the pendency of the ar
bitraton proceedings.