Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-02
Continuance of Blockade Will Throw
Thousands More Out Of Work.
OFFICE MEN AS swITCHMEN
Little Impression is Made on Yards
Full of Stalled Freight Trains.
MAY TIE UP BIG SHELTERS
Butte Plants, which Employ Ten
Thousand Men, VIII soon Hun
out of Coke ~ service IL
Not Resumed.


ST. PAUL, Mimi Dec. livery line Of
industry in the Twin cities, Duluth and
Superior and all cities Of the northwest de-
pendent on the movement Of supplies is Sc
rlously affected by the strike Of the rail-
road switchmen, which began at o'clock
last evening.
1t is estimated about 1900 men are idle
tonight on account OF the strike order.
thousands of freight handlers and team
sters are losing time by reason of the
freight blockade in the terminal towns.
while a continuance Of the strike for sew
eral days will throw additional thousands
out Of work.
The railroad yards are filled with stalled
freight trains, and an attempt to move a
few by the aid of the office men drafted
as switchmen is making no impression.
The railroad managers announced today
that they were bringing to St. Paul new
switchmen to take the places of the strik-
ers
To this President Hawley Of the Switch
mems Union OF North America said:
"All right let them come, we will not
object"
Business men are beginning to feel the
result of the strike.
Information is given out from the switch
mems headquarters that If the railroads
locomotive firemeu may refuse to handle
cars and it is understood from one mem
Der of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Fire
men that the chief OF that organization
has instructed his men to decline to work
with nonunion men. II is said the fire
men have had a grievance for some time.
Both sides Make Claims.
Both sides IN the controversy claimed
to have the situation well In hand this
morning. Passenger traffic was main
itaned in the Twin Cities last night and
this morning, though with considerable
delay, but very little freight was handled
anywhere between the great lakes and the
Pacific coast.
The swltchmen are firm in their de-
termination to hold out for an increase Of
6 cents hour in wages, with double time
for overtime, Sundays and holidays, to-
gether with other concessions. while the
railroads claim that things will adjust
themselves to their normal condition within
a few days despite the walkout.
National Association in Fight.
| 1t is said that the moral and financial
support of the National Railway associa-
tion is being given to the railways of he
! northwest in this effort to overcome union
rule.
An indication OF the far-reaching effect
of the strike should It be protracted 10
shown in a dispatch from Butte, Mont,
where immense copper mines and smeltars
are located. These are wholly dependent
/ on the railroads directly concerned in the
strike. Inability to ship coke to the smelt-
ers will cause a suspension of operations
ard fully 10000 men there viii become idle.
A summary OF the switchmen on strike
| in Montana shows 30 out at Livingston. p
at Glendive, at Billings. 10 at Helena,
at Butte, IS at Deer Lodge, Avery and AL
berton; so at Mssoula, Garrison, Saltese.
St Regis, Paradise and Wallace, Idaho;
/ so at Great Falls and so at Havre.
One Train Leaves minneapolis.
No freight was handled out of ST. Paul
last night or this morning and only one
train left Minneapolis that soon after the
strike was declared. Railroad Officials.
| train dispatchers and members OF train
crews did the switching in the Twin city
yards. The freight handlers at the Min
nesota transfer the freight gateway OF the
northwest followig instructions, did not
report for work this morning
! All freight trains at Duluth and Superior
were at q standstil this morning II is
said should the strike last fully 10000 men
| will be thrown out of work at the head
! of the lakes.
The strike order was generally followed
between here and the Pacific coast and
where traffic was not entirely tied up It
was seriously delayed
In most places freight trains were side
| tracked, as at Missoula, Great Falls, I.iy-
| ingston, Grand Forks, Fargo, Mandan
jamestown and Havre. and agents refused
! to accept freight for shipment. At some
! points I'm Minnesota, as Helena and Billings.
/ all switchmen did not strike, some OF them
/ belonging to the Brotherhood OF Railway
Trainmen. Reports from Wallace, Butte.
! Forsythe and Paradise are that the men
! refused TO strike and the freight is being
handed
! 1t was reported this morning that the
members of the Brotherhood of Railway
Trainmen would also strike today, but this
could not be confirmed.
Coast cities Tied I'm.
| SEATTLE, Dec. l-Freight service on ths
! transcontinental lines in the Pacific north
west is practically at a standstnl because
OF the wakout OF the switchmen last
night following orders from the head
office at ST. Pam.
| In the northwest the Northern Pacific
and the Great Northern railways are the
greatest sufferers, as they are the only
northern transcontinental lines that en-
ploy numbers or swltchmen
In the northwest 700 switchmen obeyed
the strike order. In Seattle 200 men are
affected Tacoma has 100 strikers, Spokane
| $50, PascOe fifty. Ellensburg forty and
Everett thirty. The strike was not felt
at Portland. Ore, and Vancouver, where
the switching crews are made up OF mem
bers Of the railway trainmen's union.
In Seattle no effort was made to handle
freight trains, other than those carrvinf,
live stock, last night. Through passenger
trains were enabled to leave on time only
because the terminal superintendents ana
yard masters made up the trains.
Ten Thousand Out OF Work.
DULUTH, MINI, Dec. L-only two
switch engines are working today Gt the