New-York tribune., 1909-05-26
STRIKE END IN SIGHT
OPTIMISM FOLLOWS DIR.
NELL TO GEORGIA.
automobiles Take Place Of Trains
Mails Moue in Haphasdrd Fash
;or-FoOd and Ice Famine.
, rBy telegraph to The Tribune. ]

.,cA here tonight with General Manager
-bonnzs K. Scott of The Georgia Railroad, fol-
,oztne which he met Second Nice-President
psu of the striking white fIemen's organiza-
,,on As result an extremely optimistic spirit
,r4vaiIs. and it is predicted that trains will be
mining within forty-eight hours.
~, the first time since the beginning Of the
,-5kA General Manager Scott conferred with
co,Arnor Smith this evening Afterward the
covArnur said: we discussed the situation
s.1v and 1 am now very hopeful that some
lens NAV be taken which will bring about
.,nAd,. adjustment In the mean time l regard
a, se Of the utmost Importance that perfect order
should prevail
In the mean time automobiles and taNcahs
-k doing q rushing business over the state
mails are practically at a standstill and there
;, q, rressing need for food and ice in man!
towns.
This afternoon General Manager Scott, Gov
amor Hoke Smith Attorney General Hart, san
aA-s Mcdaniel and others met at the Gov
.-,or,s mansion 10 discuss the proposition OF
she Governor 10 submit the issues to com
r,tt4s Of six Georgians. TO be named by the
-asd and by the strikers.
The fourscore fremen alone have not Produceu
,h. nresent situation. 1t was the communities
,bic, the railroad served that stopped every
ubAel of the system for the last three days not
the officials Of these communities. but le"
men who came forward and announced that
nssro hremen should not have seniority over
white firemen From some hidden source OF
nubIic opinion these men have up to now made
good this racial ultimatum-
Few Of these men were firemen: some did not
even claim to be acquainted with striking fire
men They accomplished the tie-up without
serious acts of violence. with few cases Of
throwing stones which appear to have been &C
coronIished as warnings OF what might happen
if trains continued TO
THREATENED RIOT AVERTED.
A threatened riot was averted at Augusta to-
day by the prompt action Of sherifs' deputies in
rescung J. II. Hewitt. Of Savannah. q railroad
guard. who fired upon a crowd of who
after fireman yard engine. Hewitt was
arrested on a misdemeanor charge. There were
no other reports Of disorder.
Somewhere in Atlanta is Marion Erwin.
United States District Attorney, empowered by
the United States government sto look after
United States interests and 10 get the mails
started if possible. So far his whereabouts are
unknown
The iremen say they are willing to arbitrate
but that the ten white must be replaced
en- the engines now occupied by negroes. and If
the future when a white man reaches good
run by hard work he must be left there. The
fremen argue that, as negroes seldom or never
become locomotive engineers, to employ them
as aremen means the shutting out of -hite
men from this Indispensable apprenticeship for
places as engineers They have not as yet de
manded that all the negro fremen be sup
planted by whites but they insist that the
seniority OF white fremen over negroes be rec
ognized In respect 20 its negro employees. the
railroad has taken the position that many ~
rhem have given faithful service, and that it
cannot agree TO lower the rank of these ne
groes. The race issue has been growth since
the strike. rather than its specific cause.
FOOD SUPPLIES BY PACK TRAINS.
From all points come reports Of scarcity Of
necessities Of life food being extremely scarce.
Union Point, Greensboro. Crawfordville, Thorn
son. Deering and ether places are suffering.
Many cars OF perishable stuff along the road
are being ruined. The newspapers are using
automobiles 10 transport their papers over the
Georgia road. and il. many instances the mer-
chants are using automobiles wagons and even
pack trains to carry provisions to their patrons
in the smaller towns.
The substitution Of automobiles and taxicabs
for railroad train service was development to-
day. Between fully fifty towns in Central and
Northeast Georgia scores of automobiles ran
on schedules which in some cases were faster
than the regular train schedules. Not a loco
motive moved al any point Of the Georgia Kali
road system The automobile service was most
" toun-to-town runs. but there were many
machines running seventy miles, or more than
a third Of the distance from Atlanta to Au-
gustz the route Of the main line OF the rail
road. Passenger rates in these automobiles
~-ere unr-gulated Some machines could be h&d
al from 81 10 Sc an hour One party of four
which came into Atlanta paid $40 for fast
fort rnile run something over - cents mile
cach.
The fight Of the rural postmasters to deliver
thtir mail became inspiring. Daylight brought
IA two rain soa ked mud bespattered postmasters
from the vicinity OF Litheria carrying heavy
sacks Of mail after an all night struggle over
pitch dark roads in an automobile. brief
stop here and back they went to ride along far
intb the night with the return mail. Division
Superintendent Terrell said that the Georgia
pestrna sters have been authorized to use auto
mobiles whenever possible, but that they were
not authorized to spend any money for auto
mobiles. and that they using commendabIe
mtenuity TO obtain rides in machines
An automobile mail service was established
ogt Of Augusta as far west as Thomson this
afternoon From Atlanta a handcar loaded with
mail sacks was started in the opposite direction
Assistant District Attorney Akerman. at
Nation has been instructed by Attorney General
Hlckersham 10 render what aid is necessary to
tht Georgia State Department in the interest Of
NE mail service. There are three thousand
Pounds Of delayed mail at the Atlanta post
onee
There are no trains running on the road, and
hare not been for eighty hours. The strikers