Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-11-17
SOUTH, WEST AND
NORTH OF CHICAGO MAY
BE AFFECTED.
81 ROADS Are INVOLVED
Negotiations for Settlement End, and
Vote Is to be Taken.-chanse in
Work Conditions and Wage
Advance Asked.

Chicago, 1llinolS.-A strike vote VIII
be taken among engineers OF sixty one |
railroads west, south and north OF Chi
,ago, including the Illinois Central. fol-
owing termination OF negotiations De-
tween the roads and grand officers OF
he Brotherhood of Locomotive Engl-
aeers which had been in session since
Sept. &c. Difference on wage increases
If approximately per cent and alter
alton of working conditions stand be-
tween the negotiators.
Grand Chief Warren S. Stone, of the
brotherhood, who has been leading the
railroad men in their demands, said
ne believed the strike vote would be
unanimously in favor Of suspension OF
work and that the enginemen would
have expressed their desire by Dec.
10. Immediately thereafter he said,
last opportunity would be given the
railroads to meet the workers and II
they ignored that opportunity. within
five hours every engine west of Chi
cago, on all branches of service, would
be stilled and the fires drawn and out
, Of the thousands of cabs would step
every driver on duty.
The representatives of the engine
men in the twenty-five conferences
which ended without result We're:
Warren s. Stone, grand chief, and Ash
Kennedy, F. A. Burgess, e. Corrigan.
NJ. w. Cadle, and S. e. Wills assistant
grand chiefs, Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Engineers.
Their negotiations received the ad-
vice of fifty division managers OF the
Brotherhood who directly represented
the smaller councils of the order.
Officials at Conference.
Railroad officials as follows heard
the engine drivers demands: w. B.
Scott, OF the Union Pacific; F. e.
Ward, of the Burlington lines: f. c.
Batchelder, of the Chicago Terminal
Baltimore & Ohio; w. A. Durham, OF
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas; F. H
Emerson, of the Great Northern; T. ]
Foley, of the Illinois Central; F. G.
Fox, of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe; Grant Hall, of the Canadian Pa
cific; H. j. Simmons, of the Ell Pase
& Southw estern, and A. w. Trenholm
of the Chicago, ST. Paul, Minneapoli:
and Omaha.
The whole question arose from tn,
decision of the enginelnen themselve!
in convention at Detroit, Mich, las
spring. In three weeks session i
was decided that the existing wage
scale in effect since February, 1907
: was unsatisfactory and that workin.
t conditions had been imposed by rail
!, roads which should be eliminated. TIL
! grand officers were named to meet tn
3 railroads and present the demands.
i The general working conditions o
8 which the engine drivers complain in
!. clude, among other things, the fc!lc"
t ing:
Drivers of the Mallet compound er
gines, which do practically the worl
of two engines and entail a CORES
pondingly greater responsibility an
r capability, receive the same wages a
other drivers of high power engines Q
t much lesser capacity.
r The magnitude Of the wage questio
t is evidenced by a statement by tn
g employees that the per cent wage di
a ference now standing between tn
9 drivers and the railroads means al
l. proximately s2,soo,00o a year. TIL
< cost OF alterations of the workin
s conditions, minor considerations in tn
y conference, would be less than $500
e 900, it was asserted