The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-02-28
POLITICS
 MAY AGAIN
 END STRIKE
Monster Petition Circulated In Philadelphia to Compel
 Trolley Go. to .Arbitrate
Special from United Press.)

street car men in Philadelphia and the threatened strike of 100000 union men in sympathy, and few believe today the sympathetic strike will be allowed to, take place.
 A monster petition is to be circulated by the Central Labor Union urging city councils to force the Philadelphia Rapid Transit company to arbitrate, the alternative being a general sym pathetic strike.
 The common and select councils of Philadelphia are under the domination 1t is declared, of State Senator McNi- chol, organization leader McNichol is looked upon as the man who will cause councils to force arbitration, end the present strike and avert the general strike.
 McNichol, however, is the political co-worker of State Senator Wolf, vice. president of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit company. Wolf, the strikers declare, is responsible for the attitude 1 of the company in dismissing 800 un- ion men and forcing the strike Wolf, | it is reported, would fight arbitration unless unusual pressure could be ex- erted upon him. Unionists look upon
 McNichol to exert this pressure. They l declare the life of the McNichol or l ganization is at stake and that the leader will be forced by public opinion to cause the councils to act Thursday.
 It is decla by strike leaders that McNichol h. ut to say the word and
 the strike will end.
 | Two minor clashes were reported by the police today. A crowd of boys l stnode a car on the west side A po- l liceman, ina attempting to get off the car to disperse the mob, tripped and | f011 0f11 1 cS1z1 In vr7i11 l cover.
 l At 45th street and Lancaster avenue Policeman Strange fired several shots 1 in the air to disperse a crowd that had
 stoned car. He made one arrest. | The Philadelphia. Rapid Transit Com-
 pany advertised today warning strik- 1 ing street car men that tomorrow was
 the last day they might return to
 work. The traction company declares 1 300 of the strikers returned today but the union leaders deny this The com pany declares it is running more car than on any previous day. Al heavy rain is keeping crowds off the streets and no further trouble is ex- pected today.
 | An important meeting of labor lead CTS has been called for this afternoon | to formulate plans for general strike. Among those who will be present are: E.. B. Greenwood, president of the
 
 President Golden of the Textile Work | CTS; Timothy Healy, International
 President of the Stationary Bremen; Resin Orr, International Treasurer of the Garments Union; c. o. Pratt, of l the carmen's union; Peter Dricoll, president of the local street carmen's
 union and J. B. Daly, the attorney of l the strikers.
 l Sunday and Saturday night were
 marked by scores of riots which in l two or three instances assumed serious l proportions. It is estimated today by | the various hospitals that at least 75 1 persons have been treated at the var ious institutions for wounds inflicted l by flying bricks and policemen's clubs.
 Two persons were killed by wild car | and several injured as a direct result | of the strike while two other persons were fatally wounded, one boy being 1 shot by policeman and another hav- | ing his neck broken by a flying brick. Dynamite torpedoes, such as are used
 on the railroads, were used in two in
 stances on each occasion smashing the
 windows in the vicinity. The riots spread to sections of the city which
 hitherto had been peaceful and the city l police had their hands full all day and until late at night.
 l All the riots resulted from stoning
 of cars. Tn many eases the police re-
 serves were called and battered up
 the heads of all in sight with their
 clubs. Scores of shots were fired,
 though in nearly every case over the
 heads of the strikers.
 | The street car company during the
 day had nearly 1000 cars in operation
 and announced that nearly 500 would
 be operated during the night but the
 spreading of the riots to all sections
 caused the company. to take off at
 least 150 of the cars scheduled for I-as~ HJr5a 1nxr ,.Ix, | 1, 900 cars are being run and the com
 pany officials declare they are ready 1 to resume complete normal service if the police give the word
 Businessmen, ministers, manufac- | turers and persons in every walk of
 life are visiting individual common
 and select councilmen today with a request that something be done at Thursdays meeting to end the strike I of the street car men and prevent the | threatened general strike.
 1 At a meeting of the union delegates
 last night it was decided to postpone 1 action on the general strike until
 councils had acted or refused to act.
 The session of the union men lasted
 from to 8 o'clock and it is declared l the vote for general strike was by
 no means unanimous.
 ] The resolutions finally adopted point
 ed out that the city of Philadelphia | E
 management of the Philadelphia Rapid
 Transit Company and that Mayor Rey-
 burn George H. Earle IT,, and William 1 Carpenter were the city's representa- tives on the side of the directors of 1 the company The union men declared | that unless these city representatives were ordered at Thursdays meeting to 1 take action looking toward a return of the striking car men the general
 strike should begin at the close of bus l mess on Saturday March 5.
 Representatives of the company to- 1 day denounced this action of the union
 men as a pure and simple bluff and | they declared they had no fear of a general strike. The union men. how ever, are firm in their determination
 to go out if necessary to aid the street
 car men, They declare the life of un-
 onisn in Philadelphia is at stake and l they must act decisively.
 c. O. Pratt, National Organizer of 1 the car men, in charge of the strike ! declared today he was sure public
 opinion would compel a settlement of
 the strike by arbitration by Saturday.
 ''I believe that between now and Sat urday certain interests will intervene | to make a general strike unnecessary" he said significantly It was Pratt
 who prevented the general strike at
 once He urged the leaders to wait
 until councils had met declaring he
 had reason to believe action would be taken to force arbitration.