Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1910-11-10
HA'lRoAoe SOUTH, WEST AND
NORTH OF CHICAGO MAY
BE AFFECTED.
SIXTY ONE SYSTEMS INVOLVED
Negotiations for Settlement End, and
Vote Is to be Taken.-Chanqe in
Work Conditions and Wage
Advance Asked.

be taken among engineers of sixty-one
railroads west, south and north of Chi
eago, including the Illinois Central, fol-
lowing termination OF negotiations be-
tween the roads and grand officers of
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi-
neers which had been in session since
Sept. 26. Difference on wage increases
Of 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
he 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 if
they ignored that opportunity, within
i've 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
mon in the twenty-five conferences
which ended without result were:
Warren S. Stone, grand chief, and Ash
Kennedy, F. A. Burgess, E. Corrigan,
M. 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. J.
Foley, of the Illinois Central; F. c.
Fox, of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe; Grant Hall, of the Canadian Pa
cific; H. ]. Simmons, of the Ell Pasc
4 Southwestern, and A. w. Trenholm
of the Chicago, st. Paul, Minneapolis
and Omaha
The whole question arose from the
decision Of the enginemen themselves
in convention at Detroit, Mich, last
spring. In three weeks session il
was decided that the existing wage
scale in effect since February, 1907
was unsatisfactory and that working
conditions had been imposed by rail
roads which should be eliminated. The
grand officers were named to meet the
rai'~oads and present the demands.
The general working conditions o.
which the engine drivers complain in
clude, among other things, the follow
ing:
Working Conditions.
Drivers Of the Mallet compound en-
gines, which do practically the worl
of two engines and entail q CORES
pondingly greater responsibility an(
capability, receive the same wages al
other drivers Of high power engines O.
much lesser capacity.
Engineers wish to be relieved of thu
toll of preparing their engines fo1
travel and of caring for them afte
the runs.
Switching time should be paid for OF
q different basis.
The magnitude of the wage question
is evidenced by a statement by tn
employees that the per cent wage dit
ference now standing between tn
drivers and the railroads means ar
proximately $2,S0O,000 year. TIL
cost of alterations Of the working
conditions, minor considerations in tn
conference, would be less than $500
900, it was asserted.