The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-11-08
,,..r. Of sIxty-one Railroads in
Central and Western States
viii Cast Their
Ballots.
,BE WAGE QUESTION
,..,lt VIII Not be Known Until De-
sember When Last Chance
For Peace Will be
Given.

urilI
siyty.one railroads west, south and
nortb of Chicago, including the Hin.
oIs Central following the termination
i negotiations between the roads
and the grand officers of the Brother
hood Of Locomotive Engineers, which
hos been in session since September
% difference of the wage increase
Of approximately per cent and the
.toration of the working conditions
stood between the ncgotiators. Chief
Warren stone, OF lie Brotherhood,
said he believed the strike vote
would be unanimously in fs>.,r t.SSus-
nension of work and that the engine
men would have expressed that desire
by December l. Immediately thereaf-
fer, he said, last opportunity would
be given the roads to meet the work
ers and ii they cannot agree within
twelve hours every engine west OF
Chicago on all branches of service
would be stilled, the fires drawn, and
out Of thousands OF cabs would step
every mai.
Many Conferences Held.
representatives of the engineers
held twenty-five conferences. Warren
s. Stone, grand chief. and Ash Ken
nedy, f. A. Burgess, e. Corigan, nj
B. Cable and H. q Hills. assistant
grand chiefs of the engineers. parti
cipated. THESE negotiators received
the advice of fifty division managers
Of the Brotherhood who indirectl.
represented smaller councils Of tbs
order. These railroad officials heart
the engineers: w. B. Scott, Unior
Pacific; +. E. Ward, Burlington lines
F. c. Batchelder, Chicago Termina
and Baltimore & Ohio; W. E. Dur
ham, N. X. q T.; G. H. Emerson
Great Northern; F. Foley, lllinoi
Central, F. G. Cox, Santa Fe; Gran
Hail. Canadian Pacific; H. j. Sim
mons, Ell Paso & Southwestern, an
W. Trenholm, Chicago, ST. Paul, Mir
neapolls & Omaha.
outsrowth Of Convention.
The whole question arose from tn
decision of the engineers conventio
in Detroit Mich, last spring, wher
1t was decided that the existing wae
scale, in effect since February, 1870
was unsatisfactory and that worlsin
conditions had been imposed by tn
railroads which should be eliminated
The general working conditions
which the engineers complain includ
among other things, the following:
Drivers of mallet compound e.
gines which do practically the wor
Of Two engines and entail greater +
sponsibility ana capabiiity, receiv
the same wages as other engineer
Of high power engines of much less'
capacity.
Engineers wish to be relieved
toll OF preparing engines for trav
and of caring for them after runs.
Switching time should be paid {
different basis.
Magnitude of Wage Question.
The magnitude of the wage que
ton is SHOWN by the statement of Il
employees that 7 per cent wage d
ference now standing between t
drivers and railroads means appro,
mately s2,600,00O year. The cost
alterations in working conditit
would be less than S5OO,O00, it W
asserted.
when the conference began" sa
chairman Scott, of the conferen
committee, the engineers deman
approximated a q per cent increa
lnis finally was brought down to
per cent. We finally agreed to a
per cent increase, totalling $3,S40,C
'of the sixty-one roads we represe
ana here we both stick. The $685.
voo increase they stick for was me
'lan We could concede."
Later it was made clear that I
'oads that were parties to the wa
conierence did not include all roa
west OF Chicago, but the CHIEF roa
west, south and north, and from F.
w'iilams west in Canada, except
ene Wabash lines and several mil
systems.