Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-09-21
Traction System Completely
Tied up and State Fair
Traffic Cannot be Moved
Demand More Wages
MOVE IS NOW MADE
FOR ARBITRATION
Company and Men Have
Been Seeking Settlement
in Vain; Business Men and
Officials Take a Hand.

DetrOlC, M1c0, sept, ZO.-F11teen
hundred employees of the Detroit Uni
ted Railroad Co., went on strike with
out warning today and effectively put
an end to all street car service in the
city. The men haye been receiving
|twenty-three, twenty-five and twenty
eight cents an hour and now demand
a maximum wage OF thirty cents an
hour and minimum of twenty-five
cents an hour. A several weeks at
tempt have been made to arbitrate the
wage question but without success.
Mayor Thompson and Milton A. Nc
Rae, president OF the board OF COM
Imerce, spent the morning in conference
with the opposing factions.
Special meeting of the common coun-
Gil has been called this afternoon.
Last night, the leaders of the local
street car mems association took up
headquarters in the knights of Equity
hall, Forest and Second Streets and
as soon as crews finished their re-
spective runs they marched to the hall.
Practically all of the men were at
the meeting this morning said one of
the men. III
"Only about fifty were absent. There
was not q dissenting vote on the strike
lpropositi ion. |" -s.-. .S
Out through the great factory dis
trict a great army Of working men
trudged down the center of the streets
on their way to work this morning on
the deserted car tracks.
State fair offlcials were out early
anxious and worried about the condi-
tions at the fair grounds. With the
big fair under way only two days and
with thousands of people expected to-
day and all the rest Of the week, It
means great loss to them.
The men are asking for a raise of
two cents an hour and when the COM
pany at one point in the conference
asked whether the union would con-
slider 13-hour day in the new sched-
ule, they offered to try the hours for
thirteen days and at that point In the
negotiations the matter was dropped.
The action stood good In yesterdays
deliberations, but the company de-
clined to accept 1t and insisted that IL
the question of wages is to be con-
sidered at all the men must accept q
13 hour schedule without trial.
The Demands Of the Men.
The wages at present are twenty
three cents an hour for men who have
worked less than six months. twenty
five cents for those who have worked
under eighteen months and twenty
eight cents for those who have worked
over eighteen months. The Increase
which the men ask would make the
maximum wage thirty cents and the
minimum twenty-five cents. Out OF
the 2,4OO men employed 1,700 are mem
bers Of the association. The remain
ing seven hundred are men who have
been employed by the company for less
than ninety days and who are not en-
titled to membership until they have
worked certain length of time. The
union officials assert, however the
seven hundred men will go out.
Detroit has not had street car
strike since 1891, when the men went
out because the company would not
recognize their organization or grant
their dem and for an increase Of three
cents an hour In their schedule. The
trouble lasted but two days and was q
victory for the men.
Flint Has to Walk.
Flint, Mich, Sept. 20.-Flint awoke
this morning to find itself without
street car service, everything on the
Detroit United City lines and on the
lire between here and Detroit having
been tied up by strike order.