New-York tribune., 1912-04-19
STRIKE Of ENGINEERS
ANOTHER STEP NEARER
Railroad Committee Turns Down
Demands Made for
More Pay.
$4,000 READY TO QUIT
Grand Chief Stone Says He
Hopes, Further Negotiations
May Bring About a
Settlement.

No counter proposition was even hinted
at yesterday in the detailed reply of the
managers committee of the fifty Eastern
railroads 10 the locomotive engineers no.
tifcation that they had voted a strike. II
reiterates former statements of the COM
mittee that the demands of the engineers
which il refers TO as the wage request.
cannot be acceded to. and simply is an am
plihcation of the first reply sent in response
TO the notification that the engineers had
declared for a strike.
There are certain preliminaries to be gone
through in accordance with the rules OF
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
| before strike, after the vote for strike
has been cast. goes into effect. These VIII
be followed out as a matter Of course bu'
the detailed reply of the railroads, whlch
| is the result of meetings of the committee
lasting two days places the responsibility
| of a strike. If a walkout is to take place
on the engineers.
The reply of the railroads. which was
sent to Warren s Stone Grand Chief OF
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
yesterday afternoon. is as follows:
New York. April lS 1912.
Mr.. W, S. Stone. Grand cher r. Englneer'
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
Broadway Central Hotel, New YORK;
N. Y.
celpt of your letter Of the 18th instant, ad-
vising that "the fifty roads vote S5'@ pc.
cent in favor Of supporting those lntrusteu
with the settlement of the question: SUP.
mitted to the conference committee Vi
managers. -,
The conference committees answer OF
March d set forth with much care anu
defniteness their conclusions 10 tne est emeSt
ha
made by the engineers could not be grantee.
Immediate responsibility of the railroads 10
the public was briefly touched uponl put
apparently was not thoroughly appreciated
and we again refer to II in greater detail
The public interests are demanding sater
and better transportation. Double tracks
where In many places single tIaGh NV ro.
quired. interlocking and block signals net-
ter cars and stronger track; the elimination
of dangerous grade crossings; the adoptloh
row margin of profit. il is essentially the
duty OF the railroad companies TO provide
for these necessities before competely eN
hausting their revenues in the increase 20 Ui
wages The present wage rates are Iull
fair and liberal
You state il is your earnes. desire 70 ex-
haust every honorable effort 10 reach
settlement and trust the conference com,
bring the desired result The conference
committee would gladly make such sug-
gestion If It could, but subject 70 the pres,
ent economic conditions II IS not poSsloie 70
accede to your wage request ana those
certain 10 follow. , -,
The committee appreciates fully the dis.
tress that would result from stoppage OF
railroad transportation In the important
territory represented. and trust that me
engineers, who have always stood lor con-
servatlsm will recognize the business or
TTIi7'o't THF 'Ct00NFERENCE O. COMMITTEE, OF
MANAGERS BY J. c. Stuart, Chair
man.
AS soon as he received this reply Grand
Chief Stone read it to the chairman's COM
rittee of the engineers on the fifty rail-
roads. which ordered the taking OF the
strike vote This committee consists of the
chairmen Of the general adjustment COM
nittees Of the engineers on the ROADS IN
volved Each of these general committees
is composed of the adjustment committees
Of each local division of a road. The chair
men of the local committees elect general
chairman for each system, and IT Is these
general chairmen who form the committee
of fifty.
Mr.. Stone announced that he would have
nothing to say regarding the latest reply OF
the railroads. which apparently leaves no
loophole for compromise, until to-day. An
answer to the latest reply Of the railroads
was drafted by subcommittee of the
engineers last evening. which will be rati-
fed at a meeting of the full committee this
forenoon and will then be sent TO TIE com
mittee of railroad managers.
Grand Chief Stone in reply TO question.
said the usual course before a strike went
into effect was to notify the railroads in
lvolved after a strike vote had been taken
that IL there was not a settlement before a
certain date the strike would go into effect.
He said the men We're ready to quit when
they received the word to do so.
A strike would involve $500 locomotive
engineers belonging to the Brotherhood OF
Locomotive Engineers on the fifty railroads
east of Chicago and north of the Norfolk &
Western railway lines. There are 1900 non
union engineers on these lines, but Chief
Stone says most of them are ready to quit
There are also working on these roads
about $500 engineers who are members OF
the Brotherhood of Firemen and Engine
men. and. according to Mr.. Stone, most OF
! these have voted in favor of a strike.