The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1912-04-07
F|REMEN MAY NOT GO
OUT WITH ENGINEERS
They Are Bearing Burden Of Loss
Of Work Through Diminished
Coal Traffic.
MUST GIVE UP THEIR JOBS
En- ginecrs Out Of Work Gust the Fire.
mcn-May Decide 10
Rctaliatc.

Inc temporary F0tlrem6OJ OI 1Zb Ire1&nt
locomotives by the I.ehigh Valley Rail-
road on account Of the suspension Of work
In the anthracite and bituininous mining
districts. which Ia sure 20 be followed by
similar action by the other coal roads.
may have an important bearing. IL was
said yesterday. on the plans Of the
Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers
| regarding a strike on the fifty Eastern
! railroads which have refused their wage
demands. BY the rule of seniority which
has prevailed on the railroads for many
years the youngest men or tho men most
| recently taken on are laid of In case crews
| are retired for lack of traffic.
The locomotive engineers are recruited
from the ranks Of the locomotive firenen
and when several trains are given up the
engineers by this right Of seniority are
relcgated to the places Of firemen at fire.
mems wages. a fireman being dismissed
to make way for an engineer
representative of one Of the railroads
said yesterday that in carrying out this
rule II 100 engineers and iOO firemen are
made idle 100 more firemen are laid on
and the engineers take their places. The
same rule would apply II 600 trains we're
given up. Among the membership OF the
brotherhood Of Firemen and Enginemen
| there are several thousand engineers
working "a engineers who were promoted
| from the ranks Of the firemen but who did
not join the Brotherhood Of Locomotive
Engineers. The rule Of seniority. which
| takes no cognizance Of the unions the men
! belong to. applies TO the So engineers a.
| well as to the men in the engineers
brOthe rhood.
man identified with railroads for
| more than thirty years said that the
question as to whether the firemen will
support the engineers in case Of a strike
is "a problem. Grand Chief Stone OF the
engineers said when he was last in New
York that in case OF strike the firemen
would support the engineers. yet when
| fremeu struck several years ago the en-
| gineers worked with non union firemen.
and in the strike Of the trainmen against
the New York Central about twenty Year,
ago. these trainmcn being Knights Of
Labor. the engineers remained at work
! a large number of the flremen,' he
continued. -could run a locomotive, and
il 10 the ambition Of every fireman to be-
come an engineer. II would be hard
to say what the fremen will do in case OF
q strike. No doubt Grand Chief Carter
Of the fremen would know and Grand
Chief stone OF the engineers would prob
ably have a good idea as to what would
happen. II is possible that the firemen
might not take the places Of the engineers,
but they are under no obligations to the
engineers. The engineers have been
40 many years without a strike that il
in possible that sentiment has changed
! The las hi0 Gtrilya Of ho nv. q
on the c. b. 4 .. lines and the strike was
lost II took the engineers brotherhood
long time to recover from that blow
Grand Chief Stone OF the engineers is
to tie here on Tuesday. accompanied by
the committee Of fifty which submitt cd
the demands to the Eastern rords TO hear
the result OF the vote Of the engineers on
the question of a strike. According to
MIR. Stone when he was last in New York
the friction which existed several years
ago between the organizations OF en-
gineers and trenen because the engineers
their brotherhood unless they left the
| firemens brotherhood has disappeared
and the ono brot erhOod is ready now to
cooperate with the other.
In case the vote is for a strike. which
Stone says il assured, a strike will not
necessarily follow. The companies would
be notified and another attempt al a
settlement would be made by the officers
Of the brotherhood before a strike was
declared. or the engineers may ask for q
conference with the committee Of rail-
road managers. At which they would be
notified OF the result of the vote.
| II was remarked when Mr. Stone was
here that while he talked with great en-
phasis Of general tieup in his oral state
ments there was q string to the strike
proposition in his official written state
rnents. a strike being merely hinted at a
| a cont inGency.