The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-06-04
TO GET JOINT
 BOARD REPORT SPECIAL MEETING OF NEW HA- VEN TROLLEYMEN TONIGHT MAY BE OF MUCH IM-
 TORRANCE.
SITUATION NOW SERIOUS
Springfield, HOlyoke, Westfleld and Palmer Men Favor Strike to
 Enforced Demands.

New Haven, June A special meet ing of the local trolleymen's union has been called this evening. for the morning for the night men. The of f1cial object is to act on the report of the joint conference board. What this report consists of could not be learned as the officials would not make any statement regarding it. At the meeting last week the New Haven union rejected the proposition made by the trolley officials to the joint red since then and what further re- port the, joint conference board may have to make on which the union will act tonight is not known as it has been kept completely a secret.
 Whether the proposition of polling the union to determine the attitude of the men in regard to a strike will come up or not could not be learned. While the situation is becoming rap idly more acute the polling of the To- cal union is not expected to come for some time yet if it is finally decided upon, although the union in Spring field was boiled yesterday. There IS much interest in the result of the meeting this evening.
 From an unofficial source it was
 
 necticut company have offered to arr bitrate and this report will probably be made to the trolleymen tonight by the local delegates. It was stated of ficially that if the offers of the com pany are not favorably received to- night strike vote will be taken Fri- day night when the regular. monthly meeting of the local union or trolley men will be held. This does not neo- essarily mean that strike will fol- low but the poll will simply show the attitude of the men on the proposi- ton. = :
 Arbitration still seems to be the u1- innate of the street railway situas- tion in Connecticut notwithstanding the representatives of the eleven 1ey; cal trol1eymen's unions. except New Haven, had agreed with Vice Presiss pany at the last meeting, to favor compromise proposition. The New NHd- ven union itself has, however, reject. ed the suggestion of compromises and this has had the apparent effect, of opening the whole question, as the Connecticut company has been unwill2' ing to, limit arbitration to. New Haven. Moreover, the tro11eymen'sf unions. outside of New Haven, have not yet acted on the compromise proposal In which under the rules of the national association must be offered by the men before d strike can take place there is also occasion for a dis agreement Thus far, it is under stood the company does not favor making the decision of the arbitrators retroactive and is unwilling to extefld the arbitration to anything but the wage scale Tn case of arbitration, it would apply only to Connecticut, arr Duration in Massachusetts being a separate affair, although the demands of the trolleymen in both states are practically identical. Should the arr bitration take place it is understood that the company will insist that it shall start on the present wage scale as basis and not on any propositions made in the conference with Vice. President Storrs.
 One of the. important claims made by the men in favor of a flat rate is that under the present sliding scale the company has the power to employ large number of short service and comparatively low paid men. The re lection of the company's offer by the New Haven union is based mainly on the claim that the pay in New Haven is inadequate owing to the higher cost of living in the largest city of the state.