The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1912-03-04
MEETING IN KANSAS CITY TODAY
TO FORM GIGANTIC ORGAN.
IzATisN.
HALF MILLION men affected
Federation Would Include all EN-.
Pioyees West Of Mississippi River
Strike Would Tie Up Business of the
Entire Country.

Kansas City, Mo-, Mai fch 4.-What is
declared to be "the biggest and most
important convention of railroad men
ever held" was opened here today. its
purpose being to federate half a mil
lion railroad men. The proposed or
ganization, it is claimed, will include
practically all of the shop employees
of every road operating west of the
Mississippi
AS soon as the organization is COM
pleted by the convention opened to-
day, it is expected that demands will
be made for general advance in
wages. 1t is the aim to unite all the
mechanical trades on each road, so
that concerted action may be taken
when wage demands are made. De-
mands will be made on all railroads in
the same territory at the same time,
so that all roads will be involved
simultaneously IL strike is called.
Railway labor leaders say they dis
covered the weakness of their former
plans during the recent disputes with
the Hartman lines and Illinois Cen
trail and that the next time they strike
it will be on broader scale. The
call says:
"The officials of the Hartman lines
federation will play their first trump
card in Kansas City on March 4, when
representatives of all the railway Or
ganizations in the United Safes west
of and including the Illinois Central
will meet in the biggest railway en-
ployees' convention ever held.
IF we can cripple railroad as bad.
ly as we have the Illinois Central as
the result of a system federation
strike, what could we do if all the rail.
road employees in the West quit at
the same time and tied up the busi-
ness of the country as if there were
no railroads at all?
East Watches Developments.
ut would be hopeless task at the
outset for the companies to break a
strike of that kind. If we can get a
compact organization, as there is no
doubt we can, the power will be large
ly transferred from the shoulders of
the arbitrary railroad officials to the
employees.
New York, March 4.-There is much
among the railroad EN-.
ployees of the East, and if the western
men succeed in forming a
fighting organization at their
in Kansas City today, there
Is little doubt that the eastern shop
men will follow suit
Already the locomotive engineers of
The eastern railroads are threatening
A general strike, and conference will
be held in this city ten days hence,
March IA, between a committee of rail
way managers and representatives of
he engineers. Forty-eight railroads
will be affected in case the strike is
called.
The engineers demand a general
wage increase so as to put wages on
4 par with those of the engineers Of
he western lines. Should the con-
ference fail to reach an agreement
rouble on all the forty-eight roads
would ensue, and it is possible that |
he firemen and other employees would |
20 out with the engineers, which |
would mean the crippling of all east
,rn internal commerce.
The formal demands of the engine
lrivers call for increases in pay rang
ng from fifteen to fifty per cent and |
provide for standardizing |
he wages on all roads east of the
and north of the lines of |
he Norfolk & Western railroad. About |
1000 miles Of territory are covered in |
he district involved in the demands: