Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-06-02
All of Western Lines Are
Involved in Dispute Over
Wage Demands.
WORKERS TO TAKE VOTE
Employers Say Demands Mean
Millions Increase, Which
They Cannot Meet.

Chicago. H., June 2--Nesouatlons
hs,reen western railroads and their
,..o-otive engineers and firemen for
,sx wage schedules were broken on
-ss,s-dav. Employers and employees
.onoAded that unless something uneX-
,Ar,ed develops attempts TO adjust
heir differences amicably were use
less.
The engineers and firemen had de
handed general increases in wages
The employers had refused to consider
suv proposition embOdying a material
increase in their expenses
Oncials OF the employees organiza-
,ious prepared last night to take ref
erendum vote among the men they
represent TO determine whether a
strike shall be called. The result Of
the vote will be announced July a.
when the union officials will again
meet the employers.
Two committees. one the conference
committee Of managers representing
the western railways and the other
representing the engineers and fire
men. had been comforting in Chicago
on the question Of wages since Febru-
ary. A. no time were the contending
parties near an agreement.
Demands Held Unreasonable.
yhen the break came yesterday the
iranAEers declared that, the demands
of their employees were unreasonable
and could not be met by the railroads
even II they were =sIspcsei-tu-p pay all
their men asked They asserted tfrat
the Increases demanded would add
more than s33.O00. 900 a year to their I.
pay rolls and that the railroads could /
not afford 10 add 10 their expenses at I
this time. when transportation and .
commercial conditions are such that I
the railways must find means OF either .
reducing expenses or obtaining in
creases in the passenger or freight /
rates paid TO them by the public"
Representatives Of the employees de-
clare that their demands were fair
and that they could not agree to any
new wage schedules which did not in
corporate substantially what they
asked.
Railroad men and shippers IN Chi
eAgo regard the situation as critical
They declare that a strike would tie
Up both freight and passenger traffic
throughout the west and middle west.
The railroads involved include prac-
tcally all lines in the United States
vest OF Lake Michigan and the Illinois
Central, including that road. and all
lines in Canada west of Fort William.
rIccuF ha |
Total mileage Of these railways is ap-
10000 miles.
A statement giving the railroads ,
'lde Of the argument and outlining the
'aTious points in the controversy was
soued last night by a. W. Trenholm,
seneral manager OF the Chicago. St
'aui' Minneapolis & Omaha railway
nc chairman Of the committee of man
gers 4 statement of the employees 1
'osition Is to be issued by Warren 5. !
'tone. head OF the Brotherhood of Lo- I
omotive Engineers. and W. S. Carter. a
resident OF the Brotherhood Of Loco h
'oiive Firemen and Enginemen. q
hr. Trenholm's statement. in part. o
blows: T.
Want Pay for Overtime. u
The final request submitted by the a
npioyes' committee proposed increas- +
q the number Of arbitrary allow
aces, reducing the number of hours
work after which overtime would
paid BY 80 per cent in passenger y
srTiee and 20 per cent in freight and =
her service. increasing the rate for =
'ertime 100 per cent in passenger u
'fEice and 80 per cent in freight and
ner service, and in addition advanc-
3 substantially the rate per hundred -.
,ies for all service. as well as Gre =
ihs many new positions. These and x
: other concessions requested would s.
reese the pay rolls Of the railroads -
presented more than s33.OOO,OOO a -
~. or approximately so per cent
he original requests OF the eDgin- u
Is and fremen were presented on
L TO- 1919. These original requests.
granted. would Increase their wages
$27. 600. 900 per year. or
per cent. When. however. the en-
yes FIRST proposal was definitely re-
'eo' instead Of modifying their re-
=st the employees committee came 20
q With another proposition which NJ
'eo practically all Of the concessions 10
uested originally and. in addition. 81
eouction IN the basis for computing IN
rune OF engineers and hremen ni
M 10 20 S hours. 10
me employees know that II would ri