Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1915-02-24

WIllMAR TRIBUNE, III
My Byram again Intercepted Mr..
Stone on the same subject and the
Chief Engineer replied: "For exam
pie, Article 2 affects rates in each
class of service. We will accept those
rates in each class of service, or we
will reject them and keep the old
rate. Another article provides for IN.
itial or terminal delay. We will &C
cept that article or we will keep the
old one, or reject it, and so on thru
the arbitration award"
Mr.. Stone later explained that this
option will be exercised road by road
by the f1remen's and engineers bro
therhoods. Mr.. Stone also added:
Il will say to you frankly, Mr..
Chairman, that I hope the joint COM
mittee of the brotherhoods on each
railroad in the West will accept the
award whatever it may be. I hope
these committee men will not go back
home, as they have done in the past,
and let some general manager trade
them something else, one Of the '1f-
ty-seven varieties that is just as
good"
Captain Sheean still persisted in re-
fusing to see the point and Mr.. Stone
explained to him further which caus-
ed Arbitrator Nagel to remark, II
thought probably you would be Of one
mind and apparently you are not and
I submit this would better be left to
argument before the arbitrator after
we have heard the evidence"
Mr.. Stone replied: II do not think
we are Of one mind. We certainly
were of one mind the night we sign
ed this arbitration agreement about
$500 o'clock in the morning down in
Washington in August. am
perfectly willing to leave it to the
legal men Of the board to say what
part Of the contract holds and what
does not"
Albert Phillips, vice-president of the
firemen's brotherhood, explained that
he was in accord with Mr.. Stones at
| titude, and Mr.. Stone said he was sat
isfied that the Saving clause will hold
water" Chairman Peter G. Pritchard
ended the colloquy with this remark:
1--WE will take your agreement and
proceed to make an award under it
in accordance with our views as to
what it means. That is all we can
say to you"
Messrs. Stone and Phillips declared
that was entirely satisfactory.
Because of this analysis of the "sav
ing clause" the brotherhoods were
permitted to demonstrate that in this
arbitration it is case either Of &C
cepting or rejecting an award on any
article Of the sixteen. That is, there
can be no pyramiding of wages-anG
this being demonstrated, the esti
mate Of $41,000,000, made with such
a fanfare of trumpets by the com
panies few weeks ago, Captain Shee
an shr1lling the loudest, is proved in
accurate and worthless.
"These surprise tests have become
so trying and hazardous during the
last two years that am afraid one
Of our hotheaded men, after going
through one Of them, may go out anC
kill a higher officer of the road" was
a remark by Mr.. Stone at Saturdays
session of the board. Mr.. Trenholm
was in the witness chair and was tes
tifying as to surprise tests.
II do not agree with what some d
the railroad men here have said," con
tinued Grand Chief Stone. II fee
that standard rule regarding the sur
prise or efficiency test can be formed
and it would be very simple. Mr.
Chairman, all the brotherhoods desire
in this matter is that the railroad com
making these tests"
Grand Chief Stone explained tina
various Western railroads make sur
prise tests but keep them within tn
rules and he added that the so-calle'
Hartman lines have put to use tn
unfair efficiency test more than an.
other road. He said also that he fear
ed some railroad officials were "goinl
crazy on this topic, mentioning an in
stance where in sixty-dve days on
engineer had been put to forty-one 9
these severe ordeals.
General Manager Trenholm wa
put under somewhat Of a strain a
Wednesdays session by the two brt
therhood arbitrators, F. A. Burgess
and Timothy Shea, who examined hir
at some length. It remained for MI
Shea to "draw fire" from the Tre1
holm flint and to cause the witness t
make the charge against the Assist
ant President of the firemen's brotl
erhood that he was unfair.
Mr.. Trenholm was the first witnes
, in the present wage hearing who ha
made any such charge against men
Der of the arbitration board; NOR
y over, according to observers, he wa
the first witness to so lose his ten
j. per as to raise his voice and to spea
9 in an irritable tone. Mr.. Shea, how
l.. ever, pressed Mr.. Trenholm hard G
+ the score of the general manager I
r the Omaha road violating his ow
s schedule. The topic was "Push'
;. and Helper Service" and concerne
the switch engineers and firemen
j. the Minneapolis yard of that col
u pany.
h The railroad manager had STATE
$ that when switch engineers and fir
e men perform so-called helper or pus
!. er service in that yard they do n
s receive compensation coming und
that class of service but are remu
o Grated merely as yard enginemen. N