Denver labor bulletin., 1915-06-19
Mayor Locks Door and
Orders Matter Settled 4
Agreement Reached Whereby Com
pany Comedies Three Points; To
Arbitrate Other Disputes

Chicagos two-day street car strike in
volyIng l4.5OO motormen. conductors and
ticket men, came to a sensational end
Wednesday morning at O'Clock after =
conference lasting fifteen hours in Mayor
William Hall Thompson's office at the
city hall. Officials OF the Street Railway
Employees Union, the elevated and sur
face companies and committee OF the
city council were called into the mavor'.
private office. He then locked the door
and told the conferees TO take off their
coats and get busy on plan OF settle
ment, for they would be kept there until
an agreement was reached. In the mean
time, during Monday and Tuesday, all
surface and elevated car service was
STOPPED and the most complete tie-up in
the history OF American street transpor-
tation was on. In order to lave luck
present at the conference Ma, OF Thomr.-
son hung a gold horseshoe over his desk
clock, and then the arguments began.
Terms of Agreemen,
The company officials finally conce,lsd
three OF the strikers demands and the
other four We're left to arbitration, May
or Thompson TO be the final arbiter. The
three points conceded in advance OF arbi-
tration are:
First-Trippers- i men who are
given one run in the morning rush and
another At night-to be eliminated, thus
giving every trainman regular job.
Second-Runs on surface lines not to
consume over nine hours actual working
time.
Third-Wages not to be revised down.
ward.
This leaves for arbitration the follow
ing:
First-Scale of awges.
Seeond-Period of service before maxi
mum wage is received.
Third-Time in which days run on the
elevated roads is to be completed.
Fourth-Adjustment of straight and
swing runs on the elevated to eliminate.
as far As possible, waits by employees
between trains.
Mahon to Represent Men.
The employees were to choose one MEM
ber of. the board OF arbitration and the
company officials another. W. ID. Ma
hon, international president OF the Street
Railway Employees association. was
chosen to represent the men.
BY noon Monday cars were running on
schedule time over the 1910 miles of
Chicago's surface and elevated tracks Six
thousand strikebreakers who had been
collected were paid of and shipped to
the places from whence they came.
On this immense system approximately
3.oO0.0o0 fares are collected on the two
electric systems daily. The surface lines
collect 2.i00.000 and the elevated 6o0.OO0.
There are SIPS cars operated daily BY
the surface lines and Isis on the ele-
waited.
Cause of the Strike.
The strike came after five days of ne
gotiating between the men and COM
psny officials. The men struck primar-
lily for an increase in wages and better
working conditions. The present wages
scale l. graded one. with the mimi
mum at 23 cents an hour and b cents
the maximum The maximum i only
paid after five years service. The men
want minimum OF - cents and max
imum of 81 cents. In the negotiation pro
ceedings the companies refused to grant
the demands for increased wages on the
ground they could not afford it, The
men came back with the proposition that
the companies throw open their financial
condition TO an inspection committee. The
companies refused.
Chica COS great street car strike prob
ably will 90 down in history as the most
expensive ever called. considering the
length OF time that the men were out
two days. Conservative estimates place
the total cost in the neishborhood of
Sl,O0o,oo0, exclusive OF the loss of the
big downtown stores and numerous other
smaller business losses traceahle TO the
sfriSp