Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-08-11
FEDERAL INQUIRY
IN WAGE DISPUTE
Railroad Managers Submit
Plans to Avoid Great Strike.
ARBITRATION is OFFERED.

hitul nHIiUN I'D Ut LnLUs
Agree to Refer Demands Of Men For
More Pay to the Interstate Commerce
Commission or to Accept Settlement
Under Newlands Act.
New York.-The announcement that
the strike vote which has been In prog
ress among the train service employees
Of American railroads for the past sew
eral weeks has been completed, and
that the final demands by the union
leaders are soon to be presented to the
railroad managers here, indicates that
the public win soon know whether the
controversy between the railroad work
ers and their employers Is to be settled
peaceably, or whether a NATIONWIDE
strike is to be inflicted upon the coun-
try.
Thus far the leaders Of the four
unions-the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Engineers, the Brotherhood of Lo-
connective Firemen and Enginemen, the
Order of Railway Conductors and the
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen-
have refused to consider any proposal
for an arbitration of the questions In
dispute, or for settlement of the con-
troversy by the Interstate Commerce
Commission.
Would Cost $10o,ooo,ooo.
The demands of the train service men
for an increase In wages which, 1t Is
estimated, would cost the railroads of
the country $1OO,OOO,00O a year, were
originally presented last March. At
that time the representatives of the
unions asked for a conference with a
committee of railroad managers repre-
senting the various railroad lines of
the country.
This conference began here in New
York on June list, and continued for
two weeks. The railroads were repre-
scented by a committee of nineteen
managers, and the brotherhoods by the
heads of their various national and 10
IL VI tlOAl OAA SASAk
fReD Ia ali.
Choice Of Methods offered.
The conference failed to reach a deci-
sion owing to the refusal of the union
leaders to consider any modification of
their demands, or any proposal for ar
bitration. At the conclusion Of the
meetings the railroad managers sub
mitted d proposal to refer the whole
Question to the Interstate Commerce
Commission, or to arbitration under the
provision of the federal statute cover
ing this matter.
The alternative suggestions which
they advanced for adjusting the con-
troversy were as follows:
al. Preferably by submission to the
Interstate Commerce Commission, the
only tribunal which, by reason of It's
accumulated information bearing on
railway conditions and its control of
the revenue of the railways, is In a
position to consider and protect the
rights and equities of all the interests
affected, and to provide additional rev.
enue necessary to meet the added cost
VI OptIdlAOh Ill CuSt yOuI pIOpOSdlS are
found by the Commission to be just and
reasonable; or, In the event the Inter
state Commerce Commission cannot,
under existing laws, act In the prem
ises, that wv jointly request Congress
to take such action as may be neces-
sary to enable the Commission to con-
slider and promptly dispose of the
questions involved; or
"2. By arbitration in accordance with
the provisions of the Federal law, emit
tied, AN Act Providing for Mediation,
Cancellation and Arbitration ip<9ontro-
versies between Certain Empld rs and
their Employees" approved ly Is,
1913, and commonly known s the
Newlands Act"
Unions Refuse Offer.
The union leaders declined D con-
slider the suggestion of the hilroad
managers, and announced til they
would seek a vote of the men ers of
the unions asking that they given
authority to declare q strike o. Ill the
railroad lines of the country This
strike vote has been In progress or the
past six weeks, and, ACCORDING to re-
ports which have been receiI / here
from time to time, will result giving
the four union leaders the Lhor1ty
which they asked for to ha every
railroad train from one end II the
country to the other.
Meanwhile a resolution has zen in
PRODUCED into Congress at the request
of the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States directing the Interstate
Commerce Commission to investigate
the whole question of railway wages /,
and their relation to railway earnings.
The commercial interests, the newspa-
pers, and public men of the nation