New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-23

I strengthen out the tanEle, DuN Nhle ""'
laughed down as ridiculous -that eaen
Of the executives here and the mana
gers committee anyhow have plenary
[ powers 10 arrive at decision
One Of the railroad executives on the
small committee said tonight that pc
! fore the reply is adopted by the whole
group and turned over 20 the managers
conference COMMITTEES for presentation
/ 70 the President several OF the com
mittee might confer with President
Wilson again this afternoon. Whether
/ this will be in the nature OF maj
effort 20 alter the Wilson plan or
merely to adjust certain Of their ideas
so that the reply may be acceptable TO
MIR. Wilson is uncertain. There is no
doubt. though, that the situation is now
/ between the President and the man
ayers, with the employees waiting for
/ the outcome.
4 hopeful sign to-day was the meet
/ inc Of the Cabinet, whose two gather
Z ings last week were postponed because
/ of the Presidents conferences with
/ the railroad officials and the unions.
( The members of Mr.. Wilson's oihcial
| family expressed their confidence that
/ the crisis would be passed without
strike. Leaders in Congress, too, ex-
pecting that legislative action might be
necessary, even with the Wilson settle
ment plan agreed upon, said that both
! houses were prepared TO act imme-
Brotherhoods Make a Statement.
With the publicity lid" off, both
sides 20 the controversy fired away
/ at each other in statements TO the
press. The four brotherhood CHIEFS,
/ Austin y. Garretson, Warren 5. stone,
I W. G.. Lee, and W. S. Carter, sent a
I broadside into the railroad camp IN
/ the form of a statement OF their atu-
tude toward arbitration as opposed 10
/ the railroads attitude. The state
ment read in part:
at is true that the executives OF 'he
! four brotherhoods advocated the pass
age Of the Newlands act, and they
| did so under the mistaken bellet
/ (which subsequent experience has
shattered that It's terms would De
carried out in good faith by the repre-
sentatiyes Of the companies. g,
"The sincerity of this newborn and
loudly proclaimed belief, as expressed
by the Spokesman of the railway pres
idents: 1T is essentially the common
right of every citizen, of whatever sta
tion in life, TO be heard, to have ms
dav in cowt' And we stand for the
principle of arbitration for the set
Element of industrial disputes And
the further statement by the chairman
of the conference committee OF man
agers-If we are TO throw arbitration
into the scrapheap, what hopes can
there be IN America for INDUSTRIAL
peace in the future ?'-is best shown
Z l ~
paries who are so loudly proclalmlng
the virtues of arbitration and their
undving adherence thereto; by the at
titude of those same companies tow
ard arbitration on long list Of prop
critics which they absolutely own and
control. but which they have refused
to include in the present negotiations
and to the men on which lines they are
refusing their day in court, so feel.
inCly referred TO by the spokesman OF
the railway presidents.
That Unorgsnized Force.
"The extreme solicitude on the part
of the railway presidents for the 80 per
cent Of unorganized employees and their
rights becomes farcical when IS
known that on large number OF those
lines it is a dischargeaDle offence on
any of their railways for those 80 per
cent TO take any steps toward orgahlz-
ing for the purpose Of lettering their
wage or working conditions. These un-
Organized employees realize better than
anv one else can that their only nope
for better wages, shorter hours or pet
ter working conditions lies in their be-
ing established by organized labor.
A reply from the railroad camp came
from c. II. Markham, president OF the
Illinois Central Railroad, VINO at
tempted 10 refute the published state
ment Of the brotherhoods that the ran,
roads of the United States are o"heu
by few large holders Of their secu-
rites, instead Of by hundreds OF tnoG9-
an 1915 the total capital stock OF
S8.63S 900 900 was held by 626,12 STOCK.
holders. with an average holding oil
S13 7q6 each. For all roads with gross
earnings of over S1,000,0CO the inter-
state Commerce Commission has re-
CURED a report in each case oil the
names and holdings of the twenty
largest stockholders, which will include
in most cases the intercorporate hoid-
;nqs. This has made it possible to sep
arate the stockholdings Of railway cor
norations from those of individuals
Great Number of Holdings.
"Of the 6OS.3lS stockholders IN
ID &c This class 6SS are found to
bo railway CORPORATIONS, leaving 6OGo3O,
,oos+ Of whom are individuals, with an
average holding of $685. par Value
each. While this number undouDteuiy
includes individuals who own STOCK III
yestors outnumbering the members OF
brokers who hold in one name stocH
in single railway for the account OF
several different individuals. In sucis
cases the number Of actual owners OF
tbe stock is substantially understated.
Also stock frequently stands IN the
name Of an executor or trustee for the
benefit of a number Of individuals,
which leads to another understate-
ment.
Directors Only Trustees.
oInstead of railway stock being held
by comparatively few persons in wall
Street. as is often claimed, the bulk
of such securities are held by small IN
vestors ontnumbering the members OF
the train service brotherhoods who are
now threatening to tie up the roads, by
two TO one The stock of the Pennsyl-
yania Railroad, for example, Is owned
nv about $4,000 stockholders, and that
OF the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
bv over $4,000 Even the Illinois Cen
trail. one of the smaller lines, has about
/ II 900 stockholders. The directors and
officers Of the railways do not own
them; they are merely the trustees and
servants Of people who have invested
their savings in the transportation ser
vice. The holdings of directors and Of
fcers in the securities of their proper
ties do not constitute so large per
cent of their private means as to warp
their Judgment in these important ques-