Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-08-29
President Wilson Goes Be
fore Congress With Final
Statement of Facts.
ASKS HELP IN CRISIS
Union Leaders Have Fixed
Upon Labor Day as Limit
of Mems Waiting.

Washington, Aug. 29.-Presf-
dent Wilson laid the railway
strike situation before congress at
2:3O O'Clock this afternoon In an
address TO both houses assembled
in Joint session. The president told
congress OF his efforts to bring
the railroad managers and the
men into some sort of agreement
and saying he was pOWerless to do
more, he asked congress to enact
specific Legislation to deal with the
situation now and in the future.
just before the president went
to address congress IL became
known that the strike leaders had
positively called the strike for
Labor day unless q favorable
settlement was reached before and
that the negotiations between the
managers and men had been
broken off.
Representatives of the railway man
ayers and Of the brotherhoods heard
the president make his address.
The four brotherhood heads were
guests of Speaker Clark in his gal
lery; other leaders of the men were I'm
other galleries, and the railway man
ayers were scattered about. The SEN
ate had marched over to the house
N1anlDCl anu lL0 JOiIl StSHlOu was
seated and ready for the president at
230 p. m. Mrs. wilson. accompanied
by the ambassador to Great Britain.
Walter Hines Page, and the ambassa-
dor to France, William G.. Sharp, was
in the presidents reserved space. Sew
eral members of the cabinet, including
Secretaries Lansing, Wilson, Baker
and some justices of the supreme court
were present.
A committee consisting OF Represen-
tatives Kitchin, Fitzgerald and Mann,
and Senators Kern, Simmons and
Smoot, escorted the president into the
chamber. He was greeted with up
roarious cheers as he entered.
President Wilson shook hands with
Speaker Clark and Vice President
Marshall while the applause and
cheering continued. He began speak
ing at 2:33 o'clock.
Washington, Aug. 29.-President
Wilson laid the threatened railway
strike before congress today in an
address to both houses assembled in
Joint session. He spoke as follows:
Gentlemen of the congress:
IL have come to you to seek your as
sistance in dealing with very grave
demand of the employees of the rail-
roads engaged in freight train service
that they be granted an eight hour
working day, safeguarded by payment
for an hour and a half of service for
every hour of work beyond the eight.
The matter has been agitated for
more than year. The public has been
made familiar with the demands of the
men and the arguments urged in favor
of them and even more familiar with
the objections of the railroads"
The president then explained that
the matter came some three weeks ago
to final issue and resulted in a com
plete deadlock between the parties. He
pointed to the effect of a strike upon
the nation. He said that cities would
be cut off from their food supplies, the
whole commerce of the nation para
lyzed. men of every sort and occupa-
ton thrown out OF employment.
President Sees Duty.
Just so soon as IL became evident
that mediation under the existing law
had failed and that arbitration had
been rendered impossible by the atti-
tude OF the men," the president said.
II considered # my duty TO confer with
the representatives of both the rail
ways and the brotherhoods and myself
offer mediation, not as an arbitrator,
but merely as spokesman of the nation,
in the interest of justice, indeed and
as friend Of both parties, but not as
Judge, only as the representative Of
100,000.000 OF men. women and chill
dren who would pay the price, the in
calculable price of loss and suffering.
1T seemed TO me, in considering the
subject matter of the controversy. that
the whole spirit OF the time and the
preponderant evidence OF recent eco
nomic experience spoke for the eight
hour day. 1t has been adjudged by
the thought and experience of recent
years thing upon which society is
justified in insisting as In the interest
or health, efficiency, contentment aud
a general increase of economic vigor.
Il therefore proposed that the eight
hour day be adopted by the railway
managements and put into practice for
the present as substitute for the ex-
listing 10 hour basis of pay and service;
that | should appoint, with the permits
sion or the congress, a small commits
sion 10 observe the results OF the
change, carefully studying the figures
of the altered operating costs, not only,