Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-06-16

by some impartial body to all other en-
ployes of the railways whose material
welfare should not suffer because of the
preferment of any particular group of
fellow workers.
''Second-To the owners Of the rail-
ways, who have a right to participate
in the earnings of their business on a
fair and equitable basis.
'Third-To the public who are vitality
interested in the maintenance Of an un-
interrupted and efficient transportation
service and whose ultimate control of
the situation we recognize as funda-
mental"
brotherhoods made the following reply:
The declnation of the national con-
ference committee to our proposition is
noted and accepted as refused. In re-
gard to the proposition as to the meth
DDS of settlement / would say that un-
der past declarations by the Interstate
Commerce Commission that body would
consider itself incompetent to act. There
is no tendency on our part to make it
a tribunal for the disposal of questions
of wages. We have always combatted
the idea that government tribunal
should be empowered to fix wages
LAS TO arbitration the attitude of
this body has always been favora BILE
to this form of settlement so long as
1t was an untried fact, but our exper-
fence with arbitration has driven a
large portion of our membership
against the attitude of that method
Of settling a dispute. This has grown
la repplN ~ af la inc fo
trail arbitrators with "a grasp of all
the details to settle the questions
You must have been impressed as
we have by the inability of the men
who have been chosen as arbitrat or:s
to grasp the details of the problem
and their inability to incorporate their
rulings into language the intent of
| which is clear and unmistakea BILE
Until there has arisen condition
that threatens the interruption of
traffic I as a representative of the men
behind me, would never agree to ar
bitrate at this stage of the game The
men do not want again to put their
grievances to arbitration.
Even if the offers did appeal to us,
it would be impossible to accept them
at the present time, for no man can
say that a threat has been made that
traffic will be interrupted. Even if any
of our men say so, in a moment of
heat, they would not be authorized
The terms of the Newlands act en-
brace only those eXigencies when traf :
fec is threatened. That has not been
done as the voice of the men has not
yet spoken.
therefore, we do not recognize at
this time that method of solution of
the problem. If the proposition of the
managers conference is a declination
there is nothing for us to do but to go
back to the men and state what the
conditions are. The men at home will
never go into an arbitration in which
them of selling the time they now
sell to the companies.
Had a proposition come from you
that in your opinion, carried in it ele-
ments of equality then there would
have been power vested here to rec
ommend that form of settlement. But,
when the tentative proposition came
in such a way that we could not rec
ommend it, you took from us the good
offices of the power we had
Mr.. Garretson added that he would
transmit a formal letter to the mana
gers detailing the result of the strike
vote.