New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-24
WILSON'S STAND
CALLED UNFAIR
Railway Executives Bitter
in Attacking Presidents
Peace Plan.

Washington. Aug 23.-The executives
committee of eight struggled to-day to
devise a plan which would meet the
ideas Of the President and prove nc
ceptable to the members Of the four
brotherhoods. When the committee
members met with their colleagues and
the railroad managers tonight they
reported that they had made no prog
ress.
Hale Holden, of the Burlington; Rob
crit S. Lovett of the Union Pacific. and
President Willard, of the Baltimore
and Ohio, again discussed the situation
with the President at the White House
for upward of an hour tonight.
Meantime railway executives are be-
coming more and more bitter over the
Presidents peace plan. Jacob NJ. Dick
inson, former Secretary of War and
now receiver Of the Rock Island, issued
a statement inveighing against the
President for discardng the principle
of arbitration and for insisting that the
railroads grant the employees an eight.
hour day. Mr. Dickinson predicted a
renewal of industrial strife as soon as
the present controversy is out of the
way. Mr.. Dickinson is a Democrat and
worked for Mr.. Wilson's election. His
attack on President Wilson is regarded,
therefore, as all the more striking.
Statement by Dickinson.
Mr.. Dickinson's statement follows:
The plain issue is whether men
operating this machinery of public
utilities upon which depend not only
practically all the business of a hun
dred million people, but their very
lives, and the functions of all govern
ment, state and national, can enforce
an arbitrary demand for increase of
pay by threatening the general welfare
of all the other people. If the railroad
managers should seek to enforce a de-
mand for reduction of pay by threat
ening a general lockout the people
would Immediately overwhelm them
with righteous Indignation.
IF the railroad managers yield the
principle of arbitration will be over
thrown, the issue merely will be post
poned and not settled and will return
in aggravated form justified by conf
dence based upon success.
at is greater question than one
Of compensation to employees or return
upon capital. II is vital 10 the life of
the American people, and they alone
have the power TO settle it on a stable
ba1is.
"The President has interviewed Some
arc saying that he has been the arbi-
traitor, and that in this way the prin-
ciple has been maintained. This con-
tention is manifestly false and is made
TO mislead the public thought. The
President has net made and cannot
make sucn claim. The employees dis
tinctly refuse all arbitration Of the
demand for an eight-hour day. The
railroad managers have never made
him an arbitrator.
ale has publicly announced that the
question Of an eight-hour day was not
arbitrable. If he is not clearly right
he has dealt a severe blow TO the prin-
ciple of arbitration. He bases his con-
clusion entirely on a premise that So
ciety has determined that the eight
hour day must be adopted.
This premise will be denied earnest
ly and honestly by large part of the
American people. Certainly society
has not determined it by law. II SO
the law would settle il and no such
question could arise Parts Of society
have determined it by law for special
classes and special places. The fact
that it has not been generally decreed