New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-11
Straus and Mitchell Will
Help Side That They
Hold FaultleSS.
ATTACK ON UNION
LAID TO INTERBORO
Plan to Smash Pact Seen
in Ouackenbush's Words
by Labor Men.

Responsibility for smashing last
months supposedly ironclad arbitra-
ton agreement and precpitating the
present streetcar strike will be fixed
in a report by the Public Service Com
mission that probably will be made
public this afternoon.
Since Mayor Mitchell and Oscar ,.
Straus, chairman Of the Public Ser.
vice Commission, were guarantors OF
the agreement that has become "a mere
scrap Of paper" the report means that
they will throw all of their official IN
! nuence in the balance 70 aid the SIDE
whose contention they uphold. Such
move, il was generally believed yes
terday, would win over public SYM
patty and with it success for those
J who have lived up to their agreement:
! 1t was said that statement OF
( James l.. Quackenbush. attorney Tor
| the Inte.borough Rapid Transit Com
pany, wi was a witness before the
commission on Friday, probably would
have an important bearing upon the
/ decision in the report. The lawyer
remark was:
az believe this country IS in the same
/ position as it was when Lincoln sald II
/ could not exist half free and hall
slave. | believe it cannot exist half
union and half non-union."
In response TO a question prompted
| by Mayor Mitchell the lawyer said that
( the agreement CT August had been
found unavoidable. He did not say,
( however, that his company had vio-
lated II.
|. Il. T. Plans Big Fight.
The paragraph quoted is accepted By
union men and such traction men az
have been willing to express their
views, "a indicating that the INTERIOR
ough had decided that the company
could not exist half union and half
non-unIon and, as a consequence, had
set out to wreck the unions.
In view OF the fact that the traction
interests agreed, in the contract guar
anteed by Mayor Mitchell and Mr..
Straus on August 6, not TO interfere
with organization OF their men and to
( treat with any committees that might
be sent to them, even though these
committees be union officials, this atti-
tude is looked upon as hostile to the
purposes of the contract.
The three -cornered agreement be-
tween traction concerns, union men
and the city, represented by Mayor
Mitchell and Mr. Straus, will be made
the basis of the forthcoming report on
I strike responsibility, since 1t was
4 looked upon and still is accepted by
the city's mediators as the bridge that
finally will lead TO peace. II was vio-
lation Of its clauses. they hold, that
brought about the present strife. and
q. 10 e. Of
them that the trouble will be ended.
The difficulty just now lies, so neu-
trail parties say, in the fact that union
and traction officials are equally en-
phatic in insisting that the other side
violated the agreement. II is because
of this fact that members Of the Pub
lie Service Commission went below
acts ard sought motives. Seeking mo-
tiveS led to an effort 10 interpret the
meaning behind Mr.. Quackenbush'
paraphrase upon Lincoln.
William b. Fitzgerald. organizer for
the Amalgamated Association of Street
Railway Employees. will be called as a
witness before the commission this
morning. II Is probable that he will
be on the witness stand several hours,
since he is expected TO produce evil
dence TO back up the assertion OF
union officials that the agreement was
violated as soon as the lnterborough
began the circulation Of its individual
contracts, thus failing to treat with
& committee Of employees, as was stip-
ulated
Here is the clause in the agree
ment of August that the union men
, hold has been violated:
"Thc employees have the legal and
moral right to organize, and the CON-
pany pledges that il will not inter-
fere with the employees in their exer-
Cising of these rights to organize,
either by intimidation, coercion or dis
charge, nor shall employees undertake
to interfere with other employees in
the exercising of their right to or
ganize. either by intimidation or CO.
crcion"
The union men point TO the Quack-
enbush statement to prove that the
traction concerns were DESTROYS of
crushing the union, and it is expect
ed that Fitzgerald will attempt to
substantiate the charge by producing
evidence Of bad faith on the part OF
traction officials when he appears as
witness this morning.