Evening star., 1916-08-06
MED|ATORS TO ACT
IN GREATEST STRIKE
Federal Board viii Consider
Threatened Countrywide
Railroad Trouble.
ALL ROADS FACE STRIKE
FIRST time IN HISTORY
Labor Court Has Been Busy Since
Its Organization in 1918 and
Been Uniformly Successful.

lfo against any cessation OK railroad
train movements and a. q friendly In.
termediary between ths railroads as
business organisation and employees
for amicabls adjustment Of their diff
ferences the United States board Of
mediation and conciliation occupies an
important position in the government
service.
This board. soon after Tuesday, when
the strike vots Is announced. Is to use
its onices in an attempt to avert the
threatened strike. which would be tho
greatest in history. tying up all Of the
LOO railroads Of the oountry-SS4 OF
which are operated under their own
Individual charters-united In 225 rail-
way systems. and affecting directly
40o. 900 employees connected with trans
portation service and indirectly l,3oo,-
900 other employees connected with the
maintenance OF way departments.
This IS the first time in history that
all of tho railroads are united in one
case. and with practically tho entire
membership Of the Chamber Of Com
merce of tho United States-nearly 800
organizations with an underlying mem-
bership of more than $50. 900 business
&
extraordinary action to meet this
unique crisis. 1t Is a tribute to tho fed
eral board that the President Is con-
adently awaiting their Intervention.
Busy Since It's Organization.
This railroad court. since its organ
ization July Is. 1913. by an act of Con-
gress. has not seen one day on which
some disagreement between employees
and a railroad or railroads has not
been under consideration.
Generally these controversies, prac-
tically all of which have been settled
by mediation without resort to arbitra-
ton. have touched in one phase or an
other every railroad in the United
States. The biggest cases have not
even gone to strike vote, which means
that the controversies of the creates st
magnitude have not reached the stage
where there was cessation of train
movements.
There have been nearly dfty impor-
tant cases settled and there have been
but three strikes-that Is, where there
has been actual stoppage of train
movements-and in all three OF these
promptly settled by mediation Of the
board.
These three strikes were:
On the Delaware and Hudson, where
Z,Soo uTcfueu, COu-
ductors. trainmen and telegraphers-
were involved. 1t was on January is,
1914, that the board was invited to
mediate and the agreement was signed
on the following day.
| On the Sunset Lines of the Southern
Pacific, in Texas. where 1855 men were
involved. Here the board was called
upon on November 13, 1913. and despite
peculiar difficulties the agreement was
signed on November 16.
| n. c,,lf ys1 n
sissippi, which was promptly settled
in June of this year.
Strikes have been on individual roads
| and each was precipitated by some sud
was brought to the attention of the
| federal board.
An Instance Of Effective Work.
A summary OF one of these cases
diency with which the board has JUS
titled its existence II should be re-
membered that this case developed
very soon after the board was or
ganized The request for mediation
services was not received until late in
| the evening, and the strike was already
set for 6 o'clock the next morning
Previous to the request the board had
no knowledge of the situation. The
controversy was between the engineers
fremen, conductors, trainmen and
ltelegraphers and one of the heaviest
traffic roads in eastern territory, serv-
| ing a densely populated industrial sec
tion with terminals in several of the
largest cities of the country.
| 1t was practically impossible to get
| in touch with the officers Of the rail
road and the general officers of the
labor organizations in charge Of the
strike during the night and the strike
went into effect as ordered. resulting In
a complete tie-up Of train movements
BY II o'clock. within Ave hours of the
| inception of the strike, all the parties
representing the contesting interests
in conference with one of the mediators
at the headquarters OF the railroad
! company Before the close of that day
within twelve hours Of the commence
ments were resumed and the questions
in controversy were adjusted through
mediation.
Result Of Threat to Strike.
This board of mediation and concilia-
ton came into being as the immediate
result of threatened strike. very SIM
liar to present conditions. although the
crisis was not of the same magnitude
It grew out of the demands of the
conductors and trainmen in "easterr
territory" presented in a concerted
movement to forty-two eastern rail-
| roads. There were 22.752 conductors
involved and 69,697 trainmen. The
strike vote had been taken. resulting
in 81 per cent of the employees voting
| to withdraw from the service Of the
railroad unless their demands regard
ing rate of wages and working con.
ditions were complied with.
Immediately upon the appointment OF
the board. as authorized by the New.
lands act. it's services were rendered
to both parties and promptly accepted
Mediation conferences were opened ths
next day. 1t early developed that thu
only method Of amicable adjustment
would be through arbitration. The
stipulations for the arbitration were
signed by the parties July rs, 1918. only
eleven days after the passage Of the
act The frst session was held on Sep.
tember II, and the award of the boa re
rendered on November 10.
officials Who Form Board.
The act Of Congress-, approved Jul,
lI6, 1919, early in tho Wilson admins
tration, providing for mediation, con
ciliation and arbitration in contro-
versies between certain employers ant
their employees" created tho ONCE a.