Norwich bulletin., 1916-08-15
Railroad Strike
 is Hanging Fire
PRESIDENT WILSON CONFERRED
 WITH PARTIES YESTERDAY
BASIS FOR SETTLEMENT
Leaders of Trainmen at Conference Insist That the Railroads Make Some Counter Proposal to the De- mand Made by Their Employees

HaIi0 "SNS ny iISII' EH1PlOy6S
 Washington, Aug. 14. - President Wilson conferred today with both par ties to the. threatened country wide railway strike, and tonight it appeared that sufficient foundation had been laid to furnish a working basis for a settlement of the differences of the employers and employees. The presi- deTTt will meet both sides again tomor- row.
 At the conclusion of the days COB ferences, the president issued this sta tement:
 gone over the case with the utmost frankness. l shall not be able to judge until tomorrow whether we have found a feasible basis for settlement"
 Employees Want Counter Proposal.
 The foremost questions are what shall be arbitrated, if arbitration is to be resOrted to, and what form of arbi- tration shall be adopted. Representa- tives of the employees maintain that their demands for an eight hour day and time and a half for overtime are the only propositions under discussion. They insisted to President Wilson in their conference today that the rail roads make some definite counter pro- pOsal. If the railroads submitted some proposed form of settlement, they said, they would be ready to discuss nego- tiatiOns further.
 Conditions of Arbitration.
 The employees are understood to be ready to consent to the principle of arbitration if the contingent proposals of the managers, which the men claim involve rights they have won in thirty years efforts, are eliminated from consideration and if arbitration is con- 61ptp6 hV 9 hoard which 911 fnTr | brQthernOOdS are represented Immediately after learning the em- ployes' position, the president summon ed the committee of managers and held a long conference with them. They left the White House to confer among themselves throughout the night, if necessary, and if the general under standing was that they discussed the ability of withdrawing their "COntin- gency'' proposals and submitting a proposition without strings as de- manded by tn emen.
 Growing Impression of Arbitration.
 While representatives of the ern- i plOyes insisted that they had not yet i agreed to aTbitrate any feature of their differences, there was a growing i'm l pTeSSiOn that arbitration. or some form l of compromise, would be agreed upon l At no time, it was said, did the repre- ] sentatives of the men indicate that un- 1 less their demands were agreed upon unqUalifiedlY.
 Both sides refused absolutely to dis l cuss their meeting with the president l or to venture any forecast on the 1 probable outcome of the negotiations i but leaders of the two factions were l optimistic tonight that Q strike would 1 be avertcd.
 i President Made No Compromise Propo- i sitions.
 1 The president, it was declared. made no compromise propositions to either 1 side today. He merely listened to the i employees representatives and ther | talked with the managers and sug- i gested that some cOncret ewCrling | basis be agreed upon before proceed 1 ing further. Indicative of his desire tC l learn what results come from the rail- 1 road managers meeting tonight, before 1 taking any further step, he arranged i another meeting with them for l o'clock tomorrow morning, and a con ference with the representatives of the 1 employees for 3 o'clock tomorrow after i noon. TOmOrrow's cabinet meeting has been cancelled so that the presiden' may devote most of his time to the l railroad problem. He cancelled sev- eraI engagements today in order tC have the fullest opportunity to tall ] with the two sides.
 Special Board of Arbitrators.
 A B. Garretson, president of the Or l der of Railway Conductors and SpOkeS- man for the employees representatives l made it clear today that under no cir. cumstances will the employees agree tt 1 arbitration under the Newlands act The boards of arbitration provided by | that act, they maintain, are too small The balance of power, they contend, i too close, and as 2 result the emplOye! have suffered. Indications were tha
 the president, recognizing this situa.
 ton, might propose a special board O
 arbitration, if the negotiations reacl the arbitrating stage, composed of a. many as twelve men, including repre- sentatiVeS of all the brOtherhOOdS.
 Might Invoke Aid of Congress. Reports were circulated that tn
 president had notified the manager
 that unless some agreement could b. reached with the men. he would in
 yoke his power 10 influence congress to pass an eight hour law; but thes
 rumors were discounted by those il
 close touch with the situation.
 1T would fight any attempt to pas such a measure" was the terse renaTf of MT. Garretson upon hearing the re ; port.
 There was discussion today of tn possibility of the president being chic arbitrator in the dispute, but his DO
 sition was understood to be that h has not the time. There was a pOssi biIity that, instead, he might name tn
 o-cal1ed neutraIs on the board. J