New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-14
Trainmen and Man.
ayers Split on Stat
ute's Interpretation
SUITS DECLARED
PLAY FOR DELAY
Faulty Construction in
Hasty Legislation May
Bring Walkout Order

ness that was put into the railroad
brotherhoods by the passage of the
Adamson law, was delivered yesterday
TO the railroads of the country by rep
resentatives of the four train service
organizations whose members were in
cluded under the provisions OF the law
that averted strike two months ago.
II is not unlikely that President Will
son. who had to intervene late last
August TO prevent the execution of the
nationwide strike order voted by 400,-
900 train service employees, may find
the whole controversy on his hands
again.
The vote still stands, and so potent,
that if the railroads succeed in delay
ing the operation of the Adamson law,
effective January las is their present
intention-the brotherhoods plan to
renew the order then to cinch the prize
that they won with it before.
Neither Side Sure of Bill
q
road managers nor the brotherhood
chiefs know exactly what the law
means and how it is to be applied. And
therein lies the difficulty that may
precipitate trouble again.
Briefly, the situation is this:
Congress, in it's panic-like haste TO
pass some sort of measure that would
prevent national railroad strike,
overlooked or disregarded the fact that
railroad pay in train service is based
on hours and miles. The Adamson
law provides only for an hourly stand
ard of pay. II does not mention the
mileage basis.
The railroad managers, quick to see
the advantage OF this, take the bill at
its face value, and maintain that the
old and time-honored mileage basis Of
pay can be tossed aside; that no mat
ter how many miles man runs day
he need not be paid for a days work
unless he has worked eight hours, AL
though hitherto he would have been
paiC for a day if he ran 100 miles or
more.
BrotherhoOds' Contention
The railroad brotherhoods insist that
the Adamson law does not affect the
mileage basis OF pay at all. Their po-
sition is that under the new law the
mileage basis remains-that is, days
work in train service should be eight
hours or 100 miles, instead Of, as here
tofore, ten hours or 100 miles.
Finally. the railroads increased the
muddle by starting suits all over the
country to test the constitutionality
Of the law.
The mileage difficulty has been brew
ing for some time, but 1t did not ap-
proach head until yesterday. when
the four brotherhood leaders-W. G.
Lee, president of the trainmen; Pres
ident Warren S. Stone Of the engineers,
w. S. Carter, president Of the firemen,
and L. f. Sheppard, representing A. b.
Garretson, of the conductors-met in
minal with Elisha Lee, chairman, and
nearly a score of the members of the
railroad managers conference commit
tee.
They disagreed at a morning session
and disagreed again in the afternoon.
IL is now up to the managers to make
the next move in this reopened game
of strategy.
The Presidential election. it seems,
played significant part In the game
before the public got peep at 1T yes
terday. The brotherhoods have clam
ored for conference with the rail-
road managers since shortly after the
bill was passed, when they discovered
the loophole that might let out the
railroads and compensate them FOR
whatever losses the law on its face
might entail. Without the mileage
basis the trainmen would suffer rather
than benefit from the law.
The railroads. however, stalled the
brotherhoods off and finally set No
vember 8, the day after election, as the
date for meeting. The conference was
later changed to yesterday.
The brotherhoods went into yestsr-
DAVIS conference with definite demand
upon the railroad managers TO call of
their Injunction suits before the train
men would consent TO any discussion
as to the application Of the eight.hour
pay standard TO the present schedules.
OF course the managers refused.
One of the amusing phases OF the
renewed controversy is the fact that
neither the roads nor the brotherhood
chiefs realized the omission OF the
mileage standard from the Adamson
law until the law was on the statute
books.
Brotherhoods Overlooked Point
The Tribune reporter, who was IN
Washington during the first contro-
versy. recalled the fact that prac-
ticaily every amendment to the bill
which would affect the trainmen's side
was submitted TO the brotherhoods IN
Washington before action was taken
upon il in either the House or the SEN
ate, and that that action depended on
the brotherhoods' say-so. But nobody
thought about mileage, apparently.
When the managers refused yester-
day TO quash their injunction suits
they were told frankly and vigorously
that the strike vote which was taken
before the President interyened still is
in effect. II was effective enough 10
Ccntlnued on page 9. column