The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-06-16
On Advisability of a Strike
to Enforce Demand for
Eight-Hour Day
FAILED TO REACH
ANY AGREEMENT
Plan of Road Managers Rejected by
Representatives of Employees - Re
suit of Strike Vote to be Submitted
to Roads by Aug. I.

suit of Strike Vote to be Submitted
to Roads by Aug. 1.
NEW YORK, June 16.-More than
100000 union and non-uniOn railroad
workers of America will vote within
a month on the advisabiIity Of calling
a general strike to enforce their de
.nands for an eight-hour day and time
and a half for overtime, as a result
of the failure by representatives Of
the railroads and the men to reach a
settlement here yesterday after two
weeks conference.
Hope of adjusting the dispute
through the conference faded when
the railroads submitted a tentative
compromise offer to the mel, granting
! their demands, but eliminating the
majority of existing "double compcn-
sation rules. The conference ad-
! iourned Wednesday to give the railroad
managers an opportunity TO discuss
! further their stand on this point, but
when they met the men yesterday they
! not only refused to make Il specific
offer covering the compensation rules,
/ but advised that their differences be
submitted to either he Interstate
/ Commerce Commission or a board of
arbitration to operate under the pro
vision of the Newlands act. The men
/ declined both offers, and the decision
to take a strike vote followed.
The leaders ami the 500 delegates
of the four brotherhoods of traInmen,
engineers, fremen and conductors,
who attended the conference decided
on the necessity for the strike vote
at n secret meeting following the
break.
A. B. Garretson, president of the
brotherhood of Railroad Conductors,
announced later that the ballot will
be drafted today and rushed to the
printer for distribution to all railroad
men, whether members of the brother
hoods or not, before the close of next
week.
The canvass will consume at least
three weeks, Mr.. Garretson and the
other leaders agreed, and before Aug.
the result will be known. If the men
vote 4 general strike the leaders will
return here ald again present the de
mands of the men to the railroads III
an effort either to gain their demands
in full or a compromise offer without
the necessity of putting the strike
actually into effect.
Elimination of the "double com
pensation rules the railroad mer
, t0IltuU, NouIl IOl OillF ItNAA1 ptA'
g., limit their earning power. 1t woulC
wipe out wage increases that the mer
have fought for and gained during
the last > years from individual rail
roads and systems, theE assert. The
monthly remuneration of certain en-
: gincers would be reduced by SO, the1
\ claim, while certain fremen Woulc
: suffer cuts averaging $50 to $40 pc
= month
: Whereas under the present rules
= the men state, an engineer or brake
II man, for example, now receives pa.
y for two full days for performing
duty other than that prescribed IN m
class of work within one working da,
! of 10 hours, under the railroads ten
= tative compromise offer he would re
! ceive pay for only one day of eigh
u hours and the new overtime rate fO
> overtime, no matter what the varietie
of duties assigned him.
There are other features of tn
rules which vary with railroads an
h railway systems. The most importan
and most general call for overtim
charges is when an employe is delaye
to in being called to duty or interrupte
O. in the course of his work. These an
lie many other such charges would b
-e abolished under the railroads plan.