Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1916-09-07


eral railroad strike which hung like
pail over the country for a month
was lifted when the Senate passed
the Adamson bill.
Three hours after the senate had
passed without amendment the Adam.
son eight-hour day bill, passed by the
house, the heads of the four great
railroad employees brotherhoods tele
graphed 500 odd code messages to
their general chairmen in all parts
OF the country cancelling the strike
order issued week ago to take
effect Labor Day at Z O'clock.
The legislative expedient to avert
the strike was passed in the senate
by a vote of IS to 2S-almost a strict
party vote-amid stirring scenes
after many Senator's, Democrats and
Republicans. had fought desperately
TO amend the measure by provisions
designated to prevent industrial disas.
ters in the future Some senators.
Thoroughly aroused. declared Cong
ress was being coerced into enactment
OF legislation that it did not desire.
and that IT knew would return to
Prague IL IN the future.
In both houses the measure was
signed within a few minutes after the
final vote in the senate and ii was
sent at once to the White House.
Officials of the brotherhoods who
witnessed the final passage of the bill
had announced early in the night that
cancellation of the strike would not
be ordered until the bill had been
signed by the President and actually
had become law. But later thev con.
ferred. changed their minds and flash
ed the code messages signaling to the
waiting trainmen of the country
Through their chairmen, the word that
satisfactory settlement had been
secured.
The bill that stopped the strike pro
Vides that after January l. 1917
eight hours shall be regarded as n
basis cf reckoning for a days pay of
men engaged in the operation of rail
road trains in interstate commerce
excepting roads less than 100 miles
long and electric lines): that they
shah receive pro rata pay for work
III excess of eight hours, and that
thelr rate of compensation shall moi
be changed pending an investigation
Tor from six TO nine months bv q
commission to be appointed bv the
President of the effect OF the eight.
hour day upon the railroads
Efforts to amend the bill I'm the
Senate were futile. the supreme effort
to alter ii having been led by Senator
Underwood, who sought to provide
that the Interstate Commerce Com
mission should have power to fix rail.
road wages and hours for service in
the future. This amendment was de-
feated by vote of 81 to IA.
Railroad officials have declarA that
the action OF Congress will cost them
S6O,OOOOO0 year in increased wages
TO the trainmen. brotherhood off!c.
lals say the enactment will mean not
more than an annual increase of 500
100000 In Congress and among the
railroad officials there has existed
doubt as to the constitutionalitv Of
the law, but what steps if any may
be taken to test this has not been in
dicated
Quick action by the brotherhood
heads followed the action in the Sen.
ate. No doubt existed in their minds
that President Wilson would sign the
bill as soon as it was handed to Kim.
The measure embraces virtually all of
the Presidents original proposals TO
the employees and the railroad heads
although II is only a part of the leg
islauVe program he took to Congress
last Tuesday when his negotiations
had failed
Issuance of the orders of cancella-
tion followed a meeting of the four
brotherhood heads and thirteen re-
naming members OF their committee
OF $40 Some opposition to acting be.
fore the President actually had af
fixed his signature was evidence I'm
the meeting, but in the end the II
voted unanimously to call OFF the
strike Immediately. All of the code
messages had been prepared in ad-
vance and as quickly as The decision
was announced clerks rushed to tele-
graph offices with arm loads of the
messages.
No two of the more than 500 dis.
patches were alike. One of them read
ut is reported that a big fire is rag.
Ing in Torento." Another said There
Is danger of your house burning down
tomorrow" Even the brotherhoods
did not know what all the messages
contained, the composition of them
having bbeen left 10 clerks.
Official House Vote.
The official vote in the House on
the final passage of the amended Adam
son eighthour day bill was:
Ayes 239; nays, Sc; present. 5. Two
Democrats voted against the bill and
40 Republicans, and the one Socialist
voted for 1t. None OF the Progressives
voted