The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-02
WOULD BE PARALYZED
BY RAILROAD STRIKE,
CONTINUED from page L.

The strike vote, If it results as pre-
dict1ons indicate, will force four heads
OF railroad unions to call q general
strike In demands for eight hour day
and time and half for over time.
This Is the biggest labor movement
In history said Shea. Its the larg-
est In number Of men involved and
| covers wider latitude OF territory
than any other labor move In history"
Charges that the railways offered to
settle the difficulty either by arbitra-
ton or conference to the interstate
commerce commission and the offer
was refused by employees, the nation
al conference Of the railways today
started an advertising campaign In
support OF their position.
] Copies Of advertisements to be used
in various sections of the country
were sent out by the committee. The
advertisement addressed to the public,
| is headed.
Railroad wages-Shall they be de.
| termined by Industrial warfare or fed
eral inquiry"
The railroads are In the public ser.
vice-your service" reads the ad copy.
i This army Of employees is in the pub
lie service-your service.
4 You pay for rail transportation
three billion dollars year and A
cents out OF every dollar from you
goes to the employees.
"A $1O0,OO0.000 wage increase for
men in freight and yard service Oess
cne-fifth of the employes) IL equal to
five per cent advance in all freight
rates.
), "The managers OF the railways are
, trustees Of the public and have no
right to place this burden on the cost
Of transportation to you without clear
mandate from the public tribunal
speaking for YOU"
Congress 10 Interested.
II WASHINGTON, Aug. D. Four hun
bred thousand men-earn'ng annually
s400. 900, 000-employed on 25O,000
miles Of railroad-these are the fig
ures involved in the threatened strike
of the railway brotherhoods. A strike
would mean, according to the bureau
, of railway economics today, the
greatest transportation tie up In the
history of the country with accom-
: panying prostration of comm cree that
may send the financial loss to the
: nation soaring into the billions of dol
: lars.
, Advance reports reaching Washing.
! ton, indicate the railway employees
will vote overwhelming to go ahead
!; with the strike unless their demands
q are granted.
/ If the strike comes, half dozen
8 resolutions Of forced arbitration will
instantly be presented to congress.
Many of them have been drafted for
weeks, but withheld on the POSSIBLE
ity that the trouble will be averted
They order, on the ground Of public
| an NJ ir,,yr tofa 80
the strike by mediation.
Should these measures be pressed
- congress appears due for one of the
hottest fights the capitol has seen in
years. The four brotherhoods are
!. determinedly opposed to mediation
and have given notice that men who
seek to force it on them, will feel the
full political power of 400. 900 organ.
lied voters in the fall elections
:. Their fight will be led by Senator
2 LaFollette, who has prepared an ex
2 haustive speech charging tremendous
z watering of stock by railroads
Counter offensive probably will de
3 mand an immediate physical valua
z ton of the roads.
IL The railroad faction will insist that
" a national strike means widespread
food shortage and actual starvation
in some of the larger cities.
a Insist Upon Demands.
q CLEVELAND, Ohio, August O.
II Sentiment among the 100000 mem
$, bers of the railway brotherhoods, is
IS overwhelmingly in favor of insisting
., that their demands be granted" VIM
G. Lee, president of the Brotherhood
s Of Railway Trainmen said here today
d before he left for New York where
s. the strike vote is being counted
Railroad officials are trying tc
make the public believe that by grant
ing our eight hour demands, trains
T will be stalled between terminals, >
y said Lee. THAT is not true The
y men can still continue to work six
teen hours a day, as federal regula
tions allow, but they will get over
time pay"