Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1916-08-25
MAKES APPEAL

| american cluzen to another, Presi-
dent Wilson today appealed to each
OF the executives of the country's
principal railroads on grounds of
PATRIOTISM to accept his plan for
avcrtlng the threatened disaster of
n nationwide strike. lie emphasized
, the necessity for keeping the rail
roads in service as II part of the ma
tionnl defense end to make possible
preparations for meeting conditions
| that Will exist after the Europeua
war.
On leaving the white house. the
railroad presidents, augmented tadoy
by arrivals from the West, held n
conference at which the sentiment was
said TO he against agreeing 20 tho
| PRESIDENTS proposal in its present
form. Hope was expressed, however.
that some satisfactory counter propo-
sition might bcadvnnccd, and il was
decided to turn over to committee
the task of drafting IL final reply to
the president. With more than sixty
men, most of them with their own
ideas about what ought to be done,
the executives found it difficult to
get down to brass tucks," as one of
| ing another meeting will he held and
every effort will be made to reach
n decision promptly.
Sacrifice of Principle.
The railroad heads still insist thai
President Wilson is asking them To
sacrifice the principle of arbitration.
Elisha Lee, chairman of ,hc National
Conference ommittcc Of Railways, is
sued statement tonight in which he
said:
"That the railroads should gran. i.
under threat of national strike, "A
$50,000,000 wage prcfcrmcnt to
small minority of their employees,
without II hearing before Il public
tribunal, is Uncomfortable in Il demo
crncy like ours. Ali questions ut is
Snc-wages, costs. operating condi-
tionS-nrc submerged by the greater
issue: Shall arbitration he abandoned
in the settlement of Industrial dis
Iputcs?"
The statement suggests, however
that railroads stand ready To take
Whatever action the people of the
country desire. IT. concludes:
"rhc weight of public opinion must
determine this issue. We cannot be
lievc that it. is the calm Judgment Of
the country that we should sacrifice
the principle of arbitration in indus.
trial disputes, under threat to tie
up the commerce of the country"
While the officials were listening To
President Wilson and later confcrr-
ing ut their hotel, the general COM
mittce of 6I0 representatives of the
cmployccs who already have ncccptc |
the presidents plan, held perfume
tory meeting and marked time await
mg the decision of the employers
They said they would wait until
President Wilson dismissed them, but
stood rcay to call II strike should the
negotiations fail.
Let The People Judge.
Although II few of the railroad exc
cutives invited had not arrived this
AFTERNOON il was decided that those
sentative and therefore the president.
called them To the white house and
Earnestly urged that his plan of set
Element be ratified.
al will ont allow passion to come
into my thoughts i'm this solemn mat
ter" he said. 1--WE are both acting
rs trustees of great interests. am
Willing to allow this matter TO 90 to
the great American jury and let them
assume the responsibility. The re-
sponsibiity of failure will not rest
with me.
81 wish you to consider the con
sequences MS affecting the people or
the cities and countrysidcs of fail
ure to agree. The country cannot live
if the means of keeping alive its
vitality are intcrfcrcd with. The lives
and fortunes of l00,000,0e0 men, wo-
men and little oncs-many of whom
may dic-dcpcnd upon what may be
done in this roow. ! appeal to you as
one American citizen to another To
avert this disaster" The president
spoke in more intimate fashion than
he has in any of the previous con
ferences. He referred to the disas-
trous effect ii strike would have "cs-
pccially ut this time when every
ounce of American energy and in
itiativc is 10 be modified to meet the
extraordinary situation which will
emerge out of the European war"
Practical Methods.
Reiterating that it. was impossible
| for him to bring about arbitration
under present conditions, the president
declared it was necessary To discuss
practical methods Of avoiding "a
strike, The war, he said, had taught
this country that it can no longer
remain isolated and provincial; thai
by reason of its position in the affairs
Of the world we must be ready To
play our role as one of the dominant
influences in the worlds affairs, and
that in order to meet the exigencies
of new world conditions the varied
business and economic interests OF
the nation must be brought together
into an harmonious whole.
"Our great national resources can
not be made available nor modified
in this emergency as a part Of nation
al Defense" he added, "unless the
railroads are made scrvicaablc instru-
mentalitics for bolstcring up any plan
for national Drenarcdncss