The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1916-10-13
CHECKMATED.
Railroads Desired Strike And
Were Disappointed.
BY Grant Hamilton

The controversy between the
railroad brotherhoods and the rail-
way managers which occupied gen
eral attention for a number of
weeks brought ont more trenchant-
ly than ever the lengths TO which
the managers Of the railway cor
porations will go to accomplish
their desires. The newspapers of
the country, whose editorial utter
ances were almost wholly controlled
through their advertising columns,
assiduously endeavored to convince
the readers of their journals that
the railroads were actuated by
spirit of fairness in offering arbitra-
ton
TIE railroads did not offer to
submit all of the points at issue TO
a board of arbitration. Their offer
contained such an array of excep-
tions as to amount virtually to no
arbitration at all
While the railroad brotherhoods,
through their restricted press fa-
cilities, gave the details of the stu
alton as 1t existed, yet large vol.
umn Of the press never carried the
! statements issued by the brother
hoods.
The railroads were represented
by committee empowered to deal
with the situation During the
J many conferences between the re-
preseDtatives of the railroad bro
therhoods and the railroads the
latter refused to meet in any par
j, ticular the demands of the brother
: hoods. On the contrary, they in
sisted on applying their scheme of
So called arbitration, which in
fact was offered with the yelled
purpose Of promoting strike, for
the terms of their offer OF "aTbitra-
> ton were so manifestly unfair and
: eliminated entirely so many roads
(. from arbitration at all, that the Of
= fer, even if accepted would not
. have resulted in settling the con-
troversy.
i By the action of congress the
. railroad managers were checkmated
= in their desire to bring about na
. ton wide strike Now these rail
: road managers, with the assistance
/. of Candidate Hughes and those who
= are committed to his cause, are
: combining their efforts for the pu--
) pose Of making an effort to con
# vince the people that the principle
i of arbitration in industrial disputes
has been destroyed. The railroad
= managers, true 10 their past history
are assisting in the campaign Of de-
y struction, for the history of their
past has never been one Of con-
struction. Now for the real record:
There were 275 railroad involved
4 in the controversy.
Seventy five OF these railro ds
absolutely and IN. qnivocally re
!, fused to arbitrate any Of the de-
mands of the railroad brothe-hCods.
, One hundred and eighty two
: railroads in their offer of arbitra
5 ton specifically excluded negro
+ fremen, negro brakemen and negro
: hostlers.
In other wo ds, the arbitration
> had long strir G attached to it.
II any further evidence Is wanted
of the stiffness and sharp practices
f of the railroad managers, it is only
necessary to cite one instance.
! Mr. Hale Hol len Of the Chicago
Burlington and Qlircy Railroad,
the spokesman tor the railroad
managers in the recent controversy
locked out the freight handlers upc n
the c. B. & Q in Chicago because
Of their demand for changed condi-
ton. Immediately the freight
handlers offered TO arbitrate their
differences with the road. Mr..
Hale Holden, as spokesman for the
railroad managers in the railro9d
brotherhood controversy, and who
so strongly advocated arbitration
in that case, summarily refused to
accept arbitration when the Chicago
freight handlers offered that me-
dunn to settle their controversy.
The attitude of President Rilpey
of the Santa Fe Railroad, who as
Serts that he will not ohsar,ya 4ba