Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1917-03-19
ALL CONCERNED
APPEAR RETICFNT

New York, March 1S.-Whethcr ol
not railroad strike will be begun AT
o clock tomorrow night by the four
brotherhoods of trainmen remained
an open question tonight. so far a.
! surface indications went. The con
ference which began this morning be-
tween the leaders of the men and the
conference committee Of railroad
managers with four members of the
hauonal council of defense acting as
medlatOrs was still in session at n late
hour
NO information was forthcoming as
TO What progress had been made in
the deliberations. Franklin X, Lane
secretary of the interior, spokesman
FOR the mediators and to whom both
sides referred all inquiries. displayed
deep interest in news of the sinking
of three American ships by German
submarines. He refused to say, how
ever. whether its possible effect upon
the future of the country had been
considered in the conference room
Equally reticent upon this subject
We're Elisha Lee, chairman of the
managers committee, and w. G. Lee,
spokesman for the brotherhoods.
Both refused to comment or to give
any intimation of what had transpired
at the sessions.
See Mr.. Lane" they said.
While no official information was
available there was reason to believe
that the mediators who are acting as
representatives of President Wilson.
had asked for no further postponement
of the strike after the expiration of
the forty eight hours truce, which ex-
pires at 7 o'clock tomorrnw night. if
no agreement Is reached II NC mean
time.
The agreement reached yesterday
will avert hostilties between the men
and their employers if the supreme
court hands down a decision tomor-
row declaring the Adamson eight
hour law constitutional The rail
roads have agreed to accept the broth
erhoods' Interpretation of the law n
it is upheld. This would grant them
a basic eight-hour day and pro rata
time for overtime.
The questions under consideration
today had to do with what would
happen if the law were declared un-
constitutional or if the court fails to
hand down a decision tomorrow
Whether either side had agreed to
recedc in the slightest degree from
the flrm stand hitherto taken, could
not be learned. The managers have
declared they would make no conces-
sions until the highest court acted.
The brotherhoods have informed
President Wilson, however, that there
would be no strike If the country be-
came engaged in hostilities and that
in any event they would provide train
crews to move military and naval
supplies. 1t was assumed, for this
reason, that the crisis resulting from
the sinking of American ships would
be emphasized in the deliberations
now going on.
While w. G. Lee positively refused
to make any statement during the
day, he did not discount in any way
the optimistic prediction he made last
night that an agreement would. be
reached by tomorrow and a strike
aVertcd
Persons in close touch with the sit
uation seemed optimistic that some
means would be found to prevent
blockade of the nations transporta-
ton system although no one has haz-
arded a guess as to how it would be
done The prediction was heard fre-
quently that President Wilson would
act if the conference ended in a dead
lock.