Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-03-17
STREET CAR DIRECTORS AGREE
TO MEET D. C.. COMMISSIONERS
In Accepting Invitation Company Officials
Put Blame for Situation on Men and
Again Refuse to Recognize Union.

| In response to the invitation Of the
District Commissioners that the d.
rectors of the Washington Railway and
Electric Company meet them at the
District building today. S. R. Bowen
secretary of the company. sent the fol-
| lowing reply accepting the invitation:
| Your letter Of this date addressed to
the board of directors of the Washing
ton Railway and Electric Company was
| delivered at the Office of the company
early this afternoon, affording insult
| ficient time to call a meeting of the
| board, but conference attended by all
| of the directors in the city was held
| and they will be glad to avail them
selves personally of the opportunity OF
calling on you tomorrow at the hour
| suggested.
Il am instructed by the conference
to state that the directors have read
| the correspondence referred to in your
communication of even date, and that
the action of Mr.. King, the president
of the company, in the matters to
which you refer has been with the con-
currence and approval of the entire
board Of directors.
They desire me further to advise
you that the present point of difference
of Importance between the company
and the strikers. and perhaps the only
one which is absolutely irreconcilable.
| is the demand of the latter that the
company enter into contractual rela-
tons with the Amalgamated Associa-
ton of Street and Electric Railway
Employees, which the members of the
, board are unanimous in holding it can
not do In justice to the public, its own
interests or a majority of It's employees.
IN view of the dndisguised. openly de-
clared, ultimate purpose and design of
association
| INTO an agreement to employ no men
except its members, and those. only. so
long as they have not. by the non pay
ment of dues or other cause, fallen
under the displeasure. of the associa ton
or it's officers
The position of this company is not
different in principle now from what it
has always been. You say that by the
agreement of March IL, 1916, this COM
pany accepted the principle of collect
I've bargaining, and that Mr.. King in
his letter of February 81, 1917, indi
Gated the necessity of mediatorial serv
ton is that he has been inconsistent
in now declining the mediatorial Of
hces of the commission. The facts in
this connection are these:
Contract Not With Union.
'The negotiations of a year ago which
your letter refers to were on the ex-
press condition entered into by you
that this company would not be re-
Quired, directly or indirectly, to deal
with the Amalgamated Association of
Street and Electric Railway Employees
Notwithstanding which fact the ink
was scarcely dry when the amalga-
mated association willfully sought to
convey enormously the impression to
the public that the contract was with
1t.
The letter of February II, 1917, to
which you refer, was directed not to
this association or it's officers but to
the grievance committee representing
all of our trainmen, and the statement
was then made that as soon as the in
auguration was over the company
would take up any matter pertaining
to the interests of it's employees, as we
have always been willing to do Pur-
suant to this statement, on March 6,
1917, Mr.. King addressed to this same
committee communication, to which
you do not refer, although a copy of it
was forwarded you, stating that on
March s, from to o'clock pm, the
company would be ready to take up
with it's employees any matter which
affected their interests. and invited
this committee, as well as all trainmen,
to attend. This committee, the only
representatives then in existence of all
trainmen, although composed entirely
of members of the amalgamated asso-
respond to this invitation, but another
committee. which they said was ap-
poiAed by the amalgamated associa-
ton. did attend. They were informed
that they could not be treated with as
such representatives, but inasmuch as
each member was at that time an en-
ploye of the company, Mr.. King would
be glad to take up with them any mat
ter they wished to present. In re-
Spouse to the invitation they presented
no grievance and left stating that thew
would discuss nothing except as rep
resentatives of the amalgamated as
ISOLATION.
Individual Contracts Presented.
"On the same occasion the individual
contracts were presented and signed by
a large number of other trainmen who
did attend. and whose execution of it
was on the condition that the ANAL
gamated association should not be rec
ognized