Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-06-11
WATTLES ON STAND
TELLS ABOUT STRIKE
Head Of Omaha Street Railway
System Relates 0maha's Ex-
perience to Railway
Board at Lincoln.

i'aothss, NeD', june W. SpeClai
Lincoln, June l0.-(Special. Sat
urday was the last day of the hearing
before the State Railway commission
OF the complaint OF the striking street
car employees against the Lincoln
Traction company in an effort to have
the commission declare that the COM
pany must recognize the union of
street car employees and reinstate the
strikers.
President G. w. Wattles of the
Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Rail
way company today on the stand told
the experience OF the Omaha COM
pany at the time of the strike a few
years ago in that city.
Mr.. Wattles prefaced his testimony
by saying lie had no objection to an
organization among the employees of
the Omaha company which would
promote good feeling among them,
but his cornpany's relations with the
union, he said, had been the cause of
much friction among the employees
because there were two factions, those
who belonged to the union and those
who did not.
Majority Remained Out.
The majority of the men working
for the Omaha company had never
joined the union, he said, being salts
fed with the treatment they were re-
ceiving at the hands of the company.
but a representative of the national
association had before the organiza-
ton OF the union been successful in
creating some sentiment favorable to
organization and one had been
formed. At the time of the strike
about one-half of the men belonged
to the union.
Before the strike the union had de-
manded recognition and wanted the
company to discharge all men who did
not belong. One Of the requirements
OF the union was that each member
should pay 81 . month into the ma
tional treasury. The company re-
fused to recognize the union.
When asked by Commissioner Will
son why the company had refused to
recognize the union, Mr.. Wattles said
he was not against union organize
ton in many instances, but thought
it no place for one where the en-
ployes are working for public serv-
ice corporation, for the reason that
whenever difficulty arises the public
is always the innocent sufferer.
Appealed for Protection.
In the case of the Omaha strike
employees of the company who did not
belong to the union appealed to the
company for protection and the COM
pany had done the best it could to
protect them and the interests of the
public.
MY Office has always been open
and employees welcome to come with
any complaint they might have" said
Mr.. Wattles-and up to the time OF
the strike we had had little or no COM
plant. National leaders of the union
had come to Omaha about two weeks
before the annual Ak-Sar-Ben festivi-
ties and called a strike. A meeting
had been called day before the strike
for conferences with the Commercial
club, but while the conference was on
the strike had been called, The loss
to the company directly and indirectly
was 100000. The national organizer
had made the boast that he would
stop the wheels of business in Omaha
if the street car company did not
recognize the union
Had Paid Good Wages.
Mr., Wattles said the Omaha &
Council Bluffs Street Railway COM
pany had made it practice of paying
as good wages as it could to its en-
ployes and even during the panic,
when so many public service corpora
tons had gone to the wall and the
Omaha company was on the verge of
bankruptcy, It had not decreased the
wages. In January, 1910, it made
raise Of a cent an hour, the same in
1912 and tine same in 1914, For the
first time in his remembrance this
year about week or so ago the men
had sent petition to the company
asking for a raise because OF the high
cost of living, the raise to 60 into eff
feet July |, The company held
meeting and voted per cent bonus
to employees on all wages earned for
the first six months of the year and
last Tuesday raised wages cents
per hour.
Commissioner Wilson asked Mr..
Wattles il he thought commission
practicable that could take over such
controversies as the Omaha and Lin
coin companies had had with their
employees, Mr. Wattles said he did
not believe it would, for the reasons
he had already given, that the local
unions were compelled to obey orders
OF national officers who were not in