Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-05-31
DISCRIMINATION IS
ALLEGED BY MEN
Company Denies This and Con
fers With Men Relative to
Adjustment.
THE MAYOR |NTERCEDES
City Solicitor Bayard Also Attend
ed Conference Arbitration
to Be Voted On.

After operating the cars during the carry
rush hours. from ; 10 : o clock his morn
ing. when working people were gong To
their places Of employment, the conduc-
tors and motornen employed hy the
Wilmington X Philadelphia Traction Co
began 10 return their cars 20 the barn.
refusing 10 continue 70 work until TWO
grievances which they claimed 70 have
were satisfied. and nv 10 o clock every
car had been returned 10 the barn and the
strike was compete.
When the strike was on al lines were
idle exccpt that 10 Chester, which Is opcr-
ated from that city and was not affected
hy tho local trouble Suburban. as well as
cltv. lines hcing tied up, some OF the
traffic was taken care of on the railroads,
especially TO and from New Castle. Dcia-
ware City, Brandywine Springs, Newport
and Stanton.
The grievances. the men SAID, were as
follows:
They complained that extra men were
employed on circus day and yesterday
and paid IN excess OF the regular men.
which latter statement the company
denied
They are demanding an increase q
cents an hour over the present rate OF pay,
instead of 6. which they asked for early
in the month, and which the company
agreed to grant if permitted to increa SC
the fare TO 6 cents. -
The men were orderly. amusing them
selves with music at the clubroom AT the
Delaware avenue barn. Five policemen
were on duty at the barn, Sergeant
Wardle and Patrolmen West, Gross,
AcGranary and Carey.
~ tho mon claimed that these
extras, being former employees. now
working al local shipyaTds and at the
Bethlehem works at New Castle, received
81 a dav for their trolley work yesterday
and circus day and 60 cents an hour over
time. This is denied by the company,
which saws these extras were paid at the
rate of % to 80 cents an hour, the regular
rate
While the company employees only
265 conductors and mOtormen regularly.
some of the strikers told a reporter OF
livery Evening about 400 were out
This probably was an estimate made by
them.
COMPANY OFFICIAL STATEMENT.
At 1.3O O'Clock this afternoon General
Manager Wilson issued the following
official statement:
Notwithstanding our promise TO IN
crease the wages OF our tralnmen q cents
per hour, said increase 10 date back TO
MAY and TO be payable when the tllity
Commission would approve our applica-
ton for 8 cent trolley fare, our tralnInen
this morning without warning refused TO
run the cars. We Immediately got in
touch with our tralnmen and found that
they demanded an immediate increase
of 10 cents per hour or about 81 per cent
hon nf q
have been in conference with them all
morning In an effort to have them resume
service and have told them that 1t would
be necessary to charge 4-cent trolley
fare to enable US 10 meet their demands
We have made them the following propo-
sition:
That We will give them an increase Of
= cents per hour over their present rate Of
wages dating from MAY /, 1918, 70 be
payable on their next pay day, June /
and that the balance OF / cents per hour
We would leave to arbitration. the men to
appoint two arbitrator, the company
two arbitrators and these four To select
a fifth arbitrator. The men viii take
vote on this proposition tins afternoon
at 2.30.
When Mr.. Wilson was asked about the
report that former employees we're paid
higher wages than the regular men for
working Yesterday he said such was not
the case; that they received the same rate
Of pay.
Relative to the statement that men
who had left the company had been per
united to retain their badges, which
enabled them 10 ride free on the cars,
Mr. Wilson SAID FIVE or six had been
permitted to do this upon promising TO
work OH special occasions to help the
company out when it needed more men,
but they had not been promised, nor had
they received, higher wages than the
other men.
MAYOR AND CITY SOLICITOR GIVE ADVICE.
Mayor John W. Lawson and City
Solicitor Thomas +. BayaTd visited the
barns, where the men were during the
morning, conferred with the men and
officers of the company III an effort TO
help adjust the difficulty, toward which
Thomas W Wilson. vice-president and
general manager, was bending every
energy.
In order not to inconvenience working
people the car men took their cars out
at the usual time, starting al ) o'clock.
and everything ran smoothly until
clock, when the cars began to return
10 the barn. the men refusing TO operate
them longer, and By 10 o'clock all cars
were back at the barn and idle
MANAGER WILSON SURPRISED.
One Of the most surprised men in town
was Thomas " Wilson. yicp-presidant
and general manager Of the company.
who, as the operating head keeps in close
touch with all of the operating affairs at
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