Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-05-31

Coutinuu0 trush pe4e
| all times However, he had no information
| of strike and did not know Of the
trouble until informed Of it by Operating
] Superintendent Geigor.
| Believing that tho difficulty WA tho
result of Misunderstanding, which could
be adjusted il everything was understood
| by the men, he Mt oncc arranged to 60 and
| see them at tho car barn, on Delaware
avenue, and went there M soon as 1t was
convenient.
WAGE INcnEAsn GRANTED.
The move came Ms a thundcrbolt out Of
| a clear sky, when Mr. Wilson heard OF IL,
in view of the fact that the company had
readily granted the request for increased
pay, to the extent of six cents an hour,
contingent on the company being per
mitted to raise the ratio Of faro from to
6 cents
Following is the text of the petition
received by the company from tho men,
early in the month:
Wilmington, Dol, May 8, 1918.
"Mr. W. +. Heindle, Gen. Supt,
wilmington Il Philadelphia Traction
Co, Wilmington, Del
ain view of the fact that IL ia becoming
increasingly difficult to live and provide
for our families upon the present basis OF
pay, we, the undersigned employees OF
your company, respectfully request that
we be granted an increase OF SIX cents
tO6) per hour to take effect May 10.
Respectfully submitted .
This request WAS signed by $50 Of the
conductors and motornen of the 265
employed by the company, and on its
presentation to Mr.. Wilson he agreed TO
grant tho request if the company was
gwen permission to increase tho rate OF
fare from : TO q cents. Subsequently the
company appealed To the Board Of Public
Utility Commissioners for permission to
make the increase, and the board stall has
the matter under advisement, pending
survey of the trolley operating system
here, which ~ being made by a representa-
tive of the Westinghouse Electric Go.
The expert has about completed bus
survey and has arranged to present IL To
tho board at the mayors ofiioc, in the
City Hall, on Monday morning at 10
o clock, when he will inquire whether
further information is desired. If not,
that will be his final report and the board
will then arrange for an early meeting To
take action on the Traction Co s request,
using the experts report, as to the JUST
hcation of the request rs a guide
In addition TO claiming that the former
car men employed circus day and yester-
day received s. "A day, regu lars were
claiming that their pay was only 30;
also alleging that some OF these former
employees were retaining trolley badges,
which saved them IS TO $40 month IN
carfare
The company denied this alleged dis
MANAGEMENT AND MEN CONFER.
During the morning there WAS two i
hour conference IN the Traction club |
room, which was attended by the strikers, !
General Manager Wilson and Superin- |
lendent GeIger.
MIR Wilson agreed 10 give the men tho
xix cents incrca.e they had asked for,
Eating from May l. and TO pay it next
Tuesday. regardless Of the action Of the
utility hoard: also that II the utility board
would permit an increase To seven cents.
instead OF six. 10 cents an hour increase
would be granted at once. The men
'eftIsad To acc, Ut this proposition,
While the conference was in progress
Mayor Lawson and City Solicitor Bavsrd
arrived The mayor asked for an explana-
ion of the trouble
Mr. Wilson said the company was doing
Ill IL could in an effort 10 help the govern
nent
One Of the men said eight Of the regular
Extra men were at the car barn yester-
Law, but were unemployed while former
employees were gwen work.
Mr. Geiger said this was true stating
hat these men were not given runs, be
:ause the threatening weather reduced the
demand, but he said they would be paid
or their time Just the same. One OF the
nen said this WAS contrary to custom.
Mr. Geiger said they would be paid at
he rate OF u cents an hour
COMMITTEE or CONFERENCE
At the suggestion Of Mr. Bayard the
men appointed committee of conference,
% DISGUISE the matter with the manage
nent The men agreed TO this and TO !,
abide by the decision of the conference,
I an agreement was reached Accordingly
he following committee Of conductors
and motormen WIS named.
Frank Ningate, &. T. Hayden, Percy
Deputy, Harry Bell, Robert Cannon and
9 + Bonkus, the last named represent
ng the regular extra men.
At 1890 o'clock the committee went
nto conference with the officials, who
included Messrs Wilson and Geiger. The
conference was also attended by the
mayor and Mr. Bayard
Mr. Wilson spoke Of the duty the COIN
1any owes the public and he asked the
men to back the company up.
UNABLE TO REACH AGREEMENT.
After session which lasted until Ills
,'clock the conference ended, without
eaching an agreement The mems CON-
nittee struck out for 10 cents an hour
Increase The result of the conferences
vas reported to the assembled men, who
lad entertained themselves by piano
.laying, singing, also with guitar and
,iccolo music They appeared to be in q
.ood humor
Committeeman Wingate reported that
le had made it clear that the men were
ot asking for n fat rate of 40 cents, as
ad been reported, but that they insisted