Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-08-08

| increase in wages, and, second,
what are the wages being paid Ia.
other industries for the same
classes of work.
The President said that the let
ter sent him by Senator Cummine,
chairman of the Committee on In
terstate Commerce, had set me free
to deal as l think best with the
difficult question of the wages nf
| certain classes of the railroad en-
ployes," but added:
Men Big Obstacle
THE chief obstacle to a decision
has ben created by the men them
selves. They have gone out on u
strike and repudiated the authority
of their officers at the very moment
when they were urging action III
regard to their interests"
The Presidents decision was an
nounced last night from the White
House in the form of letter sent
| by him to Mr.. Hines. The President
said that until the employees re-
| turn to work and again recognize
the authority of their organization,
the whole matter must be at
| standstill."
The Presidents Letter
| The Presidents letter follows:
my dear Mr.. Director General
II am just in receipt of the letter
| from Senator Albert b. Cummins.
chairman of the Senate Committee
! on Interstate Commerce, which sci
me free to deal as think with the
difficult question of the wages Ut
certain classes of railway employees,
| and l take advantage of the occa-
| sion to write you this letter, in OIL
der that / may, both in the pubic
| interest and in the interests of the
railroad employees themselves, make
the present situation as clear and
| definite as possible.
Il thought it my duty to lay the
! question in it's present pressing form
before the committee of the Senate,
because l thought 1 should not act
upon this matter within the brief
interval of government control re-
naming without their acquiescenco
and approval. Senator Cummins'
letter, which speaks the unanimo us
judgment of the committe, leaves
me free and indeed imposes upon
me the duty to act.
THE question of the wages %
railroad shopmen was submitted,
you will remember, to the Board OF
Railroad Wages and Working Condi .
tions of the Railroad Administra-
ton last February, but was not re-
ported upon by the board until the
18th of July. The delay was un-
avoidable because the board was
continuously engaged in dealing
with several wage matters affecting
classes of employees who had not
previously received considerations.
The board now having apprised us
of this inability, at any rate for the
time being, to agree upon recon-
mendation, it is clearly our duty to
proceed with the matter in the hope
of disposing of it.
Must Consider Merits
you are therefore authorized 10
say to the railroad shop employees
that the question of wages they
have raised will be taken up and
considered on its merits by the Di-
rector General in conference with
their duly accredited representa-
tiVes. l hope that you will make il
clear to the men concerned that
the Railroad Administration cannot
deal with problems of this sort OF
with any problems affecting Tho
men, except through the duly
chosen international officers OF the
regularly constituted organization
and their authorized committees.
Matters of so various a nature
and affecting so many men cannot
be dealt with except in this way.
Any action which brings the au-
thority of the authorized represent
atives of the organization into ques-
tlon or discredits it, must interfere
with, If not prevent, action alto
gether. The chief obstacle to q de-
cision has been created by the men
themselves. They have gone out on
strike and repuGiated the authority
of their officers at the very moment
when they were urging action IN
| regard to various interests.
You will remember that a con-
ference between yourself and the
authorized representatives of the
men was arranged at the instance of
these representatives for July 2S to
discuss the wage question and the
question of a national agreement,
but before this conference TOOK
place or could take place, local
bodies of railway shopmen took ac-
| ton looking toward q strike on the
1st of August. AS a result of this
action, various strikes actually took
place before there was an opportun-
ity to act in q satisfactory or con-
elusive way with respect to the
wages. In the presence of these
strikes and the reputation of tho
authority of the representatives OF
the organization concerned there
can be no consideration of the mat
ter in controversy. Until the em-
ployes return to work and again
, recognize the authority of their own
organization, the whole matter must
be at a standstill
Ready to Play Fair
When Federal control of tho
railroads began, the railroad admin
istration accepted existing agree
ments between the shopmen's organ
iZation and the several railroad
companies, and by agreement ma
chinery was created for handling
the grievances of the shopmen's or-
ganization of all the railways,
whether they had heretofore had
W0AAAN GAVIN