The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-08-02
CHICAGO TIED UP BY STRIKE OF
STREET CAR AND ELEVATED
RAILWAY EMPLOYEES

The strike of the $4,000 street car
and elevated men, which went into eff
feet in Chicago at o'clock Tuesday
morning, has not been settled at the
time this article is dictated.
The car men hold that living costs
have gone up 40 per cent, and have de-
manded an increase from AZ cents an
hour for 10 hours work, to rs cents an
hour for an 8 hour day.
Governor Lowden, on Tuesday even
ing, after comforting with union Off
cials, offered the men a wage COM
promise, to which the officials had
agreed In massmeeting of car men
that evening, William Quinlan, Presi-
dent of the surface line union, fought
in vain for two hours, to get the Gov
ernor's compromise before the men,
but was howled down by the radical
element. According to reports, union
heads had about as much standing in
the meeting as if they had been the
officials of the carlines. The Governors
proposition was as follows:
For the Surface car men =
Sixty-five cents an hour, for those
who now receive 48 cents an hour; for
all other employees a 17-cent increase.
An eight-hour day with time and a
half for overtime.
Sixty percent of all runs to be COM
pleted in eight hours.
All runs to be completed within four
teen hours.
For the elevated car men -
Slxty-seven cents an hour for those
who now receive SO cents an hour; for
all other employees seventeen cent in
crease.
An eight-hour day with time and
half for overtime.
Seventy per cent of all runs to be
completed in eight hours.
All runs to be completed within thir-
teen hours.
To observers in attendance at the
meeting, however, it was evident that
the radicals, constituting minority,
were stampeding the situation with
loud yelling and that the majority were
not given voice.
Leonard A. Busby was quoted. the
following day, as saying:
There were not $500 men at last
nights meeting when the strike vote
was taken, and those who were there
do not represent the sentiment of the
1000 employees"
While the strike has been in progress.
Cbicago's 100000 people have been
walking, riding in autos or getting to
their homes and places of business as
best they could. The city's industrial
life has been seriously cripoled, and
great inconvenience has resulted. The
situation has been aggravated bv the
fact that the Aurora, Elgin and Chicago
Electric Line, carrying $4,000 people
daily into Chicago from suburbs as far
west as Fox River, also has been tied
up by walkout.
W.D. Mahon, of Detroit, International
President of the Car Mems Union. ar
rived in Chicago on Wednesday after
noon, and Immediately proceeded, with
other union officials, to hold confer
ence with Governor Lowden. Soon af-
ter, it was announced that striking
street car and elevated railway employees
would vote at from a. m. to 6 o. m.
on Friday, on whether to accept the
wage settlement las proposed by the
Governor.
In referring to the proposition, Mr..
Mahon urged it's adoption in the fol-
lowing words:
Il want to take this occasion to saw
that in my opinion the agreement made
was altogether fair. 1t included the
eight hour day, time and a half for
overtime, with the highest wage paid
street railway employees in any large