The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-16
ALL TROLLEYS
IDLE TODAY IN
NORTH JERSEY
Company Issues Order At
ter Strike Leaders Refuse
Arbitration.
WAR LABOR BOARD FAILS
Rioters Bowl Over Armed
Deputies Sent Along the
Lines in Newark.

Not a trolley car will be running to-
day on any line in New Jersey north |
of Trenton. Efforts of agents sent to
Newark by the War Labor Board to
settle the strike or at least get the
trolleymen 10 agree to arbitration endeo
at o'clock with the withdrawal OF inc
strike leaders from the conference ana
their avowal that the beihgerents were
further apart than ever.
The Public Service Railway Company
then announced the abandonment OF
its entire Sunday schedule. The rev cars
operated Yesterday were put INTO tne
barcs at niahtfall and will not reappear |
until o'clock tomorrow morning, i
The company offered no explanation o,
It's decision. 1t is assumed that 1t reared
n repetition on larger scale, becsuse OF
the presence of holiday idlers, or
violence that has accompanied tho strike
since Wednesday, Armed deputy fherlHs
were sent along the lines IN NewaiN
yesterday. but wherever they ttleu ~
make a stand rioters bowled them over
Three representatives sent to Newark
D.. by William II. Taft. chairman or the
War Labor Board, spent the day trying
to get at the facts and compose diner-
ences They were William Z. harvey
the boards chief investigator; Examiner
Arthur Sturgess and Charlton Ogpufn'
concliator In street railway disputes.
They first met the strike leaders ana
James H. Valley Of Boston. general
counsel of the Amalgamated Association
of Street and Electric Railway EMPLOY
ees. Later in a separate conversation
the War Board agents met PRESIDENT
Thomas n. McCarter and Vice-President
Edmund w. Wakelee of the company.
Then there was another conference with
the strikers
Fail 20 Reach Agreement.
At o'clock William Wepner, presi-
dent Of the union in New Jersey, said
formally:
"The Joint conference board tof the
trolley menl, with it's international Of
ncials, following an all day conference
with representatives of the War Labor
Board, have failed 70 reach any agree
ment."
wepner pictured the negotiations as
moving smoothly until the strikers
learned that President McCarter OF the
company had refused to withdraw the
plan for collective bargaining and a CO.
operative league of employees, which he
offered and they rejected two weeks ago.
This plan" said Wepner. "is merely
an attempt to throttle the union. We
had thought since Tuesday night that
II nau Deen anu lHdt tHe
main issue between us and the company
was the recognition of the union. But
when we found out at 80 tonight that
IT had not been withdrawn. but was still
held by the-company as one of the mat
tiers to be arbitrated by the War Labor
Board. we felt that We could confer no
longer.
There can be no negotiations and no
arbitration while the collective bargain
ing scheme remains The situation is
now a deadlock and there is no chance
of break on our part
says strikers Were Mistaken.
John L. O'Toole, President McCarters
assistant, said the strikers were mis-
taken II they ever thought the collective
bargaining suggestion had been with
drawn 1t was true, he said, that Mr..
McCarter told the strike leaders on
Tuesday night that he was willing to
withdraw IT, but that McCarter distinctly
said that this was Gin order to avert a
strike"
As the strike took place the bargaining
proposal was still in force, and the
strikers must have known it was In force
because Mr. Valley mentioned it before
Mr.. Taft on Friday and Mr. Taft sug-
gested that both sides let the right and
propriety of association among the men
come before the board before either side
takes action" So reasoned Mr.. O'Toole.
The three Federal agents left Newark
last night.
When the company suggested two
weeks ago that tho principle of collec-
tive bargaining be adopted it proposed
that in each unit of the system a COM
mlttee of one man representing the
employees and one representing the
company be appointed TO hear all dis
putes. II they failed to settle 1t the
case should go TO A higher committee
and IL necessary to a general committee
OF three men. representing the COM
pany, the employees and the public.
Attempt to Break Union Charged.
At the same time the company offered
to establish a cooperative league OF en-
ployees, which should insure each mans
life for $1,000 and allow him So a day
during sickness not exceeding ninety
days I'm year. As the dues were to be
less and the benefits greater than those
OF the union and as the whole pro-
gramme was construed as an at
tempt to break the union" the union
leaders denounced il and the conduc-
tors and motormen almost unanimously
rejected It.
The Public Service Company is pre-
pared to submit its whole case to the
=, War Labor Board in Washington 10
morrow. As the strikers, in their pres
ent frame of mind. will submit neither
union recognition nor the collective bar
gaining proposal to arbitration, II Is
doubtful il they attend the scheduled
hearing.
So many cars have been attacked and
so lenient are the Newark police, in the
opinion Of the company, that $50 armed
deputies were set to riding on cars or
guarding strategic points yesterday. In
letter 10 John r. F1avel, Sheriff OF
Essex county, Mr.. McCarter, president
OF the Public Service Corporation, said
that its employees had been assaulted
and the property damaged and that po-
tho protection in the county had on
the whole proved inadequate He asked
for deputies and the Sheriff sent them
out with revolvers and nightsticks and
instructions to see that nobody stopped
the movement OF cars. They were not
to use their revoVers unless their own
lives were in danger.
The strike rioters played horse with
the Sherift's men in Bloomfield avenue
the highway between Newark and Mont
clair. Every car that tried to gel
through was blocked and after noon the
company did not try to run any care
on that line. The first car hurdled a
pile OF stone placed on the track In
the Silver Lake region, but a crowd OF
men ran after it and swarmed aboard
The three deputy sheriffs on the car
were lost in the hubbub.
Then the Sheriff sent twenty-five OF
his men to stand along the avenue and
guard the tracks while fourteen Others