Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-29
1900 CARMEN
STRIKE IN CHICAGO,
TYING Up TRAFFIC
Refuse to Abide by Agree
ment Union Heads Reach
With Railway Officials.
GRANTED SIS CENTS AN
HOUR, BUT DEMAND IS
Companies. Make No Attempt to
Run Cars-Strikers Voice Con-
tempt for Public.

tempt for Public.
By the Associated Press
CHICAGO, July 29.-Fifteen thou
sand street railway employees went on
strike for higher wages at o'clock
this morning. completely tying up the
surface and elevated systems of the
city.
The companies made no attempt to
run cars and workers depended on
steam railways, automobiles and other
vehicles to reach their places of BUSH
ness. Early last night heads of the
unions and officials of the street rail-
way companies reached an agreement
to fix the wages. of the men at ap-
IS cents an hour and
grant an efght-hour day with time
and half for overtime. 1t was
thought this action would avert a
walkout, but at mass meeting
shortly before midnight the men re-
pudiated the agreement and employees
voted to strike at am. today.
The employees demanded IS cents an
hour, an increase of "a per cent over
present wages. an eight-hour day and
time and a half for overtime.
Will Not Listen to Leaders.
Six thousand Of the surface and ele-
waited men attended the meeting at
the garments auditofium at which the
strike vote vas CARRIED with a shout
that appeared 8aiM0st unanimous.
Representatives OF the men attempted
to give an explanation Of the nego-
tiatiqns between themselves and the
companies' ofilcfals al which the COM
promfse was reached, hut the man
swept their of1cfals from control Of.
the meeting. z
Boosting one of their number. said
to represent the radical element in
the union to the platform, the men
carried the strike vote with q roar,
then proclaimed In favor OF an
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. wage, an
etght-hour day. p six-hour-d4y Sum.
day and six-day week
For two hours William QufnIans
president Of the carnnen's union.
fought to get the compromise pfDpo-
siet0n before the meeting. Hes;Na9
aided by other officials. FinaliyL D..
Bland. member Of the international
board OF the union, attempted to place.
wages before the meeting. Getting
a brief silence. he said:
Shout "To He'll With Public.n
Remember. men; we are not fight-
ing the traction companies In this
matter. We are fightinG the Chicago
$50 hell with the public the public
be damned" several shouted. and
Bland threw up his hands and sat
down,
,ouinlan attempted to talk to the
surface men, and William Mylan,
president of the elevated trainmenss
division OF the union. made another
lifted Charles Dreckman, conductor,
to the platform. and thereafter those
favoring acceptance OF the wage COM
promise we're out Of control Of the
gathering, x ~
The strike vote carried shortly be-
fore midnight with the provision that
the walkout take place at am. As
soon as 1t carried. runners went to
nearby elevated stations and notified
the crews Of each train AS 1t rolled up
to the platform. Others went to sur
face car lines and boarded street cars
to inform the crews. Within an hour
all employees had the information and
by little after 4 o'clock this morning
the last Of the cars had been run into
the barns. By 4:40 o'clock the barn
doors were rolled shut and the strike
was in force. w. NJ. Weatherwax, SUI
perintendent of transportation, said
they would remain shut until his SUI
periors ordered them opened for q re-
sumption of service.
Thought, Strike Averted.
Meantime large manufacturers and
shopkeepers had accepted the infor-
nation conveyed by late editions Of
the evening papers and early extras
Of the morning papers that danger OF
q strike had passed through wage
agreement reached by Representatives
of the men and the companies. AS a
result there was little preparation for
Of workers to places OF
employment and business, for the first
hours of the day practically was Eat
standstill.
The telephone company, however, by
the nature of its business forewarned
of the change In the situation made
provision for keeping it's night force
at the exchange and summoned as
many of Its employees as could be
reached to report for duty at once
This resulted in the assembling of a
extra calls due to the strike were be-
ing handled without material delay
officials of the company reported.
Every manner of conveyance was in
service bearing workers to the CEN
trail district this morning. Motor
buses operated along the North. South
and West side boulevards. Kindly au-
tomobile owners conveyed loads OF
persons bound in their direction
while many owners of cars seized the
opportunity to earn fees for theif
service. Bicycles seldom seen in
downtown streets in normal times
were requisitioned. as well as motor
cycles. Along the principal thor
oughfares from three divisions of the
city long lines Of pedestrians wended
their way OF places of business.
Traffic Jams Loop District.
The worst traffic conditions tina,
Chicago has faced in many years pre-.
vailed in the downtown or "Ioop dis.
trict" today. No traffic kpolicemer
were on duty. most of them being de.
tailed to riot squads in the black belt
and trucks. motor cycles, bicycles
one-horse express wagons, taxicab i
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