Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-10-20
BELIEVE STRIKE
WOULD SETTLE
RAIL TROUBLES
Executives Preparing Lists of
Experienced Men for
Emergency.

Preparations on the part of railroad
executives to combat railroad strike are
going forward in indianapolis.
Representatives of each of the roads
are engaged in making up lists of men
with railroad experience employed in
->other industries or out of work. Ar
engagements are being made with these
men to go to work Immediately in case
of strike. While these men will not
.a-be sufficient to keep all the trains in
operation, they will suffice to keep trains
= bearing the necessities of life running,
in the opinion of some railroad officials.
- According to B. A. Worthington, pres
tdent of the Cincinnati, indianapolis &
Western Railroad, the strike is coming
at a most opportune time for the roads
and the country generally. He said If
strike threats are carried out the result
will tie the settlement once and for all
of wage adm organization difficulties.
Tho so-called outlaw strike of switch
men some time ago worked to the ad
vantage of the railroads in the proposed
strike, according to Mr.. Worthington He
said when the switchmen struck men,
bers of the brotherhoods of which the
switchmen were not members, stepped
in and took their places. He said when
the brotherhoods strike the switchmen
who are still out of work or who are
working at other things will be glad
enough to take their places on an open
shop basis.
& The slackness of industry also has
meant the laying off Of numerous rail-
( road men who. Mr.. Worthington believes,
would be ready to come back in case of
strike.
Some Of the roads, it was stated, are
expecting to hold out promotion to some
of their best men, in order to prevent
: them from striking In a number OF
cases, it was stated, there are firemen
who are fully capable of taking the
places Of engineers. IF they wish to stay
on the job they will be promoted to the
places of the striking engineers, it. was
- said.
Mr.. Worthington said in his organiza-
ton as well as in the organization of
other roads there are numerous executives
who have come up from the ranks. These
men will be available to drive lOcomo-
tives and make up train and yard forces
In the emergency.
Railroad heads in Indianapolis are not
expecting all of their men to go out. In
some cases shops are run on the open
shop plan. In others union men are ex
pected to stick to their Jobs. The Penn
sylvania was cited as one of the roads
expected to continue operation on some
basis.
line uISI TWO OF three Gays OF LnS
strike are expected to be the most serious,
it was stated. There was a feeling that
II outside men start taking the place Of
union men with the promise of permanent
employment many union men will be
asking TO go back on the same basis with
the result that operation soon will begin
its return toward normal
While preparations to combat q strike
are going forward it seems to be the i'm
preston among railroad people that there
= actually will be no general walk-out Il
there is strike at all.
MOTOR TRUCKS
READY FOR SERVICE.
Five hundred motor trucks in the
c1sessiol of the State highway commits
sion win be brought into service in trans
porting necessities in case Of a railroad
: strike, Governor Warren 7. McCray an
nOunced. Additional trucks are being re-
ceived daily from the Government and it
IS estimated that by Nov. there may be
as many as 700 of them at the disposal
OF the State.
The trucks are at thirty-two district
z. and sub-district headquarters, so that
they will be at the disposal of the en-
y tire State. The FIVE district headquarters
are at Monticello FIT Wayne, Greenfield,
. Seymour and Vincennes The sub-dis-
trict headquarters are at La Porte, Val
= paraiso, Rensselaer,, Monticello, Ply
mouth, Warsaw, Kendallville, FIT. Wayne
wabash, Fowler, Charlottesville, Leba-
= non, Greenfield Winchester, Columbus,
Martinsville, Seymour. Aurora. Princeton,
. Paon, New Albany, Terre H=ute, Con-
nersville, Anderson, Dale, Crown Point
8 and indianapolis.
GOVERNOR McCRAY'S
a MESSAGE.
In answer to a telegram from a press
= organization making a symposium OF the
views Of the Governors of the States,
Governor McCray sent the following mes
sage:
THE railroads should first reduce their
rates on raw materials and passenger
traffic. The Secretary of Labor should
then call a conference OF a committee to
be selected by the railroads and a like
committee selected by the different rail-
road organizations TO meet, discuss and
adjust their differences strike should
be ayerted If possible. The publics in
s terest should be considered"