The New York herald., 1921-10-19
PREVENT Big STRIKE.
Is HARDING ORDER
Continued from First Page.

he said, was indefinite tonight and
would not be formulated until the en-
tire membership of the board compared
suggestions tomorrow.
The first move on the part of a public
organization to Avert strike came when
the American Farm Bureau Federation,
representing 1,250.000 farmers. sent
petitions to the Interstate Commerce
Commission asking an immediate 10 to
20 per cent reduction in freight rates
on necessities and announced that il
also would appeal to the Labor Board
not to grant q new 10 per cent. wage
reduction, which the roads have an
nounced they will seek, but rather to
revise wages in accordance with the
cAst of living in various sections. Con-
currence in these requests should avert
the strike, the federation said in It's
announcement, through which It volun-
teered to meet with union and rail repre-
sentatives as mediator.
series of meetings to last all week
will be started tomorrow by the eleven
rail unions which have not vet issued
strike calls. although most OF them have
voted for a strike. Leaders of several of
these unions announced that at these
meetings they will oppose a strike call
in the hope that split between them
and the five unions already authorizing
walkout may avert the threatened
strike.
The union leaders called In by the
labor Board were w. s. Carter. presi-
dent of the brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen and Enginemcn; Warren >.
Stone. president Of the Brotherhood OF
Locomotive Engineers; William @. Lee,
nresident of the Brotherhood of Railroad
Trainmen l.. Il. Sheppard. president OF
tbe Order OF Railway Conductors. and
n G. Cashcn, president of the Switch
mems Union Of North America.
The conference was called for tho
ayowed purpose OF preventing strike
according to Ben Hooper, former Gov
ernor of Tennessee and vicc-chairman
of the Labor Board. Mr.. Hooper re-
turned tonight from washington wnere
he and the other members OF the public
s,.o,n conferred with President Har-
d,nr tIe Immediately called other MEM
bers of the board into conference.
"T+ Is the desire of elements or the
hoard 10 do everything possible to pre-
vent strike" Mr.. Hooper said after
conferencc with the board members.
what the procedure will be on Thurs
lay ! cannot say. 1t Is safe TO assume
that every possibility OF averting Walk
out will be taken up. and 1t Is our hope
that the two parties. can be brought to-
gether on some basis looking toward
settlement"
Mr.. Hooper refused to say whether the
hoard regarded the conference summons
az an investigation Of a threatened vio-
lation of the boards orders. 1t was
pointed out, however. that there would
be no violation of the July 1 wage re-
duction order until the men actually
walked out.
BY coincidence. the first hearing at
which any party has been cited to sp-
pear because the board believed il has
violated decision is set for the same
day as the conference. Thursday morn
ing at 10 o'clock The Pennsylvania
Railroad has been ordered to appear at
! that time because II has not held an
election OF shop mems representative
as directed by the board.
| Explaining further the public state.
ment issued by the public group In
Washington Sunday, Mr.. Hooper said
that the board recognized that there was
"a universal demand for the reduction
OF freight rates"
I'm suggesting translation OF the last
wage cut into reduced freight rates and
advising against further requests 70,
wage reductions at this time the poarc
! NotS iiot 'iiVoH atoe patti'S ii'oy hpt 'Oihs
before 1t with disputes" Mr.. Hooper
! said.
Tho suggestion was made merely a,
a 'n,odus vivendi' for solving the present
transportation problem. We suggested
| that tho roads cease wage reductions 10,
the present and reduce rates as n stcI
in the revival OF industry. We believe
such action would result IN heipins
bridge the business depression OF tn,