The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-04-22
Decision of the Federal
Rail Labor Board
new RULES IN, BY JULY
Believed SatisfactoryAgreement
Can Now Be Reached In
Farley
ASSOCIATED Press Dispatch


Chicago, April 15.-Both railroad
executives and labor leaders today
declared the decision Of the railroad
labor board abrogating the national
agreements would materially advance
the effort to- arrive at an agreement
satisfactory to all parties. The
board directed individual roads and
their employees to confer and agree
upon new working rules by July /.
Labor representatives said many of
the sixteen basic principles laid down
in the boards decision to govern the
conferences on new working agree
ments, especially the eight hour day
and the right Of the employees to Or
ganize and select their own repre-
sentatives, include principles they
have been fighting for. Railway ex-
nized their contention that many of
the rules should not have national
application.
Eighteen Unions Affected.
The decision affects members of
eighteen unions including all those
affiliated with the railway depart
ment of the American Federation of
Labor. In this group are the "big
four" the organizations of engineers,
telegraphers. clerks. shop employees,
metal workers, switchmen and those
members of the national organize
ton Of masters, mates and pilots of
America who are employed by rail-
roads.
When the abrogation of the ma
tional agreements was proposed sew
eral months ago by w. w. Atterbury,
vice president of the Pennsylvania
railroad, it was declared that the ma
donal agreement was costing the
railroads $500, 100000 a year, because
certain economies IL shop conditions
could not be put into effect under the
old rules.
A meeting Of the conference COM
mittee Of the Association Executives
which e. T. Whittier is chairman, was
called for today to discuss the appli-
cation of the decision to the -individ
the argument in favor Of abrogation
of the old national agreements was
presented to the board through Mr..
Whittier.
Terms Of Three Expire.
The decision came just before the
terms of three members expired
at midnight last night. These men.
appointed for one year when the
board was organized. are Henry Hunt.
of the general public; w. L. Park,
Chicago, a railway representative;
and J. j. Forester, Washington, d. c.,
one of the labor members. Their
successors have not been appointed
and their places will be vacant be-
cause of the act creating the board
failed to specify that members shall
continue office until their successors
qualified.
to- do with the various wage confer
ences which have been instituted by
various railroads within the the last
few weeks and some Of which have
already resulted in disputes that have
reached the board The rules finding
will affect pay envelopes in so as far
as it reached modification of regula-
tons concerning what constitutes
overtime defined just when a rail-
subjects.
The unions also held a conference
on the finding this morning their
meeting being presided over by B.
Nj. Jewell, president of the railway
employees department of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor.
Statement From Gompers
new 1Ork, April l0-Sdmuel GOm-
pers, president of the American Fed
orator Of Labor declared today the
railroad labor board evidently had
been influenced by big business III or
dering abrogation Of existing national
working agreements between the car
riers and their employees.
"The whole railway act" he said,
"once pronounced a perfect piece OF
legislation, now is denounced as an
utter failure. The board evidently
was influenced hv hip hlISinaSS"t