The New York herald., 1921-05-04
MARINE MEMS PAY
SOLE BARRIER TO
SETTLING STRIKE
Benson and Davis See Hope
in New Conference To-day
or Tomorrow.
ENGINEERS HOLD KEY
Union Leaders Approve
Working Rules Suggested
by Secretary Davis.
OWNERS ARE INFLEXIBLE
Old North State Delayed by
Stewards-Three Liners
Sail-Picketing Begins.
OWNERS ARE INFLEXIBLI

New hope Of ending the strike which
Is intended to tie UP the whole Ameri-
can merchant marine was expressed
in Washington last night.
Admiral Benson believes that the
three parties to the wage dispute-the
steamship owners, Shipping Board and
seafarers' unions-may reopen nego-
tiations, broken last Friday, when the
employees refused to accept a wage
cut of Is per cent.
Tt is understood that working rules
suggested by Secretary Of Labor Davis
already have been approved by the
union officers, who met him in Wash
ington yesterday and will seeS him
again to-day. The main question. how
ever, Is wages.
Admiral Benson expects that con-
ference OF owners. Shipping Board
and unions will be held to-day or to-
morrow. A committee Of owners was
on its way to Washington last night.
The Shipping Board. after survey
Of all ports, regards the movement of
ships as generally satisfactory despite
the strike. So many men are out Of
work at this time that 1t is compare
lively easy to hire seamen of the lower
grades, but the engineers. the key
men," are generally sticking by their
union and inability to get large num-
bers of them to FIJI the place of strikers
Is causing the owners trouble.
Riots in Baltimore. caused by fights
between pickets and strike breakers, in
which several men we're beaten, caused
w. w. Tingle. agent in Baltimore of the
Shipping Board, to ask the War Depart
ment for troops to patrol the water front
II disorder continues. About thirty
armed strikers. jumping from two
launches, boarded the Shipping Board
vessel Newark at Locust Point, Balti-
more, and forced twenty members of the
crew to 60 away with them.
Stewards Delay Sailing.
In New York the unions won at least
half q victory by delaying the sailing OF
the test ship" the passenger liner Old
North State, controlled by the Shipping
Board and operated by the United States
Mail Steamship Company. The stewards
and cooks struck at the eleventh hour.
lea wing the ovens running full blast. A
lot OF expensive roasts were singed and
made inedible. The ship left the pier,
but anchored in the Hudson waiting for
more stewards to be taken from shore
on tugs, and did not get away until
after IL o'clock last night. The conf
pany is paying the entire crew the old
pre-strike wages for this trip.
Sailing OF the big Potomac or the same
line was postponed to to-day. The COM
pany says this was done to permit the
sailing OF 400 Westerners who had taken
passage on the boat, but had been de-
layed in reaching New York.
other vessels leaving New York under
the American flag yesterday. as TX there
wzre no strike, we're the MUNRO. OF the
Munson Line, for the West indies: the
City OF ST. Louis. OF the Ocean Steam
ship Company. for Savannah, ana tne
Sixaola. a United Fruit liner, bound for
Cuba and the Canal Zone. The Sxaola's
crew. 1t was said, accepted the reduced
wages.
So MANY vessels are lying idle, any
,yay that Il is hard to tell how many
are affected BY the strike. unquestion-
ably number OF ships are strikebound
In New York harbor. But the owners
are working together. and, where they
can. filing the crews OF vessels that
-oust sail from the complement of those
that are laid up. To stop this the
unions started to patrol the harbor In
launches. They also have started picket
ing the places where seamen are hired
There has been no picketing violence In
this city
Owners Are Inhexfbie.
Many representatives OF lines operat-
ing Shipping Board vessels met at the
New York offices OF the board IS Broad
way. and drew up tentative rules Of CO.
operation. These are: Persistent strik-
ers will not be taken back. The OPP
orators will act together In replacing the
strikers. The men must accept the 10
per cent wage cut. There viii be an
other conference at s o'clock this morn
ing. The disposition yesterday was to
maintain an infiexlble stand.
Secretary of Labor Davis. upon whom,
with Secretary OF Commerce Hoover. fell
the job of untangiing the shipping dis
pute after the men appealed TO Presi-
dent Harding, put In tho whole or yes
terday in Washington trying to effect
some sort of compromise In conference
NTH the union leaders and officers OF