Indiana daily times., 1921-02-17
JEWELL SEEKS
EARLY SESSION
IN RAIL CASE
Urges Joint Conference for
Immediate Settlement of
Controversy.
ATTERBURY CLAIMS MET

CHICAGO, Feb. 17.-Immediate
settlement of all railway controver-
cies outstanding before the United
States labor board by Joint confer
ence of railroad representatives and
labor representatives to be held at
the earliest possible moment was
urged before the board today in a
statement by B. M. Jewell, president
of the railway employees department
Of the American Federation of Labor.
Jewels statement, presented in re-
buttal to the claims of W. W. Atterbury,
vice president Of the Pennsylvania lines,
that the country faces national crisis
unless the national wage agreements are
abrogated, also recommended that the
railway labor board pass Immediately
on any differences of opinion, which
might arise from the conference.
ASKS ATTERBURY TO
WITHHOLD COMPLAINTS.
Jewell recommended also thlat the
board request Atterbury to withhold
his announced presentation Of "a food
Of individual complaints" until the con-
ference could be arranged, Gin order
that existing general agreements may
not be impaired and that the matter can
be brought to the board in the form Of
a single complaint"
The labor representative put the delay
in arriving at final decision in the con-
troverSy sQuarely up to the railroads in
stating that 'if the carriers had obeyed
the law and met the employees in ma
tionaI conference or Joined with them
in establishing boards Of adjustment all
delay could have been avoided"
PROPAGANDA
CHARGED.
The labor executives statement also
charged that railroads are conducting
a strong propaganda to influence the
boards decision"
I'VE consider such efforts as gross and
inconceivable improprieties." Jewell said.
Your position is analogous to the status
OF the Supreme Court OF the United
States. Any such attempts to affect its
decision In a case before it would have
been treated as contempt of court and
would incur drastic penalties"
SETS OUT OBJECTS
OF PROPOSALS.
Mr.. Jewell declared that his proposals
were made with the following objects in
view:
1. To insist on the fundamental
principle of collective bargaining
which is now the real issue before the
board in pending cases.
?. To expedite these cases which
otherwise will absorb a vast amount
of time and effort
SO. To restrain tho railroads from
preventing proper functiOning and
destroying the effectiveness OF the
board by flooding 1t with large
number of individual complaints
which Il cannot handle.
Mr. Jewell made it clear that the unions
are not fighting for the maintenance Of
working rules that work financial injus-
tice to the railroads.
I'VE do not wish TO perpetuate any IN
reasonable rules or working conditions"
he asserted. I'VE do not wish to cause
the railroads unreasonable expense. We
shall not now advocate and never have
supported any rules that do this"
Scoring the railroads managements' un-
willingness to negotiate on national
scale, Mr.. Jewell said.
by centralizing their own bargaining
power and decentralizing functions they
hope to weaken the unions by attacking
and crushing the local organizations,
especially those which recently have been
formed"