Omaha daily bee., 1921-10-27
Settlement Only Way
To Stop Rail Strike
CONTINUED from Page One.l


act which says all disputes "shall'
be referred to the board first for
settlement.
Lee of the trainmen, said his or
ganization's ballot was based solely
on the July wage cut and declared
he had withdrawn from the brother
hoods joint meeting and refused to
subscribe to their ballot. The Ian
guage of the joint ballot, he said,
implied other questions were in
volved.
Other leaders defended the joint
ballot and asserted that the other
questions referred to all had a bear
ing on the frame of mind which led
the employees to vote for strike.
Other Issues Important.
The question of time and one-half
for overtime and of a general revi-
sion of schedules were included in
the discussion preceding the strike
question proper on both Joint ballot
and that of the trainmen. While all
union chiefs maintained that the
strike question was technically taken
on the July wage cut, all admitted
that the other questions would prob
ably figure in any settlement leading
to calling off the strike.
The questioning brought out that
a vote against the strike had been
returned on q roads by the conduc-
tors; on IA roads by the trainmen,
and on three roads by the firemen.
Cashen said that the switchmen on
every system voted for a strike.
Stone, after; heated protest against
furnishing the. information "to his
enemiess agreed Ito obtain it from
his office In. Cleveland.
The hearing was marked by clash
es between members of the board
and Stone. Mr.: Stone charged
Chairman Barton was not giving the
unions fair hearing, after he had
attempted to introduce the names Of
seven roads, which he said, violated
orders of the board. The chair ruled
against the evidence.
Verbal Clash. |
1T is not our purpose to listen to
discussions going back into the his
tory of other decisions, or the merits |
of decisions we have rendered" the
chairman said. "If you want to be |
heard on that, you may be heard at
another time and place"
II want to call your attention to
the fact that Mr.. Hooper just
finished asking that identical ques-
ton of Mr.. Sheppard and Mr.. Shep-
pard replied to it" Stone retorted.
Violations of schedules by these
different roads have. been going on
for months and that has led up to the
frame of mind that you find in these
men whom l represent.
"If we cannot find redress in this
board, then want to know where
the $4,000 engineers can find relief.
If we are TO be prohibited explaining
the feeling of our men. then I do
not see that there is anything for
me to say"
Stone Reads Names.
Stone finally was permitted to read
the names of the seven roads, on
motion of w. L. McMenimen,i labor
of the board. The first two
were the Atlanta. Birmingham and
Atlantic and the Missouri and North
Arkansas, both of which are i'll the
hands of receivers.
Don't you know our decisions
were overruled by the federal courts
on these roads?" Chairman Barton
and Mr.. Hooper interrupted.
Then to carry it to a logical con-
all a road needs to do is to
90 into a receivers hands and the
act is null and void,"
Stone replied.
The other five roads named by
Stone as violating the boards de-
cisions included the Denver and Salt
Lake, Arizona and New Mexico, and
Nevada Northern.
Stone then attempted to read list
of 50 roads on which he said wage
reductions had been placed in effect
in violation of the transportation act,
but Chairman Barton interrupted,
saying they were all short lines and
not parties to the present dispute.
After the day hearing Mr.. Cashen,
in statement to newspaper men,
said:
Nothing transpired at the day
meeting to change the situation. so
far as settlement is concerned"
Hearing Closed.
1t was decided, the board an
rounce9f at the convening of the