Arizona republican., 1921-03-23
HEATEDARGUMENTS HALT PROGRESS OF RAILROAD HEARING
TRepubllcan A. p. Leased wire1

Republican A. p. Leased Wire1
 CHICAGO, March Exchanges that the Pennsylvania railroad was fighting for the open shop and that the road maintained a spy system before the war, were subjects of heated discussion before the railroad board today.
 w. W. Atterbury, vice president of the road, charged the unions with at tempting to force the closed shop, and F. P. Walsh, labor attorney, retaliated with declarations that the Pennsylvania had maintained spys and arsenals to take care of labor troubles.
 The testimony revolved about Mir Atterbury's stand that he could ne gotiate agreements with his own em- ployes but that no just and reasonable agreements, applicable to the entire country, could be written. He also maintained the right of the minority to voice and charged the unions with assuming to represent all employees and using coercion in attempting to make them join the union.
 Attorney Walsh stated that $500 09C had been spent in 1914 on the roads police system. Mr. Atterbury explained that this amount covered all protec- tive measures, such as crossing watch men and similar employees. Under ques- ton, however, he admitted that the road did maintain spy system but de- clared he could not say how much had been spent.
 When Mir. Walsh asked if the road did not have little arsenals where you kept guns and revolvers," Chairman R. M. Barton halted the examination and observed that he could not set what this subject had to do with gen eral agreements" Several board mem bers joined in the discussion, but c A. Wharton, labor member, finally in. sisted that the examination continue Mir. Walsh explained that the rule or discrimination against any employ. because of union utilization was tn. | most important rule" His questions he said, were intended to show that l situation might arise and had arisei on the Pennsylvania where disputes be tween employees and the road could no 1 be sett1ed''
 Mir. Atterbury introduced uniol
 bulletin which informed shop craft em ployes that there would be no "senior ity provisions for or positions provide, for any other than employees and mem
 bers of the organizations affiliate
 with the Railway Employees Depart
 ment'' of the American Federation O
 Labor. This bulletin was an attemp-
 he said, to force non-union men to ipi
 the union under fear of losing thei
 seniority rights.
 A closed shop. either union or non
 union, was denounced by the witnes:
 who said a man should have the righ
 to be, or not to be, a union man. Ale
 gations against the Pennsylvania wer
 brought up by Mir. Walsh who read
 copy of a letter purported to have bee
 written by I W. Greer, general mana
 ger of the St. Louis Columbia divisio
 of the Pennsylvania in which supervis
 ory employees were ordered to "eee
 resort to defamation of all labor or sanizations if necessary to obtain cer
 tain information
 The letter asked officials to inquir
 into the attitude of employees regardin
 proposed wage reductions and wa
 dated March 10. MT. Atterbury de clared he had never heard of the let ter and, after calling MT. Geer in St
 Louis by phone announced that Nh Geer denied he had written such a let ter and declared no such letter ha
 been written with his authority Tn matter will be investigated at ono MT. Atterbury said
 Two votes on piece work taken b the unions, showing 9S per cent of tE employees in favor of the horuly bas of pay were not fair, MT. Atterbur said and he declined to accept u
 union figures as correct.
 MT. Atterbury declared nations boards would lead to nationalizatio : and syndicalism, and cited w z. Flo.
 ter as "syndicalist and A. F. ) leader" representative of the class I Q which the railroads are menaced. e He also read from a declaration principles by the Cleveland chamb V of commerce and signed among othe
 by A. T. Stone. president of the eng
 neers, and w. G. Lee, head of the traiI = men. This declaration said ''freedo n of contract should never be impairet s and declared employees and employe
 should negotiate agreements for the k own guidance.
 V The letter, as read by MT Wal = follows:
 St. Louis. Mo-, March 10, 1921
 ITO All Supervisory Employees:
 Tn compliance with the decisio V. reached at meeting of all general SUI ! erintendents in St Louis March 3, ~ is desired that you acquaint yourselv V with the attitude of all employees rel T tive to the proposed reduction in wag u scheduled for some time during ApI 0' 1921, it is desired that you ascerta ,, fully as possible the feeling of the CT U ployes, reporting to your superior t l. results of your investigations. Tn connection with this propos Is investigation would advise that y n use every available means to get u ' information, even resorting to defam
 ton of all labor organizations e necessary.
 5 Trusting that this matter Is flu IL understood by all concerned and tf 1e you expedite this matter as the info S. nation is to be used informally in a l. conferences that we may call with [ L representatives of employees. le Yours truly
 l. 'I. ". GEER,
 General MaHAze