The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-08-17

Momentous Results Hang
On u. s. Decision,
Due Today.
MAY BE FOLLOWED
BY GENERAL STRIKE
The Time-and-a-Half and
Working Rules Crux
Of Controversy.

aus"
world Is tensely awaiting q mo-
mentous decision to be issued TO-
morrow by the United States Rail
road Board and which will do muen
either 10 put out the general ran
road strike smusge that has peen
growing denser for the past week,
or to fan II into a fame that may
startIe the country.
The board announces that It's oe-
eIsion on overtime and on new
working rules Is completed anu
ready for release tomorrow.
Nature Of Issues-
Its provisions will decide the
struggle over overtime payments TO
1000, 600 men, totaling hundreds OF
millions annually. and a host OF OF
important working rules. II VIII
rule or what train service employees
are to be paid while away from
home; in terminals. and on the
road. The railroads are ASKING
that present time-and-a-half over
time be abolished and that they be
paid straight hourly time after
eight hours
There il no overestimating the
importance of this decision Events
in the railroad labor controversy
have Ieen developing with starthns
rapIdity during the last fortnight
and a crisis will be reached WITHIN
the next two or three weeks.
executives of the ''big four
brotherhoods went into conference
with western rail executives here
today and until far into the night
-
The union men are asking three
things:
THAT wages be restored to the
scale prior to June 30.
THAT the carriers stop theif
requests Of the railroad board that
timc-and-a-half overtime be abol-
ished-
s-Thet the roads ask no further
wage decreases .-- $50
Rig Leaders Present..
Practically all OF the big union
: leaders were present at this con
ference. They are making tho
same request of the Western execu
lives that they did of the Easter
and Southeastern rail chiefs. Their
request will be refused. il is cell
ialn. as it was IN New York.
The union leaders expect this. but
they are putting all of the execu-
tives on record before September I
On that date the big four" will
send out a strike vote.
Headed by Warren S. Stone, chief
Of the engineers. the union mer
emerged from the conference In
grim humor. They declined tc
make a statement and also de-
clined to comment on the refusal
of the Senate to hear L. E. Shep.
pard. president of the conductors
union, in Washington today at the
refunding hearing.
At the same time B. VI. Jewell
president of the A. F. of L. rail-
way unions, was marshaling hi:
forces to protest against the oper
stand Of some of the railroads il
regard, to disposing of their shops
through contracts and leases, al
done by the Erie at Marion, Ohio
This win bring the open shop ques
tion to an open issue.
Investigation here reveals thai
many of the big railroads are now
planning to follow the lead Of th'
Erie.
Evade U. 8. Decisions.
Others are also escaping tht
financial results Of the rulings oi
the government rail board by Civ
ing out all or part of their main
tanance-of-way work to private
contractors.
There is a growing tendency or
the part of all of the railroads tC
let their repair and maintenance
of-way work out to private con
tractors, said Samuel Dunn editor
of the Railway Age. This is no
in contravention OF the Esch-Cum'
minis act The law demands tha'
the railroads be run as economi
calIy as possible II the roads car
get contractors to do stheir mainte
nance-of-way work who emplo,
labor at IS cents an hour, instead
of doing il themselves and paying
IS cents an hour as the Labol
Board directs, IL Is simply neces'
sary business procedure"
It was learned that the New Yorh
Central Is now giving much of 1t.
shop work out to private companes
Within the week $500 cars were sc
handled, IL was said. The Penn.
syIvania, the Burlington and the
Rock Island are also taking step.
in this direction. General officers
interviewed here today who denied
they were about to turn their shops
over to private hands said they
would not do so for the present.
This matter has not been taker
up by US up to this time, said
Presiden G. NJ. Markham, of he
Illinois Central.
1t Is predicted unofiicially that
the Labor Board will not gram
the request of railroads for abo.
lition of the time-and-a-half pro.
vision The men had this benefii
before the government had contro
of the roads. II is argued, and Il
cannot be taken away now.
One Of three results Is consId.
cred in this gigantic labor contro.
versy-the biggest that Is facing
the eounry today, in the opinion ol
many observers.
Either the entire question will
be settled amicably within the next
three weeks; or, secondly. there will
be the first general railroad strike
in the history Of the nation; or
thirdly, the railroad unions. the
most powerful in the United States
viii bow to defeat with a loss OF
prestige that has taken thirty
years TO build, thus giving an i'm
petns TO the open shop movement
that has not been known since
unionism became powerful fac
tor In our economic life.