Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1921-11-03
ROADS WILL Ere IS
WAGE CUT CLAIMS
Plan to Go Ahead With Move
For Further Reductions.
ARE TO PROCEED LEGALLY
Fact That Pay Changes Seem Far
Distant Led Union Leaders to Call
of Strike.

of Strike.
Chicago. Railroad heads de-
clared the nations carriers would
go right ahead with their plans to
seek new wage cuts through railroad
labor board hearings, despite the an
nouneement from the unions that
their action in calling off the strike
scheduled for October 80 had been
influenced by the boards announce
ment that pay reduction petitions fof
any class would not be considered un
til working conditions for that clasf
had been settled.
1.-THE calling off of the strike wiz
have no effect on the plans announced
by the carriers October Ii to seek i'm
mediate wage reductions so that rates
could be reduced" said Samuel Eel
ton, president of the Chicago Great
Western and chairman of the Associ-
alton of Western Railroad Executives.
81 don't know how long, under the
boards ruling, it will take to reach
a decision on any pay-cut petition,
but these petitions undoubtedly will
be presented within a very short time.
1t will be up to the board to decide
when action should be taken.
Il want it made plain, however, that
we will seek these reductions in ac-
cordance with the law, posting notices
of cuts, then discussing them with the
employees and, if no agreement is
reached, appealing to the board to
settle the dispute
Mr. Felton's statements were echo
ed by Samuel Dunn, editor of Rail-
way Age, who, in an address at
luncheon Of the local railroad execu-
tives, declared that "the unions ac-
ton settles only one thing-that there
will be no strike"
at does not settle the question Of
further wage reductions or Of rate
reductions, he continued
"The roads are going ahead with
the plans to get further pay cuts and
thus reduce rates. But, If the inter
state commerce commission reduces
rates and the labor board refuses to
reduce wages, the roads will be In
disastrous condition"
With the code messages officially
calling off the strike sent out only
one echo remained of the railroad
crisis which for two weeks threatened
to develop into a general rail strike.
The situation was unchanged on the
International and Great Northern, the
Texas line, Gwhere 900 trainmen
started waikout. No order to call
off the strike was ent these men, w.
G. Lee, president of the trainmen
saying that the matter sis in the
hands of the union officials down
there"
Mr. Lee, however, conferred with
the labor board and it was known
that he is making every effort to
bring a settlement of that strike
which will be satisfactory to the EN-
ployes.
Announcement by the labor board
that it would not be in a position to
give consideration to any questions
that would change rules or present
wage scales for a considerable length
of time, was one of the principal rea-
sons given as influencing the Big Five
brotherhoods to call off the strike,
according to a resolution adopted by
the unions and made public here.
The resolution calls attention to
the statement by T. Dewitt Cuyier be-
fore the joint union and board meet
ing on Wednesday that the railroads
he represented would neither reduce
wages nor change working conditions
except by agreement with their men
or by a decision of the labor board.
The resolution then states that the
brotheifloods interpret the statements
made before the meeting to mean
that the short-line roads would re-
store wages and working conditions
Ii accordance with the rulings of the
labor board. The resolution then car
ried the memorandum adopted by the
labor board, pointing out that condi-
lions now existing before the board
should remove any immediate occa-
sion for strife.