Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-25
THINKS STRIKE HERE
is SURER THAN EVER
Conductors Head Says Refusal
Of Some Unions to Quit Won't
Halt Men in City
LEAVES FOR BOARD SESSION

The progressive walkout scheduled to
reach the Pennsylvania Railroad and
the Philadelphia and Rea1ing November
3, is more certain than ever, brother
hood officials said bere today before
leaving for Chicago.
&. @. Cowen, general chairman of the
Order Of Railway Conductors, and
other union representatives fronI this
city will attend the hearing tomorrow
ordered by tho Railway Labor Hoard.
Railway management. and labor Will
appear before the board.
The failure Of living costs TO fall when
wages were reduced wRs given by Mr..
Cowen as one of the chief reasons why
many Of the men have resolved TO strike.
Expects Strike as Scheduled
"In spite Of all reports to the con-
trnry. / believe the mcn will 30 on
strike es scheduled" he stated
Speaking Cor the conductors, 1t should
be remembered that the action " the
three associations OF conductors, the
East, West and Southern Associations.
governs the action of oil conductors.
"These organizations have a Nom
bership OF about 10000 men. Tho
Eastern Association covers fifty -sevrn
roads, the Western Association sixty.
eight md the Southern twenty six.
"Under the contract agreed upon by
the Brotherhood Of Railroad Train
men and the Order Of Railway COnduc-
tors. the traiumcn hold the right to
make and interpret conductors rules
and also the working agreement for
road conductors or assistant conduc-
tors who have qualified IN surgncc rail-
ways"
Mr.. Cowen was asked if the "no
strike" announcement If the shopmen
would affect the aston Of the brother
hoods.
mot in the least" he replied. The
men in the brcthcrhoods have stood for
as much as possible in the last ten
years.
Living Costs Responsible
1--WE felt that when the 1919 per cent
pay cut was taken off last July that
there would be reduction in the cost of
living. II living costs had come down
in proportion to wages there would not
have been the serious situation that we
are facing now.
THE roads announced recently they
were going to make another reduction
Of 10 or Is per cent. Besides this we
have rules granting time and half time
for overtime, an eight hour day and
other rules which were respected By the
companies for years and which are now
going to be abrogated.
''As to the overtime. 1t has been 50
manipulated by changing schedules that
Il Is virtually negligible. We had a
full-crew law IN Pennsylvania, compell-
ing the companies to man freight and
passenger trains, limited to a certain
number Of cars, with two brakcmen.
Since that law was repealed one brake
man was taken of. Now we have pas
senger trains with as many as eight cars
operated by one conductor and one
brakeman, which before had one con-
ductor and two brakemen.
Under my personal observation and
through reports given me by repre-
eentatives in the territory I represent,
! 6nd that the chief cause of all the
contention and unsettled conditions is
the high prices charged by retailers for
the necessities Of living. The men find
they cannot exist deCently and pay from
90 to 300 per cent profit TO the
retailers"
Mr.. Cowen compared this months
prices OF number of commodities with
prices in 1913.
with all the decreases the railroad
com panies have made in the new freight
rates he said, "the reductions seem
to have no effect whatever on the retail
price of goods
Fl. +. Core, general chairman Of the
Brotherhood of Firemen, who also was
summoned to Chicago today. said that
the strike appeared more certain than
ever. The attitude of the men had been
turned more and more in that direction,
he said, because Of public misconcep-
ton regarding actual conditions.
Conditions Aggravated
The attempt to make 1t appear the
men earn much larger salaries than they
really do. he said, merely aggravated
the condition.
G. +. Musser, general chairman Of
the Brotherhood Of Railroad Trainmen.
left for Chicago with the other union
officials.
Applications for work are still coming
In to the railroad employment Offices in
this city. The Reading lines have about
1900 men enrolled here. The pennSyl-
vania Railroad has about the same
number.
Additional employment offices will be
opened by the Reading in TamaQua,
Reading and Camden. Plans are being
30 - I'd