Evening star., 1922-08-17
Meet in New York
in Fifth Effort
to Bring Peace:
RAIL CH1,SFs TO GET
PROPOSALS TO-DAY
Text Of Likely Settlement
Guarded by Big Four
Mediators.
Ry the. Associated Press.

Ry the. Associated Press.
NEW YORK. August 1.-THE scene
of negotiations toward peace on the
re- Nroads again shifted from WASH
iSgton to New York today. when
carrier presidents and union chle1s
assembled for a conference which Will
mark the fifth attempt of an outside
agency to offer a solution to the Sc
niority riddle.
The Labor Board has failed in at
tempts to end the strike by direct ne
yotiations, and twice President Hard
Ing has been unsuccessful in his ef-
forts as volunteer mediator to end
the controversy.
Proposal for Settlement.
Today the big four brotherhoods.
"big brothers of the seven striking
shopcrafts unions, will seek. through
their national officials. to place be-
fore a committee of the Association OF
Railway Executives proposal TO-
settlement which will be acceptable
to both sides.
Heading the employers is T. De Witt
Cuyler chairman of the national as
sociation. with committee OF nine
presidents. Warren S. Stone, national
head of the brotherhood OF Locomo-
of the other big four running crafts
Outside the conference, but within the
city and within call of the conference
will be Bert NJ. Jewell. president OF
the seven shopcrafts STRIKE orsaniIa
tions and chairman of the department.
of railway employees. American FEEDER
alton of Labor. He was expected to
arrive from Washington before noon.
accompanied by all but two OF the
seven heads of the shopcrafts unions.
Chiefs of the big four arriving for
the meeting declared they were with
out a definite plan for solution OF the
seniority question. They had several
half-formed proposals to make. out
none which they were prepared 10
make public.
Seniority and Pension.
notwithstanding the futility of all
negotiations to date. both sides recog-
nized that the situation they have to
meet is one in which the strikers.
having asreed to return to their jobs
on the basis of the Labor Boards
SCALE insist that-allehe.- taken back
with seniority and pension rights un-
impaired.
The executives association. they also
agree, has announced 1t will take
back only as many men as the va
rious roads need to bring shop forces
back to normal. demanding that they
return to work without seniority
rights, demanding, however, freedom
to bring their demands for reinstated
seniority before the Labor Board
later.
One possible plan by which the
roads might maintain their policy OF
rewarding loyal and new employees
with seniority preference over re-,
turning strikers, and still effect a.
compromise with the shopcrafts, ap-
peared in the mass of unofficial dis
cussion in railway circles prior to the
conference.
Likely Plan.
Such a plan. which, it was believed,
would be acceptable to the crafts, was
outlined by certain executives, as fol-
lows:
Cd That the railroads, instead of
being bound by the majority action of
the Association of Railway Execu-
tiyes, be permitted to take back as
many of the strikers as needs of indi-
vidual roads dictated. This would as
sure jobs to all the strikers on most
of he roads in the country, particu-
larly in the southeast and through
out the west.
(2) That the roads and unions
agree to recognize the seniority
rights of loyal employees who refused
to strike.
(3) That the seniority status OF re-
turning strikers and so-called new
men" be fixed through agreements be-
tween unions and managements or in
dividual roads. governed partly by
standards of efficiency OF individual
employees in both classes.
60 That all pension rights be re-
stored to the pre-strike status.
No official sponsor appeared for this
plan, however. Members Of the ex-
ecutives' committee declined to dis
4 a. Lf %~,
resentatives took similar attitude.
Preliminary Meeting.
Four members of the committee Of
railway brotherhoods which will meet
representatives of the executives this
afternoon, held an informal conference
this morning. but adopted no cut-and-
dried plan to offer the carriers. One
of the members said they had merely
put into more definite form some of
their tentative ideas.
Five brotherhood leaders, represent
. ing the running trades of American
railroads. today went into formal con-
ference to draw up a program for end
Ing of the nationwide shopmen's
strike, to be submitted this afternoon
to executives representing 148 roads.
been preceded by more Informal as.
sembly, was called up on arrival of
Warren r. Stone, president OF the
Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers.
What the proposal Of the brotherhood
chiefs, assuming the role of mediators,
would be, could not be learned from
them when they closed the doors be-
hind them.
Proposal Guarded.
Representatives of the stationary
tradesN however, who were watching
closely the brotherhood conference
indicated that they expected the run
ming crafts not to suggest any COM
promise on the matter of seniority
rights which has proved tho big
stumbling block in peace efforts thus
far.
While none of the strike leaders
would permit themselves to be quot.
ed. they Indicated that they did not
expect the brotherhoods to sugHes'
any patched-up compromise to thu
executives. nor that the brother
hoods would promise to exert theil
influence to get the shopmen to, re-
turn II seniority rights were not
xuaranteed strikers.
When President Harding first pro.
posed restoration Of strikers with full
seniority rights, the executives fiatly
rejected the suggestion.
when the President put forward
his second program for q rail peace
he Suggested that the carriers take
back their striking shopmen and let
the Railroad Labor Board define the
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