The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1922-08-04
THE STRIKE SITUATION


ly but courteously rejected the pro-
gram advanced by the Harding adj
ministration for settlement of of the
rail strike. !
Willing to accept conditionally
two suggestions put forward by the
White House-that both sides abide
by wage decisions of the railroad
labor board and that law suits
springing out of the strike be with
drawn-the heads of 148 roads de-
clared emphatically that it was i'm
possible to reinstate strikers with
unimpaired rights, the third provis-
ion in the Presidents plan.
The decision not to yield as to
seniority was made known to the
White House by telegraph after the
rail heads had listened to a 2O-min-
ute address by Secretary of Com
merce Herbert Hoover, who, as di-
rect representative of the President,
told them in effect that the admins
ton held the seniority question of
minor Importance in comparison with
that of UNFOLDING the labor board.
| After being told by Robert S.
Lovett, of the Union Pacific that
there was no moral or practical rea-
I son from budging from their posi-
ton, the executives disbanded, indi-
eating that they were going ahead
and would operate their roads with
the forces they had assembled since
the shopmen walked out July L.
The federated shop crafts Wednes-
day voted approval of President
Harding's plans to end the rail
strike and appointed committee to
. draw up reply accepting them.
The reply, however, will be subject
to amendment by the more than 100
labor chiefs before going to the
President.
The first announcement from the
labor leaders simply said that they
had voted acceptance.
Later it developed that some op-
position had sprung up. in the meet
ing and that fight against the &C
ceptance might be made after the
text of it is drawn up. For this rea-
son it was made subject to amend
ment. The meeting will resume it's
session at $3.50 p. m.
Timothy Haley, president of the
Stationary Firemen and Oilers I'M
| ion, the only other organization on
strike, announced that his organiza-
ton would concur in the Shop Crafts
action.
Further government action in the
railroad strike was held in allegiance
though railroad executives who re-
fused President Harding's sugges-
lions for settlement were understood
to have apprised administration
agencies that the door was still open
for negotiations.
If protection in seniority status
acquired by shopmen who have con-
tinued to work in spite of the strike
could be guaranteed, any basis Of
settlement the President might find
fair would be favorably considered
by the magnates, it was added, had
brought no immediate tangible re-
suits. tM5x
Cabinet members who saw the
President for discussion of strike
matters indicated the feeling that
claims of railroad homogeneous as
to their ability to maintain trans
portation would get a test during
the next few, days. These officials
left the inference that if the strike
demonstrated symptoms of dissolu-
ton, as predicted by the carriers,
the President might move again.
It again was emphasized that the
nations necessity for at least a
minimum coal supply largely had
governed the Presidents action in
the rail strike to date. This was
most important in the prospect it
held out that coal carrying roads Of
the district south of the Ohio river
might draw particular government
attention, or even control, unless
betterment Of their transportation
capacity is accomplished very soon.