Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-21
THE FIGHT IN BUFFALO

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THE real issue in the Buffalo street. car
L strike is whether the M!tten plan shall
be adopted or not.
There is no dispute over wages, as the
Mitten management in that city agreed to
the demands of the men. 1t refused, how.
ever. to make a contract with the union.
Thereupon the strike was ordered and
the representatives Of the union announced
that the men should be hired through them
or not at all.
There Is nothing strange about this atti-
tude. 1t is known throughout the country
that the employees Of the Philadelphia Rapid
Transit Company, operated by Mr.. Mitten,
are not affiliated with the national street
railway mems union. They have their own
independent association and they deal di.
rectly with the management Of the street.
railway system and come to amicable
agreements regarding wages and conditions
of work. They are consulted through their
committees, and system has been estab-
lished through the operation Of which the
men participate in the profits Of the COM
panT. The men recently have become
shareholders and they own the largest single
block of stock recorded on the transfer
books.
1t has been the desire of Mr.. Mitten to
persuade the Buffalo street car men to adopt
the Philadelphia system, which is really
the open shop system, with no discrimina-
tions made in favor of either union or nom
union men. The only requirement is that
the employees shall be loyal to their work
and shall cooperate with the management in
the economical operation of the ears.
Several hundred of the Philadelphia con-
ductors and motOrmen have gone to Buffalo
they volunteered the suggestion that they
should go-in order to explain to the men
on strike how the system works here and
to hold their jobs for them until the strike
is settled
There are other than union labor COM
phcations in the situation, however Capt.
talists generally with money invested in
street railway properties do not approve
Mr.. Mitten' methods. They think he pays
too high wages and that he shows alto
gether too much consideration to the men.
They did their best TO block his plans here
IA few months ago. but they did not sue
ceed. They did succeed however, in fore
ing an increase in the rate Of fare against
his protest because the successful main
tenance of tve-cent fare in this city when
the street railway companies in other cities
were insisting that they must be allowed to
charge more put these other companies on
the defensive
IL Will surprise no one aware of what
has been going on if it shall eventually be
disclosed that certain capitalists and the
union leaders are working together in Buff
fa.o TO defeat Mr.. Mttcn.
Mr.. Mtten has had experience with
strikes in the past and he has broken them.
but he discovered that breaking them left
the problem where il was in the begin.
ming. He sought a plan which would pre.
won't strikes and keep the relations between
the employees and the managers friendly for
the benefit of both. The result is the plan
now in operation here. AS the years have
passed 1t has commended itself TO the iudg-
ment Of the men until, as already indi-
Gated, they volunteered when the Buffalo
strike Begin TO go to that city as mission
aries of the new industrial gospcl. Some
of them have been stoned. But this is not
new experience for missionaries.
1t is worth while for observers to recall
that no man resorts to violence until he has
lost faith in the force of his arguments.