The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-08-12
Definite Decision Said
To Have Been Reached
\ At c ont ere nc e In
Washington This After
Aoon-S Strike Spreading
In Many Points In West

y
Washington, Aug. 12.-(By the
ISOLATED Press)-The heads of the
railroad labor organizations are
declared by one of their chief Of
ficiaIs after final conference this
afternoon, to have decided to re-
ject completely President Hard
ing's proposal. The reply was
sent to the White House by
messenger shortly after 1880
o'clock but no official announce
ment is expected until after the
meeting with the President later
in the day.
- Not Up to Congress Yet
Washington, Aug. 12.-(By the AS
sociated Press.)-President Harding
was said by administration advisers
today to have abandoned, temporarily
at least, his plan for asking legisla-
tion of Congress to deal with the
railroad strike situation
Lee Stands for Order.
Cleveland, Aug. 12.-(By The Asso-
ciated Press. Members of the Bro
therhood Of Railway Trainmen who
went on strike on the Santa Fe Rail-
road, have been ordered to return to
work. President w. G. Lee, announced
today in declaring their action was
unauthorized inasmuch as the regular
proceeding with regard to settling OF
disputes had not been carried out.
kilograms to this effect were sent
to General Chairman Duffy and Gen
eral-Secretary Hascotte, of the Santa
Fe, in Los Angeles.
1--WE are in full sympathy with the
shopmens STRIKE" Mr.. Lee said, but
will not pass authority to strike
on to individuals or to local commit
tees in any case. l am insisting
that all walkouts be conducted in an
orderly manner and not piecemeal
and that the constitutional and gener-
al rules of our organization be lived
up to.
"This trouble must be settled as
all other similar troubles have been
settled
Executive Reply on Way
New York, Aug. 12.-Eight ran eX-
ecutives headed by T. Dewitt Cuyler
deliver to President Harding the re-
ply of the railroad executives to his
latest proposals for ending the shop
craft strike.
The reply, framed yesterday at the
meeting of $50 railway executives in
New York. was zealously guarded.
1t was reported, however, that the
message was neither unqualified ac-
ceptance nor rejection of the plan put
forward at the White House, but
additional acceptance which Mr.. Guy
- believed and hoped would be well
leived by the President and the
untry.
Western Roads Hard Hit
San Francisco, August 1.-TWO
major rail systems, the Santa Fe mad
Southern Pacific, were so badly dis
organized today that train schedules
both freight and passenger-virtu-
ally have been abandoned. A third
trunk line, the Union Pacific, was
threatened with similar conditions.
These were the developments in the
rapid spread yesterday of sporadic
VI anu
that began Thursday on the Santa Fe
in southern California and Arizona.
Members of the big four brother
hoods said they left their posts be-
cause of their objections to armed
guards stationed on railroad property.
They also charged the equipment they
were moving was not in the best con-
dition, and they considered it hazard
GUS to take it. out. Rail executives
declared guards were necessary TO
protect the roads, denied that the
guards were interfering with union
workers, and contradicted the asser-
ton that equipment was unsafe.
An official statement issued by'the
brotherhoods at Fresno as to the
walkout at Needles said the walkout
was precipitated by an attack upon
an engineer by guard who was
later arrested charged with assault
with attempt to commit murder.
At Fresno the brotherhood men oil
both the Southern Pacific and Santa
Fe were to meet today to determine
whether they would walk out. The
Santa Fe men left last night shortly
after guards fired a fusillade for an
unstated reason. The men said pro
miscuous shooting4 was the reason
they walked out, and asserted no one
would return to work |before morn
sing