Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-08-08
OPPOSITION of Leaders of Both Sides to Presidents New
Program Nav Leave No Other Course Open
To The Administration
AMPLE AUTHORITY CLAIMED TO EXIST
Conference of Brotherhood Heads And Shop Craft Lead
ers Called For Cleveland May Mean Drastic
Action To Be Taken

peace plan. He issued the call from
his summer home at Bar Harbor,
Maine.
/. f. Loree, president of the Della
ware and Hudson railroad and leader
of the "bitter-enders" among the ex-
ecutives. expressed himself as being
personally opposed to the Harding
plan which provides that the men re-
turn to work and the seniority ques-
ton be submitted to the United States
Railroad Labor Board of settlement.
Cleveland, Aug. 8.-Grave posi-
bility of drastic action by the big
railroad brotherhoods which will
make the shopmen's strike more ef-
fective developed today when Warren
6. Stone, president of the Brotherhood
of Railroad Engineers, called a con-
ference of other brotherhood heads
and shop crafts leaders, and heads of
all railroad unions.
Stone called the conference at the
request of Bert NJ. Jewell, chairman
Of the six striking shop craft unions;
William II. Johnstone, president OF
the machinists union and j. n. Noon
an. president of the electrical work
erS.
W. A. Paranto, vice president of
the Northwest Federated Shop Crafts
at Minneapolis. in an exclusive state
ment to the United Press declared
that the shopmen's strike was just be-
ginning to be effective.
To-day there is not one locomotive,
freight car. or passenger car in this
section of the country in first class
condition." he asserted. Il have just
completed a two weeks tour Of IN
spection.
"Trains are being hauled by loco
motives that should not be permitted
to operate without overhauling.
Brakes are in bad condition, endang-
ering the lives Of passengers and
crews.
THE shop crafts did not expect
their strike to be felt until thirty or
sixty days. 1t is just beginning to be
! effective"
Union leaders at Madison, Wis,
were practically the only ones to re-
port train service unhampered by the
rail strikes. They declared that en-
gineers and firemen inspected all en-
gines and that new employees and eX-
ecutives impressed into the shops
were handling the repair work.
L. V. Hart, chairman of the big
four strikes at Indianapolis claimed
/ that all equipment was in bad condl-
| ton.
The situation is being made more
serious by a growing feeling Of ami
mostly on the part Of labor leaders
against the alleged tactics of guards
employed by the railroads during the
strike.
f H. Fitzgerald, head of the rail-
way clerks union. was expected here
TODAY from Cincinnati. to place be-
fore the President affidavits charg-
/ ing that three clerks have been kill
ed bv these guards and that the lives
of thousands of the unions members
are being endangered by deteriorating
equipment.
The President has been assured by
his legal advisors that he has ample
authority to take over the railroads
through a presidential declaration of
a national emergency. and that he can
virtually seize specific roads failing
to function adequately through re-
ceivership proceedings.
ANY nationwide seizure of the
roads probably would be based on the
provisions of the National Defense
Act. which gives the President broad
powers in an emergency.
Details as to how the government
would compensate the lines and many
70 hn
termined by later legislation, it is be-
lieved
A statement issued by Lore. which
be prefaced by saying that it was
his own personal opinion follows:
"In the resolutions adopted by the
association of railway executives on
! August first thew took the position
sduarely that the striking former
employees cannot be given preference
to employees who are in the service
without doing violence to every prin-
ciple of right and justice involved in
this matter and without grossest
breach of faith on the part of the
: railroads TO the men at present IN
their service"
president Harding" in his PROPOSE
/ ton of today says therefore only the
question Of seniority covered IN para
graph three which the executives re-
iected remains in dispute he calls
upon workmen and carriers under the
, law to take the question in dispute
] 70 the railroad labor board for hear
/ ing and decision and compliance by
/ both with the decision rendered"
In calling the two labor conferences
was issued by Jewell and his collea-
CUES charged that the railroad ex--
ecutives acted under the direction Of
financial interests on July 81 when
they rejected President Harding's
/ original proposal for settlement Of
the strike, and repudiated the prom
| ise given by their chairman to the
President and defied the spokesmen
Continued on Page Three)