The Raymer enterprise., 1922-07-20
Railway Executives Refuse to
Enter Negotiations to End
Shopmen's Strike.
PROCLAMATION BY HARDING
He Warns Against Interference with
Malls and Strikers Rsply-Franes
Opposes Moratorium for Ger.
many-Attltuds Of Russians
Disrupts The Hague
Conference.
By EowARp W. PIcKARp


G TRENUOUS efforts to bring to an
- end the strike Of railway shopmen
were made last week by Chairman
Hooper and his colleagues Of the fed
eral labor board, but up to the time Of
writing these had been entirely un-
successful and the status Of affairs
did not give much hope Of an early
peace. Late Wednesday night the rail-
way executives took action that in the
minds Of many placed on them the
burden Of blame for the failure Of ne
gotiations. They fatty refused to en-
ter into a parley with B. NJ. Jewell,
leader Of the strikers, and their rea-
sons were held by Mr.. Hooper to be
in the main quite insufficient. They de-
manded that the shopmen abandon
their strike and then proceed to set
tie their grievances through the labor
board. They declined to meet Jewell
on the ground that. the men having
struck In defiance Of the decision and
order of the board and the controlling
provisions Of the transportation act,
"the issue thus raised Is not one for
consideration between the carriers and
the representatives Of the organized
crafts on strike. except through the
further orderly processes before the
United States railroad labor board, as
contemplated by the transportation
act"
Unbiased opinion will agree with
Mr.. Hooper's statement that the execu-
tive gave no reason that would satisfy
the public. He continued: I'm so far
as the declinatlon Is based on desire
to preserve the authority and dignity
Of the railroad labor board. It Is super
fiuous. The labor board will endeavor
to take care Of itself In that regard.
The statement in the letter that
the strike is a refusal to accept the
results Of the arbitration Of the rail.
road labor board" falls little short
Of accuracy. One Of the questions In.
volved in the strike Is violation Of
the boards decisions by certain car
riers. 1t is true nearly all Of the car
riers have discontinued this practice,
but some Of them have not"
Chairman Hooper intimated that
new peace plans Of the board involved
appeals to the railway lines individu-
ally.
In many parts Of the country. es-
pecially the Middle West, Texas, and
on the Pacific coast, the disorders due
to the strike became increasingly vio-
lent, and a number Of men we're killed.
In several states the militia was
called out, and in some localities,
notably Bloomington. ILL.,, the engi-
neers, fremen and tralnmen rebelled
against working under military guard.
Sympathetic strikes were talked Of.
The leaders Of the brotherh0ods held
several conferences and said their zen
would continue to operate trains up
to the point where the military occu-
patton began.
President Helt Of the railway sig.
nalmen announced that his organlza.
tlon had postponed striking pending
negotiations with the labor board
which are now under way. On one
Eastern road all the clerks struck.
Determined to guard federal inter-
ests, the administration at Washing
ton has been keeping close tab on the
developments. and President Harding
issued proclamation directing all
persons to refrain with all interfer-
ence with the lawful efforts to main.
tain interstate transportation and the
carrying Of the United States mails"
This was done after Postmaster Gen.
eral Work had submitted to the cab
met numerous instances Of interfer-
ence with the transportation Of the
malls and the information that num-
ber Of roads had been forced to aban-