New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-07-17
Another Peace
Effort i'm Rail
Strike Expected
Chicago Experts Confiden.
Harding Will Not Widen
Breach i'm Labor Fight:
Predict Action This Week
Unions Fund Weakening
All Parties Likely To Be
Called to Washington il,
Move to End the Dispute
BY Gilman Parker

road shopmen, either directly through
summoning all sides to Washington or
indirectly by placing the strongest pos
sible powers behind the United States
Railroad Labor Board, as to bring
about the beginning of a settlement by
the end Of this week?
This stood as the chief question in
the strike. situation tonight, with the
bulk Of opinion here, in the chief center
Of the strike, answering it in the affirm
ative. Sifted down to its foundations.
the main reason for that belief is the
further opinion that no Administration
in this country, regardless of how
plausible or untrue may be charges
that it is opposed to organized labor
or otherw Use reactionary, would permit
the beginning of open industrial war
fare in the United States without sin
cerely exhausting all possible means
| TO prevent it.
There can now be little doubt that
the strike has grown from what, in the
most optimistic attitude, was a popular
annoyance to q real and serious menace
TO industry and the public welfare in
general, and that, considered with the
|
genuine basis for alarm. Probably the
best proof of this was found in Presi-
dent Earding's threat on Friday that
CONSUMPTION might be resorted to
should later circumstances warrant
this course.
100000 Shopmen Out
AS The situation stands, there are
nearly 100000 shopmen on strike, the
| yho
tives, which are in constant need Of
repairs. They have been Joined in some
sections of the country by perhaps
| 10000 maintenance men, with the
heads OF the latter organization exert
| ing every influence to hold the remain
ing 100000 in check.
| The clerks, freight handlers and sta
ton employees, numbering approx
mately 100000, have threatened to
strike on a number of the roads; they
actually have gone out on the Norfolk
morrow on the Chesapeake g. Ohio,
and, under a like threat, will meet
Tuesday and Wednesday with repre-
sentatives of the Chicago & Eastern
| Illinois and the Chicago & Northwest
ern in an endeavor to obtain settle
ment. The 5000 stationary fremen
and oilers will strike on the various
roads tomorrow.
| The big four" train service brother
hoods-the engineers, fremen, conduct
| ors, brakemen and switchmen-are re-
naming at their posts in accordance
with pre-strike assurances that they
would do SO. But from here and there
! have come reports that they do not IN
| tend to take out bad equipment "be-
cause this will endanger our lives"
and they are the judges Of what rolling
stock is good and what is bad. Added
to this, it is commonly asserted that
the "Big Four" will be next in the
matter of wage trimming and that the
| train service men are not at all IN
aware of that.
Hit Transportation Hard
Though the strike has progressed for
nearly fifteen days there can be no
| question that it has hit transportation
and hit it hard. Hundreds Of passen-
ger and freight trains have been can
celed, and there are serious delays
everywhere, with the situation grow
| ing worse-in this respect. In six
states National Guardsmen are out on
strike duty, with forces Of deputy
United States marshals guarding other
| Federal troops are held in readiness
! for the same service. In addition there
are many indications that the rail-
roads cannot get nearly enough work
| ers to replace the strikers, and many
of those they have obtained lack the
requisite experience.
In setting forth details Of the
strike as it has affected the roads
thus far the inference may be drawn
that the strikers are sitting on top in
the whole affair. Such, however, is not
the case. For one thing, the morale
| OF the strikers is not SO good as that Of
the miners in waging their long fight
as IS shown by reports of their re-
turning to work here and there, though
there has not been any extensive break
IN their ranks at any point. Another
| is that the shopmen have no consider
able funds in their treasury.
Both Sides Looking for cont"
Aside from the question of advan-
tages or disadvantages, however, and
the mo quarter" slogan OF the extrem-
lists. there is a well-informed opinion
here that both sides are most thor
| oughly sick of the whole business and
are looking for a graceful and chart
table "out.' Assuredly the public has
it's mind in that direction, and although
it may be true, as Mr.. Jewell says,
that Wall Street controls the railroads
@Ho wants TO use them 60 bust the
unions, the government officials or DO
litical party which steps in and settles
the strike is going to be whole lot
more popular.
Consequently, the optimistic belief
in Chicago for the last three days is
that the olive branch is going to be
soothingly if forcefully waved by next
Saturday night. If it isn't, say these
| observers, "there will be hell to paw"
for. even should the dispute be settled
tomorrow, it will take considerable
time to get the railroads back to nor
nalcy in the train schedules again.
One development of the strike here
the alleged poisoning" of seventy five
strike breakers and seven policemen in
the local yards of the Chicago, Mil
waukee & st. Paul, lost somewhat in
Importance tonight. Despite a report
from railroad chemist that the
poison" was sulphuric acid, most Of
the victims were on the job again this
afternoon, and rumors were circulated
freely that the deadly" liquid, which
had been administered through hypo-
dermic injection into quart bottles of
milk, was croton oil. Neverth eless, the
railroad officials have taken the precau-
ton OF ordering certified milk FOR flu
ture use. with lead seals on the bottles.
Cleveland, Short of Coal,
Curtails Its Use of Water
Y,yrr,y hNrv