The Washington times., 1922-08-12

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EXPECTED
Continued from First Pages

continued rrom f1rst faget
m. and a committee Of the railroad
executives at 4:30 p. m.
Ben w. Hooper, chairman of the
Railway Labor Board. was called to
the White House for another con-
ference with President Harding on
the railroad strike crisis today.
Hooper went up to the White
House at 1880 a. m.
The conditional acceptance by
the railway executives, reported
from New York. will be offset and
nullified by the rejection of the
unions. and the whole problem will
be thrown back into President
Harding's hands perhaps before
nightfaall.
There will be no immediate dras-
tic move on the part OF. the Gov
ernment, according to all indications
today. Whether the unions reply
fer It until Monday, President
Harding's hands are more or less
tied until Tuesday, when he will
have q full Congress assembled in
Washington to aid him. 1t Is also
considered likely there will be a
full discussion by the entire Cabinet
on Tuesday before President Hard
ing goes to Congress with a special
message to deal with the situation.
The terms of the shopmen's re-
fusal to return to work while the
Railway Labor Board decides the
contentious question Of seniority, as
proposed by the President, already
have been agreed upon.
All that remained for the union
leaders to do when they went back
into secret conference at 8 o'clock
this morning was to formally ap-
prove the final written form OF the
rejection, Combine in a general
statement of labor policy, and COM
plete plans for making the shop.
mems strike more effective.
These plans for making the shop
mems strike more effective-already
coming to the surface through the
sporadic detection Of other classes
of railroad workers-require deli
cate handling.
The ten railroad unions that are
not officially on strike do not want
to collide with the conspiracy status,
but at the same time II can be stated
positively they do want to aid the
striking shopmen in every way pos
sible.
Out Of respect for the conspiracy
statutes, and more particularly out
of respect for the decision by the
United States Supreme Court in the
famous Coronado coal case, there
will be no general strike order or
strike call by the affiliated unions
under any circumstances, 1t was scid
today in labor quarters.
Prosseding With Caution.
The Corsnado decision has been a
compelling factor in the secret con-
ferences thai have been held to date,
1t was learned today. In this decision
the Supreme Court held that a labor
union is liable to be sued in its cor
porate name for damages caused by
strikes. At the time, 1t was gen
orally held by legal authorities that
the decision constituted one of the
greatest blows ever given organized
labor.
with that decision constantly
staring them in the face. those
unions that are wealthy financially.
like the four brotherhoods, distinctly
do not want to court expensive
and perhaps disastrous legal as
saulta upon their opulence.
The steady deterioration Of rail-
road equipment, during the six
weeks OF the repairmen's strike,
has afforded them a temporary
solution Of their difficulties through
the authorization Of individual or
voluntary strikes whenever their
members feel that the condition
of equipment or working condi-
tions are prejudical to life or
Ii nh.