New-York tribune., 1922-08-27
slloprnnel, Begin
Finish Fight
With ()ratory
Roads Cite Heavy Traffic
More Workers Enlisted, as
Officials Expect a Return
10 Normal i'm Two Weeks

With the issues in the railroad strike
now d clean-cut life-and-death struggle
for the union shopmcn, the latter's
leaders launched their fight~to a-fnish
campaign yesterday by sending out orr
ganizers and spellbinder8 into every
shop district in the East. We'll win
the strike within month";" was their
general prediction. .--s
The railroads, however, point to the
marked increase in the number of coal
cars loaded within the last four days
as proof Of their ability to handle the
coal and general freight situation de-
spite the walk-out or Its continuance.
Their employment agencies showed
greater activity than ever in enlistirg
more workers, while company guards,
who had relaxed their vigilance during
the days of conference, returned to
rigid patrol duty. The Eastern lines
expect to be back to normal conditions
in the shops within two weeks.
The union men, in announcing their
determination to win the controversy,
now say they will hold out for their
original demands. They would no
assert, that did not give satisfaction
with regard to all these demands, in
GLIDING the resembling Of the 8 per
cent wage cut recently ordered by the
Railroad Labor Board, which prccipi-
tated the strike.
This was taken to indicate that
the shopmen now repudiate their prom
ise to President Harding to agree to
go before the Railroad Labor Board
on the wage issue.
John j. Dowd, chairman Of the Gen.
tral Strike Committee for the Metro
politan District, put the turnabout at
titude Of the strikers this way:
"As far as the $4,000 strikers in this
district are concerned / can say that
I'VE will not stand for any settlement
nov that does not include all of our
original demands. The railroads and
the newspapers have interpreted the
concessions we have offered in the
public interests as sign of weakness.
We will now begin the fight all over
again on the basis of July last. We
fight now. The responsibility belongs
to the executives and the press.
"Time fights, too, and on our side.
Points to Wage Increases
sour wages were cut below living
returning business prosperity began
to make wage increases possible.
Since we struck the U. s. Steel Cor
poration and other steel plants have
voluntarily raised wages 20 per cent,
the Lawrence Textile Mills have taken
their strikers back at an increased
scale and the bitumnous operators
have agreed to take their miners back
with wages and all rights unimpaired.
This object lesson has not been lost
either on the strikers or the public
as whole. El
"Ihe truth of the equipment situa-
tion will be evident to every one in
the United States before the month is
up, both through government reports
and the concrete effects Of car short
age:
I'VE will win within month"
David Williams, secretary Of the
central strike committee, said:
THANK God, these negotiations are
over. We are glad our national Of
ficials have left town. Now we know
just where we are. For the past two
weeks our speakers and the rank and
file of our men have been waiting to
see what our officials would do. Now
we don't have to wait; wa can fight.
Reports from every shop in the dis
trict show that fewer men are report
ing for work than before the execu-
tives finally closed the door to peace.
The men know it's up to them to scrap
now. They know now their officials
can't win this war for thera. Fine
words have failed. It's knocls-down
and drag-out now and every man is in
the battle line.
"We are stronger to-day than we
We're on July i. know that in my
union, the machinists, we have enrolled
$4,000 new or delinquent members
since the strike began. Only the other
day | saw forty-six new men taken in
over in q Jersey City lodge, and that's
only one out of hundreds. There is
nothing like clean-cut fight to bring
men together. The arrogant anti-union
tactics Of the employers have united
our ranks as nothing else in the world
could have done"
Mr.. Williams also made public a tele-
gram received from the Chicago body
of carmen, whose secretary, w. P. Hoff-
man, said: "Chicago district shop
crafts standing solid for fight to a
finish. Convey this information to all
New York strikers"
Mr.. Williams replied in similar
tone.
The figures for coal loadings to
which the railroad executives point as
an earnest of the progress made by
the railroads in whipping their lines