The Southern herald., 1922-08-11
TRAIN CREWS MAY
REFUSE EQUIPMENT
THESE ORGANIZED WORKERS IN.
INNATE sToPPAGE OF WORK
UNLESS PEACE COMES.
CONFER WITH PRESIDENT
Big Rail Unions Join In Complaint
That Rolling stock Is In Danger
GUS condltlon-May Again
Call OPTICIANS In Farley,

Washington. - Negotiations to end
the strike of railroad shop craftsmen
have been resumed by President Har.
ding and B. M. Jewell, president of the
railway employees department of the
American Federation of Labor; w. H.
Johnston, president Of the machinists,
and ]. P Noonan, head of the electri
cal workers brotherhood, left the
White House after an hour of confer
ence with the chief executive expect.
ing 10 be recalled later.
1t was not disclosed whether the
president had communicated again
with railroad heads whose refusal this
week to grant his proposal to give re-
turning strikers seniority status termi.
mated the first settltment attempt, but
the strike leaders, in cheerful mood,
said that the proposals, as originally
outlined by the president, constituted
their "rreducible minimum in seeking
honorable sediment"
Likewise T. E. Wills, J. Paul Steph,
ems and Arthur J. Lowell, representing,
respectively, the engineers, trainmel.
and enginemen and firemen, threet1of
the four brotherhood organizations,
saw the president at the instance of
the national chiefs of their orders and
OF the switchmens union and present.
ed the possibility that grave prospects
of further rail unsettlements were in
sight unless the shop situation was
Strengthened out.
1t was understood that while they
did not set up possibility of sympa.
thetiC strikes by their memberships,
they declared conditions of railroad
equipment, locomotives particularly on
many roads, was growing to be such
that train crews might refuse service.
No public statement of their report
was made other than that contained in
the message from the brotherhoods' un-
ion under which they acted in going
to the White House, and nothing was
given out Officially. They made it
plain, however, that they made no re.
quest of the president for conference
with the brotherhood chiefs.
Officials of the shop union, though
Informed to a degree concerning rep
reservations made by the brotherhood
representative at the White House,
declared they had no connection with
the move. Claims that locomotives
and rolling stock were deteriorating
was repeated by the union chiefs and
held up by them as the influence
which would determine the strike. All
participants held the belief that Presi-
dent Harding, II he intended to exer-
else further ruasion on the railroad
executives, would ask no further con.
cessions from the men other than that
involved in his original proposal Of ac-
cepting the railroad labor board wage
awards and returning to work pending
reheari2gs.
Mr.. Jewell and Mr.. Johnson called
on Samuel Gompers after the White
House visit and some of the represen.
tatives Of shopmen on strike in east
ern territory were called here for the
weekend to discuss the strike with
the national officers. Mr.. Gompers
gave out a statement which charged
that organized employing and finan-
cial interests were rallying to the sup
port Of railroad managsments in order
to make of the railway strike uni
fled understanding campaign"