The Connecticut labor news., 1922-09-01

In statements this week President Pearson reiterated his claim that the striking shopmen are returning to work in hundreds, despite what the strike leaders say" Chairman John C. Ready, of the System Federation, emphatically denies that statement,s despite what President Pearson says" and challenges him to prove 1t. The only "old men, the road is get ting back, according Fto tiTe strike leaders, are few superanuated men who were retired on pensions long ago, but whom the road ordered to return to work about two weeks ago under penalty of losing their pensions if they refused. Even many of these refused and threw in their lot with the strikefs.
 The strikers will make no further effort to settle the strike, and they expect that the road will follow the same course and therefore waiting game" on both sides is now entered into. The road is claiming that its shops are practically filled" which may or may not be true but that doesn't worry the strikers any be- cause, through the competent spy system they have inaugurated, assist ed by men of other branches of rail- roading that are not striking they know that the calibre of the men the road has in the shops is not such as to be able to carry on the work.
 Heretofore the strikers have been confidently predicting that the strike MT. Ready said last night that pres ent indications tend to show that, it may extend into the winter.
 A general mass meefIuO i0neT tO tIe public, the second of it's kind to be held in the state, was held in New London last night. Charles Dudley, general organizer of the car men; F. J. Gilhully, representing the machin- ists, and MT. Ready were the chief speakers. A closed mass meeting will be held in Hartford in Moose Hall tomorrow A member of the ex- ecutive board of the miners will speak.
 The latest claim against the New Haven road was made yesterday by strike leaders, who said the road was losing over $I,ooo,ooo weekly.
 The shopmen are not at all dis couraged by the failure of the Big Four brotherhoods to bring about a conferences with the railroad execu- tives in New York In fact they were skeptical of anything ever coming of it, the rank and file of the strikers hereabouts feeling that the leaders of the Big Four were not sincere in their efforts but were simply blufing their own men and the shopmen and playing to the gallery to keep the rank and file of their own men from joining the shopmen. The sporadic strikes of trainmen all over the coun- try and the threatened refusal to handle rolling stock on the New Ha ven made some such bluff necessary, even trainmen here feel. The rank and file of the trainmen on the New Haven are heartily in sympathy with the striking shopmen and do not hesi tate to say so. They are contributing weekly to the support of the strike and will go even further if necessary. The action of Garnd Chiefs Lee, Stone and Shepard is meeting with much condemnation hereabouts, the members feeling that they should have taken a determined stand and brought the strike to finish by authorizing their men to refuse to op- crate trains which they say are not safe.
 Labor Day rush will probably bring a crisis on the New Haven, the travel over the holiday usually being the most heavy of the year. The road