New-York tribune., 1922-08-08
.Harding's Plea
Finds No Favor
With N. .Y.Roads
Local Executives Cold to
Proposal; Lorec Asserts
There Can Be No Break
down ON Moral Issues
Gompers Hints Reprisals
Union Heads : See Victory
i'm Car Dearth; Traffic
Mem Fear No Shortage

President Harding's second proposal
for settling the railroad shipments
strike. this time on the basis of an
immediate resumption of repair work
by shelving the seniority issue for con-
sideration by the Labor Board, met
with no apparent approval in company
circles here yesterday.
Such Eastern executives as were in
the city met informally to discuss the
plan, and an indication of their atti-
tude was given later by the comments
of L. F. Loree, president of the Della
ware Hudson and chairman of the
Eastern presidents conference. He
presided at the session. Mr. Loree
stood firm on the moral issue ard re-
enunciated by the national meeting here
week ago, when the roads refused to
give the strikers preference over
proposal "seems clearly to demand
complete surrender of that position"
To Take Up Plan Later
Mr.. Loree spoke only for the Della
ware & Hudson. The official statement
issued after the meeting merely point.
ed out that the informal gathering had
no authority to act and that doubtless
the Presidents proposal will be taken
up at some later general conference
But the impression still prevailed
around the railroad offices that the car
riers' moral scruples on the seniority
issue are so firmly buttressed by their
practical desire to get rid of the ag-
gressively dissatisfied element among
their former repairmen and TO get a
working force with which they can live
at peace that only the strongest kind of
pressure can induce them to take
chance on the Labor Boards sending
back the shopmen in body.
hint of the kind of pressure the
strikers may bring to bear upon the
carriers was contained in the phraseol-
ogy Of a statement issued here by Sam
uel Gompers. head of the A. F. of L.,
exposing "a nationwide effort to smash
the unions on the part of the business
interests of America" Strike SYM
pathizers read into the labor leaders
action in making such a pronouncement
a guarded threat that workers in many
lines may join in counter offensive.
There was nothing veiled about the
union phraseology with regard to the
second kind of pressure on which they
are counting. The central strike COM
mittee here declared that within week
the car shortage caused by the holding
up of repair work will become so acute
that the roads will have to make
terms, and added that already de-
crease in the number of surplus cars
dIsproportio to the increase in
loadings shows that the breaking point
| is near.
Union optimism on this point re-
ceived little enough support from the
reports of local traffic managers of
large concerns here. The Universal
Portland Cement Association, which is
not dominant body in the industry,
deemed the situation of sufficient gray
| ity to warrant the statement that the
car shortage may soon reach such a
state that cement building operations
will be halted. But majority opinion
was inclined to the view that there is
no immediate danger.
Sees No Menace
"While there has been general
slowing down of traffic" said C. B.
Eartregger, traffic manager Of The
American Tobacco Company, "at no
time has it been serious enough to
| threaten the running of our business,
and we do not think there is any sucn
menace
II believe freight generally is NOV
| ing fast enough to take care of the
local industries" declared c. c. Schaff.
of the Standard Oil Company. "Of
! course, as favored industry, oil is
moving pretty regularly"
These opinions were seconded by
other traffic officials
A small army of detectives was out
yesterday patroling the Long Island
tracks to prevent the recurrence of
sabotage such as held up transporta-
! tion early Sunday, but everything was
quiet throughout the day. The com
pany's efforts to catch those guilty of
the earlier outbreak were seconded
by the offer of an additional 81 900 re-
ward by the local strike committee.
which again repudiated the act in the
| name of the shopmen.