The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1922-08-25
PRESIDENTS RAIL
MEDIATION FAILS
Executives Make Public Proposal
to Reinstate Strikers and Re-
fer Seniority to Board.
PEACE BLOCKED ONCE MORE
Railroads Ask Hands Off'-Indicate
They Expect Fight to Finish in Their
Answer to the President-Big
Four in Conference.

Washington. President Harding's
plan for a settlement of the railway
strike through r-turn of the strikers
to work and submission of the senior
ity issue to the Railroad Labor Board
has failed. The railroad executives
generally accepted the Presidents pro-
posal, but it was rejected by the rep
resentatives of the striking shopmen.
The President is understood to have
abandoned hope of adjusting the rail
strike through action on his part as a
voluntary mediator, certainly for the
time being, on account of the persist
ent stand taken by the labor union
leaders.
The committee headed by L. De Witt
Cuyler, representing the railway eN-
ecutives, left Washington for New
York after final conference with the
President. If desired by the President,
they are willing to return to Washing
ton at any time.
The labor leaders remained in Wash
ington and engaged in series of con-
ferences without, however, indicating
in any way their willingness to ac-
cept the Presidents plan or any other
proposal for arbitration of the senior
ity issue. The labor leaders say they
will remain in Washington while the
house is in session, or the President
sends for them.
The situation, in brief, is as fol-
lows:
First-The Presidents peace pro-
posM of August Z was rejected by the
representatives of the striking shop
men and the President was so in
formed during conferences at the
White House with those who repre-
sented them.
Second-The railway executives
notified the President that the great
majority of the railroads of the coun-
try had accepted his proposal uncon-
ditionally, while those in the minority
also accepted it to the. extent of put
ting as many of the strikers as possible
back to work and leaving the seniority
issue to the Railroad Labor Board.
Third-The President asked the ex-
ecutives' committee to confer with rep
resentatives of the four brotherhoods
as spokesmen for the railroad shop
union leaders in an effort to find
basis of agreement.
Fourth-On learning from the rail-
Way executives that the conference
with the brotherhood leaders was
failure, the President authorized the
railway presidents committee to make
public the text of their resolutions of
acceptance and indicated his disap-
pointment at the failure of the strikers
to accept.
The majority report of the railway
presidents informed him that roads
having a mileage of 151,S24 miles had
decided to accept the Presidential pro-
posal to assign all their striking work
men to jobs, leaving the disputed ques-
ton of seniority to the Railroad Labor
Board for decision.
Howard Elliott, chairman Of the
board of the Northwestern Pacific sys-
TEN, headed the subcommittee of five
which handed in this report, which was
signed by Mr.. Elliott, A. II. Smith,
president of the New York Central,
Hale Holden, president of the Burling-
ton, julius Kruttschnitt, chairman of
the Southern Pacific, and G. H. Mark
ham, president of the Illinois Central.
The minority report, presented by
w. w. Atterbury, vice president of the
Pennsylvania system, Informed the
President that the other railroads, hav
ing a mileage of 1922 miles, were will
ing to assign strikers on their respec-
tive roads to their former positions
wherever vacancies existed and like
wise would agree to refer questions of
seniority to the Railroad Labor Board.
President Harding is understood to
have been pleased with the replies
of the railway presidents. He was dis
appointed with the rejection of the
peace plan by the representatives of
the unions, but hopeful that they would
swing into line for peace and meet the
railway presidents half way.