New-York tribune., 1922-08-15
brotherhood Heads Con-
fer With Harding; Hope
full of Influencing Roads
ON Seniority Question
Cummins Doubts
Settlement Is Near
Will Withhold Bill Giving
SeizurePower; Southern
System for War to Finish
By Carter Field

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14.-With
the railroad executives back on their
jobs and trying vigorously to fill the
places of the striking shopmen, the
Big Four" brotherhood chiefs init
mated after long visit to the White
House to-day that they might ask
another meeting with the executives
and make new proposals for settle
ment of the strike.
In this proposed conference the
brotherhood leaders will represent
the shopmen, as they have been do
ing at the White House for the last
few days. They expressed the hope
that they would get a less stubborn
set of railroad executives to deal
with than the committee headed by
T. De Witt Cuyler.
Unions Decide Move To-day
Final determination on this plan to
ask another conference with the execu-
tives will be reached tomorrow morn
ing, it was said. Meanwhile, Fairfax
Harrison, president of the Southern
Railway, which is not a member of the
executives association, and which has
made no attempt to run it's shops since
the strike began, holding the places
open for the strikers when they should
return, announced that he would begin
filling the places.
=. III 1t means war to run the Southern
Railway" Mr.. Harrison thus concluded
has statement addressed to the people
served by his lines, 'tlet it come now
and not later
The one bright spot in the whole
situation, so far as the Administration
is concerned, a Cabinet member de-
clared on leaving the White House to-
night is the apparent probability of a
settlement of the anthracite coal strike.
AT that hour the news from Cleveland
of some of the operators leaving the
conference with John l.. Lewis for set
tlement Of the soft coal strike had not
reached here.
Harding Hopeful of Peace
There is strong hope in Administered
tion circles, however, that the negotia-
tions in Cleveland and in the anthra-
cite district will lead very shortly to
havy production Of coal, leaving, so far
as the emergency is concerned, only
the railroad situation to worry the
government.
This does not mean that the Pregi-
dent believes if both coal and rail
strikes should be settled tomorrow
that everything, would be rosy this
winter. The Administration is fully
aware that even with mines and rail-
roads operating at 100 per cent begin
ming tomorrow there would be Sc
tries requiring large quantities Of coal.
On the other hand, the President is
assured that there will be no suffering
from cold for lack of fuel for domestic
heating. The date of the clearing up
of the strikes will, however, determine
just how much unemployment on &C.
count of closed down factories there
will be this winter.
Sheppard Not Disheartened
at is much the same story we have
been telling you," said L. E. Sheppard,
of the Order of Railway Conductors,
on leaving the White House. eve
went over the situation from top to
bottom with the President. I can't say
that it has resulted in any improve
ment, nor is it any worse"
Mr.. Sheppard said that as yet the
efforts of the non-striking organiza-
tions as mediators had brought no
tangible results. The group is remain
ing in town. he added, "to see if we
can get somebody to talk to US who
can be helpful"
"Do you mean," Mr.. Sheppard was
asked, "that you have been unable to
get any help from the President" 2"
"Not by any MEANS" was the reply.
"The President has been helpful. We
hope to get some executives who are
not as tenacious as others on certain
points, who we hope can influence their
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