Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1922-08-10
TRAIN CREWS MAY
REFUSE EQUIPMENT
THESE ORGANIZED WORKERS IN
INNATE sToPPAeE OF WORK
UNLESS PEACE COMES.
CONFER WITH PRESIDENT
Big Rail Unions Join In Complaint
That Rolling stock Is In Danger
Gus conditlon-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 to 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 "irreducible minimum in seeking
honorable sediment"
Likewise T. E. Wills, j. Paul Steph,
ems and Arthur ]. Lowell, representing,
respectively, the engineers, trainmen
and enginemen and firemen, three OF
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 an
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 a conference
with the brotherhood chiefs.
Officials of the shop union, though
informed to degree concerning rep
made by the BROTHERHOOD
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
held the belief that Presi- |
dent Harding, If 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 &C |
cepting the railroad labor board wage |
awards and returning to work pending |
Mr.. Jewell and Mr.. Johnson called
on Samuel Gompers after the White |
House visit and some Of the represen.
tatives of 1shopmen 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 arrangements in order
to make of the railway strike a uni
lied union-smashing campaign"