The Washington herald., 1922-08-02
RAIL EXECUTIVES
REJECTION SEVERE
BLOW TO HARDING
Continued From PAGE One.


property without such a pledge from
the strikers.
The third and most important
proposal. namely, that all strikers
be returned TO work and their for
mer positions with seniority and
other rights unimpaired" met with
completo rejection.
Many men in the service re-
fused to join the strike and in so
doing were assured of the senior
lty rights accruing to them and of
the permanencs of their positions
the executives declared. ON some
important lines so per cent or more
refused to join the strike. To these
old loyal employees have been added
thousands of new men who were
employed and could be secured only
upon a definite promise that their
services would be retained regard
less of the settlement of the strike,
with all the rights appertaining to
such employment, including that of
seniority under the working rules
and regulations previously approved
by the Labor Board.
I'VE especially point out that a
refusal of seniority to the old men
who remained in the service and
the new men who accepted service
would have just the opposite effect
to that desired by the President
and would most seriously discredit
the Labor Board. The Board itself
prescribed the rules of seniority
under which the men referred to
have secured their seniority rights
and the railroad companies have
hn o
moral right to deprive these men
of those rights.
The Presidents demand that the
strikers be returned to their jobs
without prejudice came as jolt
to the executives. They had ex-
pected a proposal for modified re-
storation and when the Presidents
letter was read at the conference,
the executives received il with
amazement. Secretary of Commerce
Hoover. who had been sent from
Washington to explain the pro-
rosals. minimized the Importance of
the seniority issue. But his speech
brought no favorable response from
the railroad presidents. 1t is said.
and he promptly left the meeting.
Reply Is Drafted.
After some debate a committee
was appointed to draft the reply
to the President. The resolution
was adopted as presented by the
committee with practically no dis
cussion.
There was some criticism of the
way in which the President pre-
scented his proposition.
Some of the executives, includ-
ing Loree. declare the letter was an
ultimatum. They objected to his
Introductory sentence in which he
said he was presenting the terms
upon which the managers and the
shopmen ARE to agree" They
drew the inference that a last at
tempt will be made to end the
strike. basing the assumption on
the last sentence of his letter,
which was:
IF there is good reason why the
managers cannot accept. they will
be obligated to open direct negotia,
tions or assume full responsibility
fot the situation"
No disposition to open negotia-
lions was observed at the meeting,
il was said. The executives also
took exception to widely printed
reports that the executives had pri-
vately assured Harding they would
accept his proposal.
Much harm has already been
done repeated publication. of
rumors in recent days that the
loyal men and the new men are to
be sacrificed to the strikers the
executives resolution read. This
has discouraged new men from ac-
eepting employment in as great
numbers as would come forward IL
certain that the. pledges, given
would be fulfilled. Such published
runnors only delay the complete
collapse Of the strike,r
The resolution expressed full
agreement with President Harding's
statement that the usefulness of the
Railroad Labor Board lay In prompt
acceptance Of its decisions shy both
sides.s But the railroad presidents