Palisadian., 1923-09-21
GREAT TROLLEY STRIKE ENDS AS
PUBLIC SERVICE 0BEYS COURT
ORDER; CARS IN OPERATION
Public Service to Ask for Ten Cent Fare Opposition to
Increase; Only About $50 of Employees Will Not Re-
/ turn; Great Victory for Men, Says Wepner.

AS this paper goes to press it is
announced that street cars-some of
them at least-in Bergen county will
begin to operate in an hour or So
So ends the great strike that lasted
fell over a month.
The various developments in con-
nection with the efforts on the part
of state and municipal officials to
make the Public Service Company
resume operations are familiar to all
and not worthy of tiresome review.
Of the late developments in con-
nection with the company's decision
to resume service at once yesterday
mornings Dispatch says, in part:
Men Ratify Contract
Resumption follows ratification last
night by employees of the company
of an agreement submitted by Thomas
N. McCarter of the company to the
joint conference board of the trolley
mems union at meeting in Newark
yesterday noon. The contract was re-
layed to each of the nine unions on
the system and at meetings last night
each of them assented to the agree
ment.
These meetings were held in West
Hoboken, Edgewater, Jersey City,
Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth, Dun
nellen, New Brunswick and Camden.
The contract is to run for three
years. Under its terms the men who
receive 46 cents an hour will get Sc
cents; those who received 48 will get
58, and those who received SO cents
will get 60 hereafter. The wages of
the shop men will BE increased in the
same proportion.
The total of platform men, shop
men and track men who will return
to work totals in the neighborhood
of $500.
Company to Ask Dime Fare
Following the announcement yes
ferday noon that the offer OF the com
pany was acceptable to the leaders
of the men, Mr.. McCarter stated that
the company will apply to the Public
Utility Commission for authority to
increase the fare to ten cents, with
free transfers to be given with plan
possibly for five cent fare for short
rides in congested districts. The
nickel fare would carry no transfer
privilege.
Opposition to Increase
When the company will formally
submit it's application for the higher
rate has not yet been decided but the
announcement yesterday brought out
some opposition, and in Newark a
special meeting of the City Commits
sion will be held today to discuss the
proposed increase and possibly to ar
range for opposing it.
Mayor Hague and other Jersey City
officials yesterday expressed opposi-
tion to the proposed fare increase on
the trolleys and predicted that the
in view of the showing of receipts
made during June, as filed officially
with the Public Utility Commission,
the last one put on record. This in
dicates that the company at that time
had been earning enough to meet the
addition required to pay higher wages
to the men.
Few Men Quitting
Statements made at the meetings
of the men last night were to the
effect that not more than 5 per cent
of the former employees would refuse
to return. 1t had been feared the
number would be larger because many
Of them had secured employment dur
ing the strike in other lines.
Preparatory to resumption of oper-
ations the company sent cars and
crews out of the various barns yester-
day to clean out the tracks. This was
done throughout Hudson county, the
first clean up crews being sent out
last evening. Shop men were sent
for and they will get to work today in
many instances getting the running
equipment in order for use.
Cleaning Out Tracks
The tar visible on the tracks at
many points except where there are
cobblestone or dirt streets, will be
easy to remove, the company says.
tracks cut the tar out of the tracks.
The heavy work ahead is cleaning
gravel and dirt and fresh-grown weeds
out of the tracks and frogs.
Oilers from the shops will go over
the mechanism in short order while
members of the crews are putting
electric bulbs back in the sockets.
Outside of these minor adjustments,
the only task is cleaning the cars.
This will be done as speedily as pos
sible, the company to send limited
number of the cars out before they
have been thoroughly cleaned. These
will be withdrawn and cleaned as
soon as possible.
Wepner Deeply Gratified
"It is a wonderful victory for the
men," declared William Wepner,
chairman of the joint conference
board of the trolleyman's union, speak
ing in Newark yesterday.
"The morale of the men has been
maintained perfectly throughout the
entire struggle. There has not been
a single complaint about any disorder