Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, August 30, 1916, Page 2

2 STRIKE ORDER FOR BROTHERHOOD MEN Text of Instructions Delivered to Railroad Trainmen to Govern Their Action. BAN PUT UPON VIOLENCE Washington, Aug. 29—Following is the strike order issued to members of the four railr_a. vrotherhoods, fixing Labor day, Monday, September 4, as the tentativ. date for the walkout of the 400,000 trainmen. The strike order is brief. It is addressed to all mem- bers of the four brotherhoods, is ‘signed by the various general chair- men, and reads as follows: “Sirs and 3rothers: This is to § advise that the vote of the em- ployes in train and engine service on the eight-hour day and time and one-half overtime proposition was overwhelmingly in favor of a strike. “Notwithstanding this, your representatives have been unable to effect a satisfactory settlement and a strike, under the laws of £ the respective organizations be- comes effective on September 4, ' 1916, at 7 a. m. £ “Impart this information, so i those interested will understand i that they are to promptly obey.” H On a separate sheet the duties of § members and officers in the conduct | of a strike are set forth. Particular H emphasis is placed on.conducting the proposed strike as peacefully as pos- sible. Among the duties of members set forth are these: “No man in road service in- volved in the strike will perform any service after the hour sct to strike unless he has already begun a trip and has actually {e(t the terminal. If the train has left the terminal hes will complete the trip and deliver the engine and train at the end of the run or tie- up point, if he tied up under the law, after which he will perform no further service until the close of the strike. Men in other than road service will leave the service at the appointed time. “So far as your legal right to strike is concerned, there is no difference between a mail train + and a freight train. You have identically the same right to re- fuse to perform service on a mail train as you have to refuse to perform service on a freight train. “All men on trike wi'l keep way from the company’s prop- , except such men as are designated certain duties to be performed by the authority of the organizations. Every man should understand * that the laws of the land must be obeyed. Acts of violence oi any nature will not be tolerated by " the organizations.” PRESIDENT PUTS . RAIL STRIKE UP T0 LAWMAKERS (Continged from Page One) §i troversy failed, and the means of ar- bitration, for which the law provides, % wWere rejected. The representatives of the railway executives proposed 'that the demands of the men be submitted din their entirety to arbitration, along 4 with certain questions of readjust- ment as to pay and conditions of em- gleoyment. which seemed to them to © be either closely associated with the ‘demands or to call for reconsideration on their own merits. . Strike Becomes Imminent, “The men absolutely declined ar- cially if any of their tablished privileges w. by that %:nl to be drawn again in question, law in the matter put no compul- gion upon them. The 400,000 men from whom the demands proceeded had voted to strike if their demand were refused; the strike was immi- nient. It has since been set for Sep- tember 4 next. It affects the men who man the freight trains on practi- cally every railway in the country. The lms¢ t service throughout the United States must stand still until eir places are filled, if, indeed, it uld prove ible to fill them at all, Cities will be cut off from their food supplies, the whole commerce of the nation will be paralyzed, men of very sort and occupation will be thrown out of employment, countless thousands will, in all likelihood, be it may be, to the very point ation, and a tragical national ‘calamity, brought on, to be added to (the other distresses of the time, be- use no basis of accommodation or ttlement has been found. Effort at Mediation. . '“Just so soon as it became evident %tht mediation under the existing law ad failed and that arbitration had rendered impossible Ly the atti- e of the men, I considered it my uty to confer with the representa- ives of both the railways and the rotherhoods, and myself offer medi- tion, not as an arbitrator, but merely 'p?ke;mgn of the Tlig'n, in the in- rest of justice, indeed, and as a riend of both parties, but no‘t as udee, only as the representative of ,000 men, women and children ho would pay the price, the incalcu- able price, of loss and suffering ould these few men insist upon ap- roaching and concluding the matters controversy between them merely employers and employes, rather I than as patrotic citizens of the United tates looking before and after and epting the larger responsibility ich the public would put upon Eight-Hour Day Logical, “It seemed to me, in considering subject matter of the controversy, it the whole spirit of the time and preponderant evidence of recent omic experience spoke for the ht-hour dIK. It has been adjudged the thought and experience of re- P ——— | hour day be adopted by the railway mahagements and put into practice for the present as a substitute for the existing ten-hour basis of pay and service; that I should appoint, with the permission of congress, a small commission to observe the results of the change, carefully studying the figures of the altered operating costs, not only, but also the conditions of labor under which the men worked, and the operation of their existing agreements with the railroads, with instructions to report the facts as they found them to congress at the earliest possible day, but without recommendation; and that after the facts had been thus disclosed, adjust- ment should in some orderly manner be sought of all the matters now left unadjusted between the railroad man- agers and the men. Cites Opinion of Court. “These proposals were exactly in line, it is interesting to note, with THE BEE: OMAHA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30 organization of the Interstate Com-|mend them to your favorable consid- merce commission along the lines em-|eration. They demonstrate them- bodied in the bill recently passed by|selves. The time and the occasion the house of representatives and now |only emphasize their importance. We awaiting action by the senate; in or-|need them now, and we shall continue glcr that the commission may be ena-|to need them.” ed to deal with the many great and To Meet the Leaders. various duties now devolving upon it | 3 i i 2 i with a promptness and thoroughness| President Wilson will tonight discuss which are, with its present constitu-| the legislative program to meet the tion and means of action, practically | strike situation with Speaker Clark, impossible. | Democratic Leader Kitchen, Repub- “Second, the establishment of an|lican Leader Mann and Chairman eight-hour day as the legal basis alike | Adamson of the interstate commerce of work and wages in the employment ; committee. of all railroad employes, who are ac-| The committee of twenty-four tually engaged in the work of opera-|brotherhood leaders met sodn after ting trains in interstate transportation. | hearing the presiden: address con- “Third, the authorization of the ap-|gress. They declined to make any pointment by the president of a small | comment. body of men to observe the actual| Arrangements were made for all results in experience of the adoption! of the committee except the four of the eight-hour day in railway trans-| brotherhood heads to leave for their portation alike for the men and for|homes in order that they may be the railroads, its effects in the matter | among their men if the strike order of oEeratmg costs, in_the application | goes into effect of the existing practices and agree-| There was approval from both the position taken by the supreme court of the United States when ap- pealed to to protect certain litigants from the financial losses which they confidently expected if they should submit to the regulation of their charges and of their methods of serv- ice by public legislation. The court has held that it would not undertake to form a judgment upon forecasts, but could base its action only upon actual experience; that it must be supplied with facts, not with calcula- tions and opinions, however scientifi- cally attempted. To undertake to ar- bitrate the question of the adoption of an eight-hour day in the ligEt of results merely estimated and predict- ed would be to undertake an enter- prise of conjecture. No wise man could undertake it, or if he did under- take it could feel assured of his con- clusions, “I unhestitatingly offered the friendly services to the railway man- agers to see to it that justice was done the railroads in the outcome. 1 felt warranted in assuring them no obstacle of law would be suffered to stand in the way of their increasing their revenues to meet the expenses resulting from the change so far as the development of their business and of their administrative efficiency did not prove adequate to meet them. The public and the representatives of the public, T felt justified in assuring them, were disposed to see nothing but justice in such cases and were willing to serve those who serve them, Brotherhoods Accept Plan. “Representatives of the brother- hoods accepted tite plan, but the rep- resentatives of the railroads declined to accept it. In the face of what I cannot but regard as the practical cer- tainty that they will be ultimately obliged to accept the eight-hour day by the concerted action of organized labor, backed by the favorable judg- ment of society, the representatives of the railway managements have felt justified in declining a peaceful settle- ment which would engage all the forc- es of justice, public and private, on their side to take care of the event. They fear the hostile influence of ship- pers, who would be opposed to an in- crease of freight rates (for which, however, of course, the public itself would pay); they ap?uently feel no confidence that the Interstate Com- merce commission could withstand the objections that would be made. _They dé not care to rely upon. the friendly assuranices - of the congress or the president; they have, thought it best that they should be forced to yield, if they must yeild, not by counsel, but by the suffering of the country. While my conferences with them werein progress, and when, to all outward ap- pearances these conferences had come to a standstill, the representatives of the brotherhoods suddenly acted and set the strike for September 4. “The railway managers based their decision to reject my counsel in this matter upon their conviction that they must, at any cost to themselves or to the country, stand firm for the princi- ple of arbitration, which the men had rejected. I based my counsel upon the indisputable fact that there was no means of obtaining arbitration. The law supplied none; earnest efforts at mediation had failed to influence the men in the least. To stand firm for the principle of arbitration and yet not get arbitration seemed to me fu- tile, and something more than futile, because it involved incalculable dis- tress to the country, and consequences in some respects worse than those of war, and that in the midst of peace.” Arbitration Not Practicable Now. “1 yield to no man in firm adher- ence, alike of conviction and of pur- ose, to the principle of arbitration in industrial disputes; but matters have come to a sudden crisis in this par- ticular dispute and the country has been caugnt unprovided with any practicable means of enforcing that conviction in practice (by those fault we will not now stop to inquire). situation had to be met whose ele- ments and fixed conditions were in- disputable. The practical and patri- otic course to pursue, as it seemed to me, was to secure immediate peace by conceding the one thing in the de- mands of the men, which society itself and any arbitrators who rep- resented public sentiment were most likely to approve, and immediately lay the foundations for securing arbi- tration with regard to everything else involved. The event has confirmed that judgment. I was seeking to compose the present in order to safe- guard the future; for I wished an atmosphere of peace and friendly co- operation in which to take counsel with the representatives of the nation with regard to the best means for providing, so far as it might prove possible to provide, against the re- currence of such unhappy situations in the future—the best andymost prac- ticable means of securing calm and fair arbitration of all industrial dis- putes in the days to come. This is assuredly the best way of indicating a principle, namely, having failed to make certain of its observance in the present to make certain of its observ- ance in the future. But I could onl propose. 1 could not govern the wifi of others, who took an entirely dif- ferent view of the circumstances of the case, who even refused to admit the circumstances to be what they have turned out to be. Leent years a thing upon which societ s justified in insisting as in the inker’: t of health, efficiency, contentment d a general increase of economic . The whole presumption of ern erience would, it seemed me, be in its favor, whether there arbitration or not and the debat- points to settle were those which out of the acceptance of the _day rather than those ted its establishment. I, proposed that the eight- Recommends Legislation. “Having failed to bring the parties to this critical controversy to an ac- commodation, therefore, I turn to you, deeming it clearly our duty, as public servants, to leave nothing un- done that we can do to safeguard the life and interests of the nation. In the spirit of such a purpose I earnestly recommend the following legislation: A "First, immediate provision for the enlargement and administrative re- ments to the new conditions and in|sides of the joint session at sugges- all other practical aspects, with the | tions from the president of legisla- provision that the investigators shall | tion to prevent strikes or lockouts report their conclusions to the con-|pending investigation. gress at the earliest possible date, but| " The entire assemblage arose when without recommendation as to legisla- | the president concluded, after speak- tive actign, in order that the public|ing twenty-three minutes. There may lear! from an unprejudiced | were several rousing cheers as he left source just wnal aCiuws ....i0pments | the chamber. have ensued. Throughout the address the expres- Higher Freight Rates. sions of approval came mainly from A I the democratic side, republicans sit- “Fourth, explicit approval by the|ting and listening in silence. congress of the consideration hy the | .ic two houses then returned to Interstate Commerce commission Of}scparate regular sessions. The sen- an increase of freight rates to meet | ate interstate commerce committee such additional expenditures by the |met immediately to consider bills al- railroads as may have been rendered | ready framed to carry out the resi- necessary by the adoption of the|dent’s suggestions and in the house eight-hour day, and which have not|ieaders discussed the probable action been offset by administrative read-!while awaiting developments. justments and economies, should the It was impossible to get a quorum facts disclosed justify the increase. |at the meeting of the senate commit- “Fifth, an amendment of the exist-|tee and it was postponed until tomor- ing federal stateute which provides for | row morning, when consideration' of the mediation, conciliation and arbi-|legislation suggested in President tration of such controversies as the | Wilson's message will be undertaken. ety e 1T HRADS REJECT WILSON'S PROPOSAL modation now provided for you (Continued From Page One.) should fail, a full public investigation of the merits of every such dispute shall be instituted and completed be- fore a strike or lockout may lawfully be attempted. “And, sixth, the lodgment in the hands of the executive of the power, in case of military necessity, to take control of such portions and such rolling stock of the railways of the| country as may be required for mili- tary use, and to operate them for military purposes, with authority to| draft into the military service of the! United States such train crews and | administrative officials as the circum- stances require for their safe and efficient use. National Defense Important. “This last suggestion I make be- cause we cannot in any circumstances suffer the nation to be hampered in | the essential matter of national de fense. At the present moment cir- cumstances render this duty particu- larly obvious. Almost the entire mili- tary, force of the nation is stationed upon the Mexican border to guard our territory against hostile raids. It must be supplied and steadily sup- plied, with whatever it needs for its maintenance and efficiency. If it should be necessary for purposes of national defense to transfer any por-| tion of it upon short notice to some other part of the country, for reasons now unforeseen, ample means of transportation must be available and available without delay. The power conferred in this matter should be carefully and explicitly limited to! cases of military necessities, but in all such cases it should be made clear and ample., “There is one other thing we should do if we are true champions of arbi- tration. We should make all arbi- tral awards, judgments by record of a court of law, in order that their in- terpretation and enforcement may lie, not with one of the parties to the ar- bitration, but with an impartial and authoritative tribunal. “These things I urge upon you, not in haste, nor merely as a means of meeting a present emergency, but as permanent and necessary additions to the law of the land, suggested, indeed, by circumstances we had hoped never to see, but imperative as we?l as just, if such emereencies are to be prevent- ed in the future. I feel that no ex-|faction in any other manner. The de- tended argument is needed to com-| cision of a. commission or a board L ——————————— AT RAYMOND’S Three DaysRemain of our AUGUST SALE These are three days very important to you if there’s a single piece of house furnishing you need, or if you have a whole house to furnish. These three days will be the “Round up” of a month of furniture selling and value giving that has proven a genuine money saving event to the many who have kept us so busy from the day our sale began. Make good on these three remaining days. They are passing. They spell of millions of dollars, in the integ- rity and solvency of the r;rlroads of the country, we cannot in con- science surrender without a hearing the principle involved nor undertake to transfer the enormous cost that will result to the transportation of the commerce of the country. Ultimate Cost Enormous. “The ci;ht-hour day without puni- tive overtime involves an annual in- crease approximating in the aggre- gate $60,000,000, and an increase of more than 20 per cent in the pay of men, already the most highly paid in the transportation service. The ultimate cost to the railroads of an admission in this manner of the prin- ciple under contention cannot now be estimated; the effect upon the effi- ciency of the transportation of the country, now already under severe test under the tide of business now moving and at a time when more instead of less effort is required at public welfare, would be harmful be- yond calculation. 3 “The widespread effect upon the in- dustries of the country, as a whole, is beyond measure or appraisement at this fime, and we agree ‘with the insistent. and widespread public con- cert over the gravity of the situation and the consequences of a surrender by the railroads in this emergency. “In like manner we are deeply im- pressed with the sense of our respan- sibility to maintain and keep open the arteries of transportation which carry the life blood of the commerce of the country and of the consequences that will flow from even a temporary in- terruption of service over the rail- roads, but the issues presented have been raised above and beyond the so- cial and monetary questions involved, and the responsibility for the conse- quences that may arise will rest upon those that provoke it. “The questions involved are, in our respectful judgment, eminently suit- able for the calm investigation and decision by the public through the agency of fair arbitration, and can- not be disposed of to the public satis- YOUR OPPORTUNITY Will Save You Money —— Ther$ AReasen SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. Turpin’s School of Dancing. First beginner’s class, Monday, September 11th, 8 p. m. advgnced class, Tuesday, September 12, 8 p. m. Applications re- ceived now, Harney 5143, Private lessons any time. 28th and Far- nam Sts. First High School class starts September 30th, 8 p. m. Children’s class begins Saturday, October 7th, 2:30 p. m. First 1916. of arbitration having the public con- fidence will be accepted by the public and the social and financial rear- rangements made necessary thereby will be undertaken by the public, but in no less deliberate nor orderly man- ner. “The railroads of the country can- not, under present conditions, assume this enormous increase in their ex- penses. If imposed upon them, it would involve many in early financial embarrassment and bankruptcy and imperil the power of all to maintain | their credit and the integrity of their securities. The immediate increase in cost followed by other increases that would be inevitable, would substan- tially influence the present purchasing power of the railroads and disable them from extending and improving their facilities and equipment, to keep | abreast-of the demands of the country for efficient transportation service. Counter Proposals Made. “For thesc reasons we are with re- gret unable to accept the suggestion made by the president of the Unitel States. “We propose, however, as a basis of settlement the following: “A—The railroads will, effective September 1, 1916, keep the time of all men represented in this movement upon an eight-hour basis and by sep- arate account, monthly, with each man, maintain a record of the differ- ence between the money actually earned by him on the present basis and the amount that would have been earned upon an eight-hour basis— overtime on each basis to be computed ro rata. The amount so shown will e subject to the decision of the com- mission provided for in paragraph C of this memorandum and payable in money as m1|y be directed by said commission i its findings and de- cision.” “(b) The Interstate Commerce commission to supervise the keeping of these accounts and report the in- creased cost of the eight-hour basic day, after such period of actual ac- ceptance as their judgment approves, or the president may affix, not, how- ever, less than three months. “(c) In view of the far-reaching consequences of the decision made by the president, accepting the eight- hour day, not only upon the railroads and the classes of labor involved di- rectly in this controversy, but to the public, and upon all industry, it seems plain that before the existing condi- tions are changed the whole subject in so far as it effeus the railroads and their employes should be investi- gated and determined by a commis- sion to be appointed by the president, of such standing as to compel atten- | tion and respect to its findings. The judgment_of such a commision would be a helpful basis for adjustments with labor and such legislation as in- telligent public opinion, so informed, might demand. Will Accept Findings. “The railroads will accept the find- ings of such a commission upon the issue of an eight-hour basis of pay, as well as upon any other matters now in controversy that may be sub- mitted to it by either party. “The commission should consist of not less than five members and should also be authorized to hear and de- termine all questions that may arise in the application of the findings of said commission or in the working T out of such plan as it may propose “The presidents of the railroads are prepared to continue negotiations | on the subject with genuine anxiety, | within the limits above expressed, to| find solution to the question.” OMAHA IS READY T0 FACE STRIKE OF RAILROAD MEN| (Continued from Page One) self indefinitely without the aid of rail | transportation, so far as food is con-| cerned. Meat might cost a little more, | but the supply would not run out.” W. H. Yohe, presiden: and general manager of the Updike Milling com- | pany, said: “There is enough grain stored right in Omaha now to make flour to run the city a couple of years, | it we could get it switched to the mills. Of course, in an extreme emer- gency, it could be hauled in wagons, and so the town is really well supplied so far as grain and flour is concerned. Omaha, South Omaha and Council Bluffs consume about 20,000 barrels of flour a month.” ) Douglas county has onty twenty- five tons of coal in the basement of the court house. It requires 300 tons every month during the winter to heat the building. L. V. Nicholas, ‘president of the | Dairy company Nicholas Oil company, said he had ¢ a supply of gasoline to last his trade #~ for two months. “I do not believe the strike wili last thirty days at the very longest. was his opinion. Plenty of Milk, Treasurer Dyball of the Alamite believes a railroad strike would effect the butter supply more than milk and cream. “Most of the dairy products are brought into Omaha by train, although much milk is transported by auto trucks. If | rail transportation should be cut ofl I suppose there would be an in- creased use of motor vehicles to near- by points, assuming there would bc enough gasoline for the motor ve hicles,” said Mr. Dyball. Mr. Dyball does not care to spec ulate much on the effects of the pros. pective railroad tie-up. Plenty of Gas. “We are in good shape,” said Superintedent Taylor of the Omaha Gas company, when asked regarding the possible effect of a general rail way strike upon the gas' company’s operations. “We have enough coal and coke for at least four or five months’. As for the oil we use in the manufacture of gas. we have a sufficient supply on hand to last about sixty days. 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