Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 62, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 March 1917 — UP TO RAILROADS TO CONCEDE POINTS [ARTICLE]

UP TO RAILROADS TO CONCEDE POINTS

Say Brotherhood Officials If Roac (Heads Desire to Avert Tie-Ups— Deny Bad Faith. New York, March 14.—An appeal to the patriotism of the members of the four great railroad brotherhoods to retrain from any “rash movement” which would bring on industrial warfare in the present national crisis, was made here tonight by the National Conference of Railways on the eve of the conference tomorrow with the chiefs of the trainmen’s organizations. There were additional indications, however, that the brotherhoods were determined to call a strike unless their demands were granted. After a meeting here with several hundred general chairmen and chairmen of the locals in the 'brotherhood organizations on lines entering New York, W. G. Lee, president of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, arinounced that unanimous support had been voted the brotherhood chiefs in the demands they intended to make [at tomorrow’s conference. These dej mands, he said, would be based on the I modified demands of last December, which called for a basic eight-hour I work day and pro rata pay for overl time. This is virtually what the j Adamson law would give if put in : force, he said. I The original program .of the men, i the refusal of which resulted in the | call last September of the strike, 1 which was averted by the passage of the Adamson act, included an eight hour basic day with time and a half for overtime , “Charges that we are acting in baa faith in bringing up this question again at this time without waiting for the decision of the supreme court on the Adamson act are baseless,” Lee declared. “We are not parties to the agreement entered into between the attorneys for the railroads and the representatives of the attorney general’s office to do nothing until the decision is handed down. “Our position is the same as if there were no Adamson law and no decision pending. Whether the decision is for or against the law, our demands, which we shall present tomorrow, will be unaltered. If the law is upheld it would give us what we will ask for tomorrow. If it is thrown out we still will stand pat and take no less than the Adamson law would have given us.” ______