Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 63, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1917 — WALKOUTS TO EXTEND TO ALL ROADS [ARTICLE]

WALKOUTS TO EXTEND TO ALL ROADS

Within Five, Days—Compromise Proposal is Rejected—President May Act. ______ —• •■*••• • • 1,. - New York, March 15.—A “progressive strike” of the 400,000 members of the four great railroad brotherhoods to begin at 6 o’dlock (Central time) Saturday oh eastern roads, was ordered here late today. The walkout will extend to all the' railroads in the country within five days. Chiefs Of* the workmen’s organizations set the strike machinery in motion within a few minutes after an ultimatum delivered to the conference committee of railroad managers had been rejected. A compromise proposal offered by the managers was declined Only successful intervention by President Wilson, it appeared tonight, can avert a strike. The brotherhood leaders gave no indication that even an appeal from the nation’s chief executive can change their purpose to obtain a basic eight-hour day and pro rata time for overtime through the use of the “protective feature” of their organization. They refused flatly to submit their case to the eight hour commission headed by Major General George W. Goethals, or await the decision of the supreme court on the constitutionality of the Adamson law. - " ’ Freightemployes/ya.rdmemandengine hostlers on the New York Central lines east and west, the Nickel Plate and Baltimore & Ohio roads and in the great yards in Chicago and St. Louis, will be the first to leave their posts. They will be followed on Sunday by the same classes of'workmen on the Southern Railway, the Norfolk & Western, the Virginian, Chesapeake & Ohio and on a group of northwestern roads. No formal outline of the brotherhood’s program was made either to the managers or to the public. It was said, however, that the freight employes on the other roads in the country would be called next in groups at twelve or twenty-four hour intervals after Sunday. If the paralysis of freight traffic thus caused does not result in surrender by the railroads before that time, the employes on all passenger trains will b,e ordered out Wednesday. 'Hie railroad managers said tonight they expected that enough of their men would remain loyal to enable them to operate a skeleton service on most roads. The managers some tame ago caused a census of their employes ,to be taken to determine how many would refuse to go on strike. This resulted, it was said, in varying percentages, ranging from a very few on some roads to from fifty to sixty per cent on others.

Chicago, March 15.—H. R. Kurrie, president of the Monon, said tonight he thought that line would not be directly affected -by the railroad strike. “I expect a minimum of inconvenience in the handling of our business,” .he said. “Local business will be affected . because we probably will not receive and cannot send cars of freight >back and forth. It is probable our inconvenience will be lessened each day that the strike is in progress.” Plans are under way, it was said by some of the representatives of the railroad, to establish a motor truck service from outlying railroad yards for the bringing into the city such freight as is necessary for food consupiptisn. „