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Show Jef imm . mssmm 0 Wharton, President of Railway Employee of A F of L , Testifies DISPUTES MARKHAM Question of Piecework Scale 1$ Raised and Threshed Out at Length CHICAGO KfiW Testimony in Cctr'! ctloa or mo ficatiou of evi Jt I e before the I rated tte Hf SJ,(,n oa iojuitrial relt ons ) ea L ttd" H Markham pre ikot tie HHno a (.antral s jrivea hfafy by A O. Wharton president of Hjja37 employees of the mertean HraeisUos of Labor Jatuea J Mao or IJIynef proudest of the machinists M(tX at Clinton 111 and J U Mi QjiMrj of Paducah Ky TWl of too tesUmon deals with Jtr Maikham a expressed fear of the j! of tlvo men to form federations of Uftfumen by railroads instead of bav 1 Kj the crafts belong to stnttly raft nmlons. fader the old plan the ra Iroada vera able to play one union against another and the expense of seeking re tVt grievance was too Croat to bo ' oorsa by the weaker unions, said Mr Wharton H a fear that the railroad Aienbors of certa n crafts would bo nominated, bv members not employed j the railroads was unfoundel The Sstem federation plan pro Ides that a grievances of the ra lroad men shall be considered only b those men and not by members of the craft not em jJotm by the railroad n oHed. For jgaiunce a strike of math msts at an Sidnstnal plant would not affect mem Sirs of the bodv belonging to the svs t Tern federation One Point Not Raised If there was a tr ke at the Baldwin I tjofomothe works would the men on a I railroad s ng Baldw n engines atrika I loo, rather than repa r soci engines) I s-ked Commisnoner R. U Aiahton I The po nt has ne er come op, re I fhfi Mr Wharton but we have fed If-ttions on fiftv two railroad systems Mini no refusal of that kind baa ever lihcen brough to our attention I think Its facts peak for thems'rves. Htr Abo asked the witness opin jig of the anad an arbitrat on law JUtae fea e 01 that law is bad for the Kfs "a d Mr W barton It compels jrbltrat on but three months delay is (Sowed before the law becomes opera WBe In the case of a coal m ne strike, iVj$e law operated to give the mine owner fthrSO months n which he bo (t stock I lies; nnportM strikebreaker's and1 made f otier preparat ons -while the men were I In the case I have n m nd the rum was w ecked bv the law s de Bt'Ur Aishton brought up the subject jurisdictional disputes n wh ch no HEtmplaint against an employer s in Haired Mr Wharton repl ed that there sre been many such disputes on the K loads federated and that n no single Use have the offic als failed to adjust knitters without the men miss ng a Win s work I If the employers reall want to do ; nmettang for ndustnal peace and the public good thev will foster the federa Hon plan aid the witnes earnestly Escaped With "Yi arning " ijfcSIr Mayer was one of three men jfrtose arrest for the alleged violation ' of an mjtrnet on against picketing the Brno s Central shops at Clinton was noted in the testimony of Mr Mark lam. At Markham said that the men were dismi sed bv Judge Humphrey at "pnngfield wito a warning ' Jndze Humphrey a attitude was ei te the reverse sa d the witness.. The testimon of the railroad s rtnkebrtakers was such that Judge Humphrey s snsp c ons were aroused and he remarked that there seemed to h penury somewhere. He was so im pressed with this that a fourth man arrested with us Harrv Andrews who did not try to get bonds so onr ease , could be prepared and who b con6e lCjiienc was sentenced to th rty days in Jill, was ordered released forthw tn by th' jndg Mr McCreTv former shopman at Pa floeah, where he worked for the II hnois Central and vice president of the railway employees department, contra dieted Mr Markham with reference to ieta la preceding the strike of shopmen , M 1911 and rave his version or the 1 mtrednetion of a form of the piece ork system at Padacah Piecework Involved We worked by the hour sa d he but presently we found that inspectors ts checking the work done by each Xia. For the most part they had to stake the men s word for t. The men eooldn t f nd out what the p ece work rate was bnt at the monthly payday nwrt of them were told that their ."Puce-work pay would give them $20 or 130 more than they earned by the hour Hey were asked on which basis they referred to be compensated Those o declined the bonna presently dia-i dia-i jtovered ihat their p ece work rate no 1 Jwer exceeded the hourly rate but .t&ev-were warned that their standard of P oanctavity was falling below requ re , meats We objected to the piece work I 'Jstem because t crowds out men old j A "e service and makes old men out of young men ' Frank P Walsh cha rman of the iimmission, informed reporters that he nvestlgat ng the illness wh ch was jfeoorted as preventing Robert T Lin J hairman of the board of directors ? Potman company from com ng JO Thuago to test fv i I onderstand that he is well enough ftitn Tfolf and he 'av be wel1 nO"Kh Cv5 "t"y The eomm ssion has power f S P6' h s attendance sa cf Mr tor v a sh |