Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-08-06 | Page 2 | Board of U. S. Peacemakers Await Strike

BOARD OF U. S. PEACEMAKERS AWAITJTR1KE Will Be in New York to Act on Request for Mediation in the Railroad Tangle. SENATORS REFLECT WILSON'S ATTITUDE Should Conciliatory Measures Meas-ures Fail Roads Will Be Operated Under Federal Supervision. By International News Service. WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 The entire membership of the United States board of mediation and conciliation, consisting consist-ing of William L. Chambers, Martin A. Knapp and W. G. Hangar, will be in New York ready to accept a request for or tender the services of the board to the committee of railway managers and the executives of the railway brotherhoods broth-erhoods to avert a strike if efforts for a direct settlement fail. Mr. Hangar already is in New York, and Judge Knapp is at Watertown, N. Y., on his vacation. He will meet Judge Chambers and Mr. Hangar in New York nest Tuesday. The board is keeping fully informed upon every development in the threatened threat-ened national railway strike. Judge Chambers said today: - "From my personal acquaintance and extensive mediation conferences with the gentlemen representing both sides to this controversy, I think the public can repose the greatest confidence in their conservative judgment and action." ac-tion." Announce Vote Thursday. The completion of the strike ballot taken by the brotherhoods of enginers, firemen, trainmen and conductors of the entire country will be announced next Thursday. The result will be read at a joint conference of the employees' rep-y rep-y resentatives and the committee of rail road managers, after which the demands of the employees will be presented. The railroads will not peremptorily reject the men's demands upon their presentation, presenta-tion, but deliberate conferences, possibly pos-sibly extending over a week, will be held. It was stated today that the public has a right to believe the conference will not break up before one side or the other, or both, make a request for the services of the board of mediation. If, however, such a request should not be made the board promptly will tender its services. Wilson's Attitude. It became known today that President Presi-dent Wilson's attitude toward the strike situation was accurately reflected by the action of the senate interstate commerce committee yesterday when it laid on the ' table a joint resolution directing the interstate in-terstate commerce commission to conduct con-duct an investigation into the wages, hours of labor, etc., of railway employees, em-ployees, and of the employees in other industries, so that a comparison might be made. The railroad employees contended . that the resolution was not in their interest, in-terest, but was favored by the railroad companies. It was after the conferences between President Wilson and Commissioner of Mediation Chambers that the senate committee tabled the resolution. Federal Operation. Administration officials expressed the belief today that even in the event of a nation-wide railroad strike the government gov-ernment would not undertake to control and operate the railroads unless every possible resource for an amicable and speedy settlement of the differences between be-tween the men and the companies had been exhausted. If, finally, all efforts to settle the controversy failed and the entire industrial indus-trial system of the country should be dislocated by a railroad strike, officials expressed the belief that the government govern-ment would, be compelled to take over, temporarily, the coutiol aud operation of the roads. The first question in such an event would be, it was said, the question of authority. It was Raid that should congress con-gress pass an act directing the government govern-ment to take over for the duration of the strike the control and operation of the trains, in all probability the present operating heads of the various roads would be retained by the government in I their present positions, they being accountable, ac-countable, however, to the government and not to the corporations they now serve. Officials believe the salaries of officers and wages of employees would not be changed during the temporary intervention interven-tion of the government. Transportation rates would remain the same,, unless the government operation oper-ation of the roads should be prolonged. In that case, it is believed, the government govern-ment -would institute uniform rates on all the roads.