OCR Text |
Show PRESIDENT READY TO ACT ON BEHALF OF THE COUNTRY WASHINGTON, March li. Full co-' ope-1 'ion to make a strike effective will ' be on by the American Federation of Labor if the railroads reject the demands of the employees' brotherhoods. Xo immediate im-mediate sympathetic strikes are contemplated, contem-plated, federation officials say tonight, but the brotherhood chiefs have been assured of prompt suppoi t in every other way , possible. Officials of the federation's railway department, de-partment, representing more than 400.000 shop employees, switchmen, telegraphers and maintenance' of way labofo'.s not affiliated af-filiated with the brotherhoods, conferred at length today. It was said the first move if the strike comes will be to admonish ad-monish all union men not to offer to replace re-place strikers. When the brotherhoods threatened a st rike last fuli. raii roads began enrolling other classes of workmen to act as engineers, en-gineers, firemen, conductors and trainmen, and many of these were to have been shoo employees or switchmen. Since then, however, how-ever, the four brotherhoods, not on over-frlondly over-frlondly terms with the federation, have effected a working agreement with its leader's. Plana for a general strike of all other railroad t-mnlnyees have been discussed, but the belief genera Hy expressed was that no good coull be accomplished by sucldenlv Calling out all uniuu men at this time President Wilson is ready to act promptly prompt-ly should the nation-wide railroad strike threatened to begin Saturday really I prove imminent after the conference in I New York tomorrow. I Any aetion is expected to talte the fonn'of a demand in the public interest ! that the two sldos settle their differences i in view of the grave international situa-I situa-I lion. I Through 5-Veretary Wilson and members of the federal bourd of mediation and conciliation con-ciliation the president kept iu close tmirh wit', ihe situation today. Secretary WM-Hon WM-Hon said tonight thai ho did not plan to go to New York personally to deal with thp sltuat ion and would not discuss the ones i ion vf whether another government rcprrvntative would to. I When a strike was ihre-atencd last venr Sccrelary Tumulty went .to New York 1 and nxked repre-cnta lives of both sides ; io .Mime to Washington to discuss thc'.r riifferences with J'rcsl lent Wilson. |