OCR Text |
Show All Efforts at Reopening Reopen-ing Negotiations for Settlement Fail; Apprehensions Ap-prehensions Expressed. Government Again Condemns Con-demns Attitude and; Auction of Labor Learl-) Learl-) ers; Latter Reply. I.OXDOX, 0t. l: illy the AssoeiKtcil T'l'cs.'i Al'tcr s:v'ii t lie raili'Oail t:rikc siiuation toniglit- l.'CL-anic the .rnvc;; in I're hislovv ol :iuy labor crisis ot' 1 i" Mr'.! U!i ciii'lrc in the pros-cm pros-cm generation. All cl'forls of the lri:ns-yiort lri:ns-yiort "oi-kers 'edcai ion to i'hul a bridge to enaljle a renewal of negotiations negotia-tions betv-'een Hie ON'eriiuicnt l''-1 lnaiomil union of railway men failed. The government 's proposal for a seven sev-en days' triKO. for the railroad men io return to tvorli and permit resumption of negotiations on tit.1 disputed points, coupled ivitii the offer by the govern-mnit govern-mnit to rc-ort io arbitration in the ever.", of failure Io reach an agreement, lirs been rejec'.otl by the railway men's ii.'iicn and Ihe -whole possibility of mediation me-diation for the moment seems to have ! completely collapsed. An appeal has been made by the go1 .".-niiient for a citizen army to protect pro-tect peaceable eUu'ens and to aid in th? v:jrk uf maintaining- the supply of food. TRADE' CONGRESS MEETING CALLED. 'J' li e c l: I i v c body o 1' t h e n a 1 j oji a 1 imiun ol iTuil'.vay men has tlisbunaod J"ov ti;j I'urpObO or cujagiitg in cainiKiiyn meciincs ihrouliout Die country. A Cuuqv.ss embracing all the trade unions - v of the United Kingdom has been c:illed to convene Tuesday for the purpose oi" di .(ussiii'i" t lie situation. Ro.y:onjtI biii t".' for williiioldi n-' 11; c jiK-u's w.igcs 13 r spumed by the ,'o''jr:'i- : Jui-ni. in a staleiiient iasiK-d from Uo'.vr.-hix Uo'.vr.-hix street Ja.-rt nigrbr. It says: I "The numbers of tiie Nutional L'nioi1. of KailwaymcTi broke their comraels . L;iop)ied ivorU without notictr in coir, pie i e disregard of the effect their action wou.d : have on tlie persons and jjropert' of ora!-liL'ry ora!-liL'ry citizf-.ns in their- charge. They in-i'iietcd in-i'iietcd damage on innumerable people, left food upon v.iiieh the public depended. Jc- subsistence to go to waste, put vast 3: umbers to great expanse by ;eavm; the m stranded without conveyances, and Inflicted great losses upon many by preventing pre-venting them from reaching dcstinntioi":f". Yhe damages to which tttey are iirh;e in l;j v.- are vastly greater than the ivr.ounc now being withheld. JUSTIFIES ACTION IN WITHHOLDING WAGES. "If an early resumption of work occurs, different considerations may arise. U: tire mean time, the country is stih sub-y-ct to unexampled injury by the rail-"WL:ynien's rail-"WL:ynien's action, ard, in these circi n si;i ices, the government would not be justified in hn nding over to the strikers a sum which would be used for- prolong-illy prolong-illy a struggle undertaken without any eoiisideratioii for the 'e'fare of Die pub-' pub-' and wl ; k-h is endangering the whole hfc of tli e nation." Newspapers which strongly support the government ciaim the latter is winning aod urge no surrender. The same claim is made by the Strike leaders. J. ?.T. Thomas, leader of the railwayman, has pent a message to the Herald, la bor or-(j'j'i, or-(j'j'i, "wliicli ruads as follows: "Kail way men showed the world they could f igh t the German.-,, and are now showing they can fight for freedom here.'' Several newspapers com men t adversely on the decision to withhold the payment of the last week's pay of the men. It is p omitted ihe government's act f on hangs on a st rictly legal point, but il is urged H will infuriate -the strikers. The Maii says this art t ion will "spoil the govern -, (. lnent's handling of the situation," and denounces it as a "signal foil;-." RAILWAYMEN ISSUE STATEMENT. The National Union of Rail way men headquarters has prepared the following message to the people, signed by Secretary Secre-tary Thomas, to be shown on the screens of all motion picture houses throughout the kingdom: "The rail way men are not fighting the , community. I have always done my best to avoid strikes ; I did on tins occasion. Kut those who wanted to fight labor rendered rny efforts iuof fc iual. We are gates of the transport workers were in favor of accepting the offer. Robert Williams, general secretary of the Transport Workers' union, in a. statement state-ment to the press tonight referred to tiie breakdown In negotiations today as "lamentable," "lam-entable," announcing that a congress of trade unions had been convened for Tuesday Tues-day to "engage in any form of moral and sympathetic support of the railway men in the struggle they are waging for trades unions." In the meantime, Mr. Williams added, the delegates who had been consulting with Premier Uloyd (leorge from day to I day would be maii, offers of the Transport Trans-port Workers' federation in order to for- , mulate proposals they were convinced J would prove ao.-eptable to the entire trades union movement of the kingdom, j I fighting for the lowest paid wage-earner? against a conspiracy to lower wages. If the wages of the railwaymen are reduced I other trades will follow. This is only the j first battle in the campaign, and the gov-j gov-j eminent has thrown all its weight against the men. j "We all fought to fre "Kngland. The (railwaymen played their part in the struggle. We were promised an England I worthy of our sacrifices. It is your fight as well as ours to obtain it. We want I your help." 1 Except in the west of Scotland and in south Wales, the situation in the provinces prov-inces arising from the railway strike is not very bad. PREMIER MAKES AN IMPASSIONED APPEAL. The premier at a conference today ma.le an impassioned appeal to tiie railway men to accent the offer of arbitration, arbi-tration, and it is reported that some di.de- |