OCR Text |
Show ' . . . , . . , ...... . ' V - Cc:::'r:ny Cbims to Be , : Alle to Una Its Sta-: Sta-: tlons; Trouble;: Jay . Come if : Kon-Unionists V Are Brought "In.;-,.- ; Lxmiirs EXEMPT i ' . .P0T7E3 . COMPANY . - ; " . ' TE0M THE FOBFEIT. .'. ; ' ". ' , : Secretary "Wells . of the Consoll- . dated Railway and Power com- pany when asked this morning If bis company did not have a con- . tract with the Utah Light and Power company providing for a forfeit of $5 for. every minute ths power was off, admitted tHat such was the case, but explained that there was a clause In the agree- - ment exempting the power company from the forfeit in cases of Strikes or such other troubles as the com- pany could not overcome. : . ' From present indications this city tonight to-night will resemble a country village. The prospects, are that there will be no - electric lights,' either on the streets. In residences or 'business bouses, and that the street cars will not run' for: lack of power, as" a result of the strike Inaugurated Inaugu-rated yeBterday by. the union employees 'of the Utah Light and Power company. It Is also barely possible that the tele-. ' phone service' will, be crippled. If , not entirely suspended, and that every elevator ele-vator in the business section will be at a standstill before tomorrow night. :.. -frikers Are Confident. - - " The striking electricians' are' confident of. xaelr. power, to plunge the .city. In total to-tal darkness and. temporarily set it back thlrty years as, far as the use of electricity elec-tricity Is concerned. " - ' ' i i rrc.it their ranks .Ere btir.,? augmented from time to time "by employees of the company. against whom they are striking and that a com- - plete victory Is In sights . , While the grounds set forth' yesterday ; by the men were on the lines of hours and compensation, they were today changed to. a demand for theVrecognl-tion theVrecognl-tion of the union, also. The strikers are congregated In the hall of the "electrical workers on the third floor pt the Jennings block, where the men are passing the time in Jovial .' entertainment. . - They have a piano upon which some of the talented ones amuse their fellows, while others sing, play cards er Indulge , . in Impromptu boxing matched. . Determined to Fight It-Out. ' Through It all, however, runs a hum . and buzz of strike .talk, and the men discuss the situation ' In Its various phases. -The sentiment among the men Is one of determination to stand by their . guns until the battle is over. They hope, however, for an immediate adjustment . -! of the .diff erences. , . J. W Trussell, secretary of the grlev-; grlev-; ance committee which presented the pe-tltion pe-tltion to Manager Campbell of the Utah Light and Power company, has been . busy attending to the details of the strike. He made the following statement state-ment to The Telegram today: - Claim Comnanv Is Weakeniner. "We are beginning to see prospects of getting Manager Campbell to settle these coherences with us. ",. report has been circulated among tv v men that Manager Campbell has 1 down from his position of refus- treat with us, and if that is the case and he is willing to talk the matter over and treat us reasonably, It is rea- sonable to suppose that an immediate , settlement will be reached. - About Seventy Men Out. ; .' "There are now about seventy men i . out on strike. Thirty-five of these are (Continued on page a) was about to leave for Chicago on Important Im-portant business, and had to leave at once. I asked the committee to wait until my return before any action was taken. ' "The petition set May 28th as the date for final answer. They agreed to report yesterday morning at 10 to see about an extension, so I could take the noon train. Took Snap Judgment. . "They reported at 10 o'clock and said the extension would not be granted, and demanded an . answer by noon within two hours. I again presented the auestion to the committee and told them that no conditions would be changed until after my return. "The petition meant a complete change of policy of the company, and the time given for Its consideration, two hours, was absolutely prohibitive. I said the company was willing to not only discuss the question, but eager to take it up with station men, linemen, metermen and trimmers, and In a conciliatory con-ciliatory and manful way each point seriatim. "I asked for time in which the company com-pany Itself could go Into the matter and pleaded with them for an extension. "The response I got was, 'We must have an answer at once,', meaning upon the spur of the moment. . Campbell Is Grieved. "I am grieved to think our employees who are members of the union would not give us time in which to discuss the grievances. In the past the company has . settled all troubles with the men, and I cannot think that their demand for Instant settlement was the act of the conservative element of the union." Policy of the Company. Manager Campbell defined the company's com-pany's policy as follows: "At present, positions are open to union or non-union men. All we ask of our new men is that they will not leave us without giving the company a chance to discuss any grievances that may arise." Manager Campbell stated that the company, had not yet felt any . effects from the strike, but was unable to state what might occur in the near future If men were . not secured at once. He hoped that public utilities would not be handicapped in any way. Street Car Service. , Assistant Superintendent O. P. Arnold. Ar-nold. Jr.. of the Consolidated Railway and Power company stated that thus far the strike had not injured the car service, and. that every effort will be made to keep the cars going. Mr. Arnold Ar-nold and Superintendent Read held a conference with Mr. Campbell yesterday yester-day in which the latter agreed to keep the street cars In motion If It were possible. pos-sible. , . Takes Issue With Campbell. Secretary J. W. Trussell of the grievance griev-ance committee of the strikers said that Manager Campbell's statement about lack of time for consideration of the strikers' demands was Incorrect. "In December of last year." said he. "the street trimmers asked Manager Campbell for an Increase In their pay. "Mr. Campbell gave us to understand that the subject would receive favorable consideration. Then he put us off without with-out any definite answer from time to time and finally turned the matter over to Mr. Hayward, the company's consulting con-sulting engineer. Mr. Haywood kept saying he would do the best he could for us, and finally said that If we would secure recommendations from the division di-vision boss that we were worthy of a raise. It would be granted. We were recommended, but the company gave us nothing but fair promises until March, and then said nothing could be done for us." Danger In Bad Weather. Mr. Trussell added that in his' opinion It was the intention of the company to delay answering during the winter, because be-cause the work of the . trimmers was then dangerous and it was difficult to secure men. "And if this rain keeps up a few days," he declared, "some of the Inexperienced Inex-perienced trimmers who are trying to take the strikers' places will certainly be killed. Wet weather makes the insulation in-sulation defective and the trimmers' work then becomes hazardous even for the skillful men." All the strikers from outside points have been ordered into Salt Lake and will attend an Important meeting In the rooms of the electrical workers In the Jennings block at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Predict Close of Plants. (Continued from page 1.) station' men, Involving ail the company's stations.'. . ' ' ' "At the central station all men are out but one. All the men have left the west side power station, and In the Cottonwood Cot-tonwood stations but three men are left. "The Utah sub-station, which gives the street car company Its power, all men are out but the chief engineer, who Is handling the entire plant alone. His fireman Joined us this morning. The chief engineer of the Jordan river plant Is doing all the work alone, while but one man is left to run the steam plant on Second East Btreet, and he is a nonunion non-union worker. "The Murray sub-station Is dark, as are also the brick yards sub-station and the one at Wood's Cross. - The Utah-Light and Power company gets 1000-horse-power from the Tellu-ride Tellu-ride company, but no one is left to handle han-dle the station but one engineer. Street Cars May Stop. . . "It is quite probaole that the street cars will be tied up In a short time and the telephone service will' be crippled by lack of light. The telephone company's . storage batteries will keep up the service, ser-vice, for twenty-four hours, but they will - have to be recharged after that time, and may not have the current available. Ogdsn Ken May Go Out. ' "A report has been received here from Ogden that the employees of the plant there will go out. While all the men are not members of the union, all are in sympathy, with us, and will probably walk out. "This strike Is backed by the International Inter-national Brotherhtood of Electrical Workers, which has a branch in Ogden, Og-den, and If necessary, the Ogden men can be called out and Ogden will be In . the dark. This step will probably be . taken. - "The matter of the main Issue of the strike has been changed from one of hours and schedule to the matter of union recognition. The present issue " ' was forced upon us by the discharge of union men by the company. Trouble May Ensue. "Consulting Engineer Hayward is In Chicago at this time, and it is reported to us here that his purpose Is to secure men tortake the places of the union men now working for the company. "IF NON-UNION MEN COME HERE TO TAKE THE PLACES "OF UNION MEN, I AM NOT PREPARED TO SAY WHAT WILL HAPPEN. WE WILL CERTAINLY TRY TO INDUCE THEM TO QUIT. , Danger in Operation. "The company is running a great risk in putting . Inexperienced men on the wires, as they might be killed. The company is now running' their plants day -ind night, as they are afraid to stop them, for fear they cannot start them again. ' "The first trouble on the transmitting line between here and Ogden .will deprive de-prive Salt Lake of the greater part of its power. "I believe the fight will be a short one, as the company Is powerless In a i double sense of the word." Numbers of Men Let Ont. . The "union men declare that the company com-pany asserts it can discharge any man at any time for any cause or no cause. They say the company has accused them of taking advantage of them, but this the men deny, saying that if they had not struck, there would have been no one left to make a demand, as they were being let out at the rate of four and five a day. . Manager Campbell Talks. Manager Cam pbell of the Utah Light and Power company made this statement state-ment to The Telegram this morning: "In yesterday's Telegram, J. W; Trussell, secretary of the grievance , committee, is credited with this statement: state-ment: v . " 'Manager Campbell has brought on this trouble by refusing to treat with us or consider our demands, and by discharging- four engineers, who told ' him they would stand by the union of ! electrical workers In the fight.' ' "In view of the facts In the case, Mr. ; Trussell Is either not quoted correctly, or has made a misstatement. The following fol-lowing is a correct statement of the facts leading up to the present condition: condi-tion: , Asked Them to Wait. "On Monday afternoon the committee presented the petition asking the company com-pany for certain grants relating to the recognition ' of the union, and other v matters. J I told the committee that I . |