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Show 1IL1D ICE ! H DHf III ! 11 SUING Big New York Lines Follow Lead of Smaller Con. 1 cerns in Campaign - 2 CHICAGO, March 11. Virtually all j of the larger Western railroad today had jwung; Jpto line Jit lhe4otlcy 'started a few days ago by several Kasrern railroads of laking step tn bring about reductions In the wartime wage acale nf unskilled employes. . The reductions will be urged, railroad .official aald. to keep the roada out of J bankruptcy and enable them eventually fto reduce traffic rate, which now were ald to be "higher than Che public can J bear." Various railroad president declared de-clared the roada were exiating entirely on credit. At the same time came atatementa froro offlriala of the Association of J Railway Kxecutlves that lower rates' of Jpay for aklllcd workers probably would Jha sought aficrihc m.iLr fnr unskilled . a men hail Itei'n settled. One road, the rhlrngo Grest Western, West-ern, took ihe lead among the Western lines In Ihe niatter of reductiona by .announcing that it nroDOaed a 20 ner were reported being made by the Santa, San-ta, Fa; Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul; Chicago ac Great Western; Chicago, Chi-cago, Rock Island Pacific, and the Chicago A Northwestern, all with headquarter at Chicago. j GIVES REASONS. Reductions were announced through- , out the country with a etatement 1 that "changed conditions necessitate charged wage scales." j All reductiona are baaed on tha fed- , eral labor board's awards of last July, when a f 600 noO.OOO Increiee was granted to l.SOO.OuO workera. Thaee Increases favored for the moat part, unskilled and aemlekllled labor. j TALK WOTH LABORERS. .. j BETHLKHBM. Ha., March 11. Off - i claia of the Lehigh. Valley Railroad ; company and r prcsentatlve of more; than S00O of Ita employes classed as common labor met' here today to con- : elder wage reductions similar to thoaa. proposed on-other rallroada. j HOLD CONFERENCE. j CHICAGO. March 11. The Chicago. ! Hurlinirton Qulncy railroad yester- i ' day held a conference with representn-I representn-I (Ives of Its 10 000 unskilled employes with n vtew-of brtfwliig about wuge j , reductions, lisle Hnlweifr-presidcnt, an ' nouncert trdny The conference ad- I Journed unlll March !J, to allow Ihe railroad s props.tlon to be phiced directly di-rectly before the employea themselves. The road proposed reductions of approximately ap-proximately 84 centa nn hour, varying in cert tin districts Mr. Hulden said. This would muke the pay nf unskilled! men approximately 40 cents an hour, . the present rale being on an a,vernge of cents an hour, he suld. The Chicago Alton railroad will take steps within a ahort time lo reduce re-duce the pay of Its employes. W. G. flierd. president, announced today. The ! ptlni t'lvi sill tie made 'To hTInf? utMMit I an ultimate reduction In freight and j passenger rate, which "now are more t than the public can beur." Mr. Ulrnl ! said. j TWENTY PER CENT. CHICAOO. March 11. The Chlcsgc A Great Western railroad, which yesterday yes-terday annnunrd that It would seek conferences concerning wage reduction! for Us unskilled employee, today announced an-nounced that It would propose a 20 per cent reduction for all employee of the road, from the president down. The (ireal Western la the first of the Western rosds to announce a proposed wuse reflection for all emploes. Venl decrease In the nny of avery eni-SPloye. eni-SPloye. from the president down, with eVhe exception of truln aervlca men, 'telegraph oierators and unskilled men. flThe pay nf unskilled workera would be brought down to conform with the rates pald In other Industries, If possible. Conferences will be held -with the employee em-ployee at Oelweln. In.. .March l. About 'MiOfl men would lie affected. rBEQIN TO CUT: U The Chicago. Durllngtcn Qulncy and the Chicago, Alton were two roads to announce today that they would seek reductiona for unskilled em- ployea. The former proiosed a reduc-yion reduc-yion of S't cents In piy of unskilled Jworkers at a meeting with repreaenta-etlves repreaenta-etlves of employes yesterday. The Santa Ke, the Chicago. Milwaukee Milwau-kee at 8t. Paul. the. Chicago, Kock .Jsland and I'aclflc, and the Chicago Northwestern announced proposed re-iluctlons re-iluctlons l ist nlghL . The .Northern J a-;riflc a-;riflc and the tirrat Northern previously ad announced conferences with tneir 'ymoloyes. - - j, The Illinois Central had no official eeitatement to make, but It was understood under-stood that thla road and several others t .expected to take the aame action as -tha other lines. ."ALL ALONG LINE. 'XIW VoilK. March 11. A general .move by the nation's rallroada to cut -Wartime wag acalea, long forecast by all officials, appeared to ba in full eiwlng today. Fallowing the lead of Several lines which earlier had announced an-nounced cuts, the New Tork Central nJ New tliven Hartford rallroada. In tha East, end virtually every rall-!road rall-!road In the West, announced wage re- nations : rearitaw r"ituBria- lie Jnrnts frena tinea that hjve Aot k-.nounced k-.nounced -uta. were predicted today, rrnv TO A0REE. Officials of various Ilnea today were 'arranging conferences with employea tit an effort to reach agreements on Jhe proposed reductiona. i a Toe plana as announced affect only i -unskilled and semiskilled labor. Men: tngaged in tha actual operation of, .trains, telegraphers and atutlon agents 1 1 kre not' IncludeJ. ) , Arrangements foreaHv conferences : |