Show HOL BUT FOR RIGHTS adjustment impossible IF RELATIVE STANDING OF MEN IGNORED IT IS ARGUED Indu demand may prompt ex to settle long rail strike meetings being hold held frequently new york while both the shop craft unions and the railway executives ot of the country are trying to not US tie the rail strike without reference to th question of seniority the bugaboo of both sides there can be no adjustment without restoring to the men the same relative standing in the shops hops that they had before the walk out there can be no compromise on this point no matter on what basis it ir may be announced following the m meeting e eang ot of the railway executives in this city to be held soon that an understanding has baa been reached and that the men are going back to work their seniority rights are going to be restored or the strike will continue two weeks ago the policy committee of the three divisions of the shop craft unions held a meeting in chicago and decided on the basis on which they would permit their men to return to work they accepted the original peace proposal made by president harding granting thern them their unimpaired seniority rights this committee is composed of ninety general chairmen representing all of the railroad systems in the united states the executive committee ot of the shop crafts has no authority to go beyond the terms which the policy committee reported would be acceptable it a compromise was to be considered it would be necessary for or bert st at jewell president of the shott craft unions to call a meeting of the policy commit tee 6 pass on the question that he has not done so makes it clear that the only proposition which the railway executives will have to consider is a settlement of the strike with the men returning to work with seniority rights as they stood prior to july 1 nhen ihen the strike was called the unions are willing to permit th the a railroads to announce that a sett settlement e has been reached which is equitable to both sides and even to make it appear that the railroad executives gained some valuable conces and that they are going to keep the promises originally made that the loyal employees would hold seniority rights above the strikers As a matter of tact fact according to one ot of the union officials most of the men who did not strike stood high on th the a seniority genio rity lists lista before the strike was called in many instances the men who headed the seniority lists did not strike at all these men of 0 course will retain their seniority rights after a frank discussion of the whole matter in the conference between the union officials of the five transportation brother hoods acting as mediators for the shop crafts and the committee of railway executives last week it became apparent that the seniority nightmare was only a bad dream after all and could best be settled by ignoring it there was a private understanding however that men who did not strike would hold seniority rights over the men who walked out only when such rights existed before july 1 |