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Show THREATS MADE BY ENGINEERS Employes of Western Railroads Rail-roads Will Strike If Tests Are Not Regulated. STONE ENTERS PROTEST Dangerous Efficiency Tests Mu3t Be Eliminated or Men Will Take Matter in Hand. Chicago, Dec. 21. Threats that the enginemen of western railroads will strike, if the board of arbitration fails to regulate surprise tests in a manner man-ner which will eliminate clanger to the men were made before the board at today's session. The threats were mad" by Warren S. Stone, grand chief engineer of the Brotherhood of Loco-: Loco-: motive Kngineers. and William S Car ter, president of the Brotherhood of . Locomotive Firemen and Knuinemen. ! represented the men The were j occasioned by remarks of W. L. Bark, vice president of the Illinois Central, and F. A. Burgess of the engineers' organization both members or the board, and by James M Sheean, attorney at-torney for the railroads Sheean stated that the railroad managers man-agers had assured the otficials of the brotherhoods that only such surprise sur-prise tests as took into consideration I the safety of the men surprised would be used. This brought Carter and t Stone to their feet. Oppose Dangerous Efficiency Tests. "1 will inform the board." said Stone, "that we have heard iln as-Burance as-Burance before In 190j. 1907 and In 1010 we tried to get the roads to eliminate dangerous efficiency tests, and each time we went back to the men unci told them that it was all right, that the roads would conduct only fair tests, and just as regularly the roads did nothing of the kind. "Now, If the assurances of the railroads rail-roads do not remove (his danger to the lives and limbs of our men. i tl era and state laws do not, and if this arbitration fails to do so, I can assure you that the men will. I don't wish to try to intimidate any of this board, hut the strength of the men will be use,d, if necessary, to protect themselves them-selves when all else fails." Safety Firsl Good Advertisement Carter said: "Safety first is a good advertisement, but v. e want ;i system sys-tem that will not cause an engineman, suddenly confronted with a red light, to Jump when there is no real danger. dan-ger. We Invite efficiency tests There is not In tho world a body ot men whn conform to the duties ol their positions so closely as the enginemen en-ginemen and if the law cannot protect pro-tect them as It has not in Kansas, the men will protect themselves by their united strength " O F. Modenbach. a Rock Island fireman of El Reno. Oklahoma, who testified Saturday that in January, 1909, he and his engineer, named Thompson, had jumped from their cab of their locomotive when a red lghi turned as a test, suddenly confronted them in a snow storm at Dover, Okla homa, was on the stand again Sheean stated that an exhaustive inquiry failed to show any record of the accident which witness said h.iJ resulted In a broken collar boa.. ..u-Thompson. ..u-Thompson. Reports, Sheean said, showed that Thompson had worked that month, and accident, and train records showed no report of an) sm h occurrence. Witness clung to his story, except that he seemed a littli uncertain as to the exact time ui die Tis',: accident, and could not recollect the first name of the engineer oo |
