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Show President Seeks Power to Operate I The Railroads in Case of a Strike I ! Congress Is Asked to Enact Legislation to Deal With Situation , A summary of developments in Hie strike situation follows: ; Negotiations between railroads i and brotherhoods through Presi-' Presi-' dent Wilson definitely broken off. ,' Brotherhood leaders definitely ; ordered the strike to begin at 7 ' a. m. Labor Day unless the order is countermanded and declared j that only a settlement favorable to the men could change it. President Wilson prepared to go before congress in joint session at 2 30. o'clock this afternoon witli proposals for new laws to prevent the strike. An outline of the pro-! pro-! posals is as follows: Increase of the Interstate Commerce Com-merce Commission from seven to nine members, j An eight-hour law for railroad ; employes. I To empower the federal board of mediation to investigate opera- tion of ail eight-hour day. 1 To empower the Interstate Com merce Commission to consider the ,j eighthour day in connection with making rates. : A message similar t6 the Cana-: Cana-: diau disputes act for an investiga-!i investiga-!i tion of all disputes between all "i railroads and their employes. A A message empowering the f) president to operate trains with '4 the primary object of providing j the American troops on the Mexl-r Mexl-r can border wltb food. The brotherhood leaders favor i the eight-hour day features, but & oppose the proposal to adopt the . Canadian plan. 'j Washington, Aug. 29. President Wilson laid the railway strike sltua-i;, sltua-i;, tion before congress this afternoon m ! an address to both houses assembled j in joint session. The president told ) congress of his efforts to bring the j railroad managers and the men into some sort of agreement and saying he was powerless to do more, he ask- Ed congress to enact legislation to ? flcal with the situation. Pointing out the distress and hard-X hard-X Bhlps which a nation-wide strike would bring upon the country, the president asked congress to empower empow-er him to draft into the service of tho United States the very managers and men who have been unable to adjust their differences so that the government map operate the railroads rail-roads in case of military necessity. 1 , He proposed that congress first enlarge en-large the membership of the Interstate Inter-state Commerce Commission to equip it to deal with larger situations; second, sec-ond, that an eight-hour day be established for all trainmen in interstate in-terstate commerce; third, that a com-- mission investigate the effect of the : eight-hour day; fourth that the inter-' inter-' state Commerce Commission cons or the Increased cost of the eight-hour eight-hour day in making rates, and fiitn, amend the mediation law to prevent 'i strikes or lockouts while labor I troubles are being investigated. I he 1 sixth proposal was a law to empower j the president to operate the raii- roads In time of necessity. How these recommendations arc to J . . , I TWilcnn Init A oe earned out, lTmcm, entirely in tho hands of congress. ' Strike Day Positively Set. ' Just before the president went to '1 address congress, it because known V that the strike leaders had positively : called the strike for Labor Day unless un-less a favorable settlement was reacn- ed before. Tho committee of railway ?' presidents made a public statement .! of their position, declining to accept 4- President Wilson's plan and giuns (their reason. , . - "They have thought It best,' referring refer-ring to the railroad managers in his address to congress, 'that they should be forced to yield if they must yield, ." not by counsel but by the suffering of the country. i,am "While my conferences with tnem i1 were in progress," the president con-h con-h tlnued, "when to all outward ap-i- pearance these conferences naa !' come to a standstill, the represent. ; atlves of tho brotherhoods suddenly j acted and set the strike for tne ij fourth of September." , Thus President Wilson summarized i; his efforts and added: , j' "But I could only propose. I coum ;; not govern the will of others who took an entirely different view of tne ' circumstances of tho case, who oven I refused to admit that the circum- stances were what they have turned f out to be." i The four brotherhood leaders were :- guests of Speaker Clark in hiB gai-il gai-il lery; other leaders of the men were in other galleries and the railroad 1 managers were scattered about, i Crowd Cheers Uproariously. Mrs. Wilson, accompained by tJo ,'. ambassador to Great Britain, vuer i Hines Page, and the ambassador to France, William C. Sharp, vns in Vie i) I)resident's reserved apace. SGei members of the cabinet and some . justices of the supreme court aiso I were present. Tho president was I greeted with uproarious cheers as he It entered. He began speaking at -.w I: o'clock. Speaking slowly and dis- Hi tinctly he outlined the situation confronting con-fronting the country from tho failure of the negotiations. There was tense silence in the chamber as he began. Applause greeted the president's declaration that he regarded it as a practical certainty" that the railroads would be "ultimately obliged to accept ac-cept the eight-hour day by the concerted con-certed action of organized labor, backed by the favorable judgment of society. President Wilson's Address. He spoke as follows: "Gentlemen of the Congress: . "I have como to you to seek your assistance in dealing with a very grave situation which has arisen out ol the demand of the employes of the railroads engaged in freight train service that they be granted an eight-hour eight-hour working day, safeguarded by payment by an hour and half service for every hour of work beyond tho eight. "The matter has been agitated for more than a year. The public has been made familiar with the demands of the men and the arguments urged in favor of them, and even more familiar fa-miliar with the objections of the railroads rail-roads and their counter demand that certain provisions now enjoyed by their men and certain bases of payment pay-ment worked out through many years on contest be reconsidered, especially especial-ly in their relation to the adoption of an eight-hour day. The matter came some three weeks ago to a final issue is-sue and resulted in a complete deadlock dead-lock between the parties. The means TtfovTdecT15y lawTor 'mediation of the r.n..i wl Arlii rn 1 1 nn controversy iuhcu uuu . for which law also provides, was refused re-fused by the employes of the railways. rail-ways. The railway executives proposed pro-posed that the demands of the men be submitted In their entirety to arbitration ar-bitration along with certain questions of re-adjustment as to pay and conditions condi-tions of employes which seemed to them to be either closely associated with the demands, or to call for reconsideration re-consideration on their own merits; the men firmly declined arbitration, especially if any of their established provisions were by that means to be drawn again in question. The law in the matter put no compulsion upon them The 400.000 men from whom the demands proceeded, had voted to strike if their demands were refused; the strike was imminent, it has since been set for the 4th of September next It affects the men who man the freight trans on practically every railway In the country. The freight service throughout the United States must stand still until their places are filled if, Indeed it should prove possible possi-ble to fill them at all. Cities will be cut off from their food supplies, the wholo commerce of the nation will be paralyzed, men of every sort and oc-cupation oc-cupation will be thrown out of employment, em-ployment, countless thousands will in all likelihood be brought, it may be, to the very point of starvation and a tragical national calamity brought on to do added to the other distresses of the time because no basis of accommodation accom-modation or settlement has been found. Reviews Mediation Efforts, "just so soon as it became evident that mediation under the existing law had failed and that arbitration had been rendered impossible by the attitude at-titude of the men, I considered it my duty to confer with tho representatives representa-tives of both the railways and the brotherhoods and myself offer mediation media-tion not as an arbitrator, but merely mere-ly as spokesman of the nation in the interest of justice in deed J friend of both ParUes, but not as indue only as representative of iuu. 000 000 of men, women and children, vlio would pay the price the incalcul-able incalcul-able price of los sand suffering should these few men Insist upon approach-w approach-w and concluding the matters in controversy between them merely as employers and employes, rather than as patriotic citizens of the United Stafes. looking before and after and accenting tho larger responsibility which the public would put upon seemed to me, in considering the subject matter of the controversy Sat the whole spirit of the time and Ihe preponderant evidence of recent tho Pre.l'" lrlt gpoke for the eight-noSd5. eight-noSd5. M heCen adjudged by C thought and experience of recent 1 no n thing upon which society is taStied in insisting as in the interim inter-im of health, efficiency, contentment , f general Increase of economic vtor ThS whole presumption of nSrn experience would, it seemed S me be In its favor, whether there ?as arbitration or not, and the debatable debat-able Mints to settle were those which Sose out of the acceptance of ehe eLht-hour day rather than those which effected its establishment. I, therefore, proposed that the elght-, elght-, hour day be adopted by the railway managements and put into practice for , Se Jresent as a substitute for the ex-fSlne ex-fSlne ten hour of pay and service; 1 that I should appoint, with the per- mission of'the congress, a small commission com-mission to observe the result of the change, carefully studying the figures of the altered operating costs; not only, but also the conditions of labor under which the men worked and the operation of their existing agreements agree-ments with the railroads with Instructions Instruc-tions to report the facts as they found them to the congress at the earliest possible day, but without recommendation; recommend-ation; and after the facts had thus been disclosed and adjustment should in some orderly manner be sought of all the matters now left unadjusted between the railroad managers and the men. Supreme Court Decision. "These proposals were exactly in line, it is interesting to note, with the position taken by the supreme court of the United States when appealed to, to protect certain litigants from the financial losses which they confidently con-fidently expected if they should submit sub-mit to the regulation of their charges and of their methods of service by public legislation. The court has held that it would not undertake to form a judgment upon forecasts, but could base its action only upon actual experience; ex-perience; that it must be supplied with facts, not with calculations and opinions, however scientifically attempted. at-tempted. To undertake to arbitrate the question of the adoption of an eight-hour day in the light of results merely estimated and predicted would be to undertake an enterprise of conjecture. con-jecture. No wise man could undertake under-take it. or if he did undertake it, coiildfeel assured of his. conclusions His Offer to Railroads. "I unhesitatingly offered the friendly friend-ly services to the railway managers I to see to it that justice was done to tho railroads in the outcome. I felt warranted in assuring them no obstacle obsta-cle of law would be suffered to stand in the way of their Increasing their revenues to meet the expeditures resulting re-sulting from the change so far as the development of their business and of their administrative efficiency did not prove adequate to meet them. The public and the representatives of the public, I felt justified in assuring them, were disposed to nothing but justice in such cases and were willing will-ing to serve those who served them. "The representatives of the brotherhoods broth-erhoods accepted the plan; but the representatives of tho railroads declined de-clined to accept it. In the fact of what I cannot but regard as the practical prac-tical certainty, that they will be ultimately ulti-mately obliged to accept the eight-hour eight-hour day by the concerted action of organized labor, backed by tho favorable favor-able judgment of society, the representatives repre-sentatives of the railway managements manage-ments have felt justified in declining a peaceful settlement which would engage all tho forces of justice, public pub-lic and private, on their side to take care of the event. The fear that the hostile influence of shippers who would be opposed to an increase In freight rates (for which, however, the public itself would pay), they apparently appar-ently feel no confidence that the interstate in-terstate commerce commission could withstand the objections that would be made. They do not care to rely upon tho friendly assurances of the congress or the president They have thought it best that they should be forced to yield, if they must yield, not by counsel but by the suffering of the country. While my conferences with them were in progress and when to all outward appearance those conferences con-ferences had come to a standstill, the representatives of the brotherhoods brother-hoods suddenly acted and set the strike for the 4th of September. Basis of Decision. "The railway managers based tneir iecision to reject my counsel in this matter upon their conviction that they must at any cost to themselves, Dr to the country, stand firm for the principle of arbitration, which the men had rejected. I based my counsel coun-sel upon the Indisputable fact that there was no means of obtaining arbitration. arbi-tration. The law supplied none; earnest efforts at mediation had failed fail-ed to influence the men in the least. To stand firm for the principle of arbitration and not to get arbitration arbitra-tion seemed to mo futile and something some-thing more than futile, because It involved in-volved incalculable distress to the country and consequences In some respects re-spects worse than those of war, and that In the midst of peace. Principle of Arbitration. "I yield to no man In firm adherence;" adher-ence;" alike of conviction and of purpose pur-pose to the principlo of arbitration In industrial disputes; but matters have come to a sudden crisis in this particular par-ticular dispute and the country has been caught unprovided with any practicable means of enforcing that conviction In practice, by whose fault wo will not now stop to inquire. A situation had to bo met whose fixed, conditions were indisputable. Tho practical courso to pursue as it seemed to me was to secure Immediate Immedi-ate peace by conceding the one thing (Continued on Pace ) President Seeks Power To Operate Railroads (Continued from Page 1) in the demands of the men which society so-ciety itself and any arbitrators who represented public sentiment wero most, likely to approve and immediately immedi-ately lay the foundation for securing arbitration with regard to everything else Involved. The event has confirmed con-firmed that judgment, I was seeking to compose the present in order to safeguard the future; for I wished an atmosphere of peace and friendly cooperation co-operation in which to take counsel with the representatives of the nation with regard to the best means for providing so far as it might prove possible pos-sible to provide, against the recurrence recu-rrence of such unhappy situations in the future the best and most practicable practi-cable means of securing calm and fair arbitration of all industrial disputes In the days to tome. This is assuredly the best way of vindicating a principle, princi-ple, namely having failed to make certain cer-tain of its observance in the present, tp make certain of its observance in the future. But, I could only propose; I could not govern the will of others who took an entirely different view of the circumstances of the case who even refused to admit the circumstances circum-stances to be what they have turned out to be. Appeal for Aid. "Having failed to bring the parties to this critical controversy to an accommodation, ac-commodation, therefore," I turn to you, deeming it clearly our duty as public servants to leave nothing undone that : we can do to safeguard the life and interests of the nation. In tho spirit of such a purpose, I earnestly recommend recom-mend the following legislation: "First, immediate provision for the enlargement and administrative reorganization reor-ganization of the Interstate Commerce Commission along the lines embodied in the bill recently passed by the house of representatives and now awaiting action by the senate; in order or-der that the commission may be enabled en-abled to deal with the many great and various duties now devolving upon it with a promptness and thoroughness which are with its present constitution and means of action practically impossible. im-possible. Elght-Hour Day. "Second, the establishment of an eight-hour day as the legal basis alike of work and of wages in the employment employ-ment of all railway employes who are actually engaged in the work of operating oper-ating trains in interstate transportation. transporta-tion. "Third, the authorization of the appointment ap-pointment by the president of a small body of men to observe the actual results in experience of the adoption of the eight-hour day in railway transportation trans-portation alike for the men and tor the railroads; its effects in the matter of operating costs, in the application of tho existing practices and agreements agree-ments to tho new conditions and in all other practical aspects, with the provision that the investigators shall report their conclusions to the congress con-gress at the-earliest possible date, but without recommendation as to legislative legisla-tive action, in order that the public may learn from an unprejudiced source just what actual developments have ensued. " "Fourth, explicit approval by the congress of the consideration of the Interstate Commerce Commission of an increase of freight rates to meet such additional expenditures by the railroads as may have been rendered necessary by the adoption of the eight-hour eight-hour dav, and which have not been offset by administrative re-adjustments and economies, should the facts disclosed justify the increase. Full Public Investigation. "Fifth, an amendment of tho existing exist-ing federal statute which provides for the mediation, conciliation and arbitration arbi-tration of such controversies as the present by adding to it a provision that in case the methods of accommodation accom-modation now provided for should fail, a full public Investigation of the merits of such dispute shall be instituted insti-tuted and completed before a strike or lockout may be lawfully attempted b "And sixth, the lodgement in the hands of tho executive of the power, iu case of military necessity, to lake control of such portions and such rolling roll-ing stock of the railways of the country coun-try as may be required for military use and to operate them for military purposes with authority to draft Into the military service of tho United States such managers and administrate administra-te of the United States such managers mana-gers and administrative officials as the circumstances require for for their safe and efficient use. "This last suggestion I make because be-cause wo cannot in any circumstances suffer tho nation to be hampered in the essential matter of national defense. de-fense. At the present moment circumstances circum-stances render this duty particularly obvious. Almost the entire military force of the nation is stationed upon the Mexican border to guard our territory ter-ritory against hostile raids. It must be supplied and steadily supplied with whatever It needs for Its maintenance and efficiency. If it should be necessary neces-sary for purposes of national defense to transfer any portion of It upon short notice to some other part of the country, for reasons now unforeseen, ample means of transportation must be available and available without delay. The power conferred In this manner should be carefully and ex plicitly limited to cases of military necessity but in all cases it should be clear and ample. Court of Arbitration. "There is one other thing, we should do it we are true champions of arbitration. We should make all arbitral arbi-tral awards, judgments by record a court of lav In order that their Interpretation Inter-pretation and enforcement may lie, not with one of the parties to the arbitration ar-bitration but with an impartial and authoritative tribunal. "These things, I urge upon you, not in haste or merely as a means of meeting a present emergency, but as permanent and necessary additions to the law of the land, suggested, Indeed, by circumstances we had hoped never nev-er to see, but imperative as well as just, If such emergencies are to bo prevented In the future. I feel that no extended argument Is needed to commend to your favorable consideration. consider-ation. They demonstrate themselves. Tho time and the occasion only give emphasis to their Importance. We need them now and wo shall continue to need thom." Both Sides Approve. There was approval from both sides at suggestions from the president at legislation to prevent strikes or lockout lock-out pending investigation. , The entire, assemblage arose when the president concluded after speak- ing 23 minutes. There were several rousing cheers as he left the chamber. Republicans Sit In Silence. Throughout the address the demonstrations demon-strations of approval" came from the Democratic side, Republicans sitting and listening In silence. The two houses then returned to separate regular sessions. The senate sen-ate interstate oommerco committee met immediately to consider bills already al-ready framed to carry out the president's presi-dent's suggestions and in the house leaders discussed probable action while awaiting developments. It was impossible to get a quorum at tho meeting of the senate com mittee and It was postponed until tomorrow to-morrow morning when consideration of the subjects suggested In President Wilson's messae will be undertaken. President Talks With Cabinet. President Wilson discussed the threatened strike for nearly two hours with the cabinet. President Wilson will tonight discuss dis-cuss the legislative program to meet the strike stuation with Speaker Clark, Democratic Leader Kitchin, Republican Leader Mann and Chairman Chair-man Adamson of the Interstate com-piorce com-piorce committee. The committee of twenty-four brotherhood broth-erhood leaders met soon after the president's address to congress. They declined to make any comment. Arrangements were made for all of the committee, except the twenty-four twenty-four brotherhood heads, to leave for their homes Sunday In' order that they may be among their men, if the strike, order goes into effect. Joint-Session Arranged. Concurrent resolutions for the joint session of congress were quickly passed pass-ed in the house and senate. Twenty-five Twenty-five seats In the gallery were reserved re-served for the railroad presidents and twenty-five were reserved for the employes. |