OCR Text |
Show PRESIDENT TO GO BEFOEECONGRESS Washington, Aug. 28. President Wilson tonight definitely decided to go before congress in person tomorrow or Wednesday to recommend legislation legisla-tion aimed to avert the threatened nationwide railroad strike, or stop It if it comes before congress can act He worked until late tonight on his message in which ho will tell members mem-bers of tho senate and house the negotiations ne-gotiations to date and lay before them a definite legislative program. The president reached this decision after conferences at the White House with the committee of eight railroad presidents and the four brotherhood heads on a new proposal for settlement settle-ment of differences suggested by the executives, and after a prolonged discussion dis-cussion of the situation at the capitol with the members of the Democratic steering committee of the senate. The proposition of the railroad executives ex-ecutives was that an investigation of all Issues be conducted by a commission commis-sion to be named by the president, the investigation to last for a period of three or four months, not action to be taken by either side In the meantime, "and at the conclusion of the Inquiry the situation to be what it now is, the employes having the choice either of arbitrating or striking. strik-ing. The brotherhood heads promised a reply tomorrow morning and there was even' indication that it would be unfavorable. When the railroad brotherhood heads went to the White House tonight, to-night, the president strongly urged the withdrawal of a tentative strike order sent out yesterday subject to release calling for a walkout of the 400,000 brotherhood members at 7 a. m., Labor day, September 4. This request was flatly refused,, the leaders saying only the committee of 640, which left Washington yesterday, had power to recall the order. It had ben known that the members mem-bers of the committee of 640 carried home with them a tentative order, but no one outside the brotherhood councils coun-cils had suspected that a date' had been set and the president Is said to have been greatly perturbed by the information. After the refusal to withdraw with-draw the order, he communicated with the railroad presidents, who held a meeting that lasted until late in the night |