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Show STRIKE ORDERS AREGIVEN Men Are to Begin to Walk Out on Saturday. NEW YORK, March 15. "A progressive pro-gressive strike" of the 400,000 members of the four great railroad brotherhoods to begin at 6 o'clock (central time) Saturday on eastern roads, was ordered order-ed here late today. Tho walkout will extend to all the railroads in the country coun-try within five days. The chiefs of the workmen's organizations say the strike rreachinerv was put in motion within a few minutes after an ultimatum ultima-tum delivered to the conference committee com-mittee of railroad managers had been rejected. A compromise proposal offered of-fered by tho managers was declined without delay. Only successful intervention b President Wilson, it appeared tonight, can avert a strike The brotherhood leaders gave no indication that even an appeal from the nation's chief ex- cutive can change their purpose to obtain a basic eight-hour day and pro rata time for overtime through the use of the "protective feature" of their organizations. They refused flatly to submit their case to the eight-hour commission headed by Major (r- n : W. Coetbals, or to await the decision of the supreme court on the constitutionality constitu-tionality of the Adamson law. Freight Men First to Quit. Freight emploves, yardmen and engine en-gine hostlers on the New York Central Cen-tral Lines, east and west, the Nickel Plate and Baltimore & Ohio railroads, and in the great vards in Chicago and St. Louis will be the first to leave their posts. They will be followed on Sunday I by the same classes of workmen on ! the Southern Railway, the Norfolk & Western, the Virginian. Chesapeake & Ohio, and on a group of northwestern roads. No formal outline of the brother-I brother-I hoods' program, beyond the plans for j these two days, was made either to the managers or to the public. It was said, however, that the freight employes em-ployes on ihe other roads in the conn iry would be called out in groups at twelve to twenty four hour intervals after Sunday If the paralysis of freight traffic thus eaused does not re-suit re-suit in surrender by the railroads before be-fore that time the employes on all passenger trains will be ordered out Wednesday. The railroad managers said tonight they expected that enough of their ! men would remain loyal to enable ! them to maintain a skeleton service j on most roads. The managers some time ago caused a census of their em-1 em-1 ployea to be taken to determine how many would refuse to go on strike j This resulted, it was said, in varying percentages ranging from a very few on some roads to from 50 to 60 per cent on others. The managers estimated that between be-tween 30.000 and 40,000 men are employed em-ployed on the roads on which the strike is to begin Saturday night. The members of the managers committee com-mittee will remain here until tomorrow tomor-row If the men ask another confi r ence it will be granted. They said they would make every effort to operate op-erate their roads in spite of the strike Preference will be given to the movement move-ment ot trains carrying food and fuel. When the managers, in their counter coun-ter proposition at the lmal momentous conference, offered to abide by any decree de-cree of the Goelhals commission of tne Adamson act were declared unconstitutional, unconsti-tutional, W G Lee, president ol the I'.rotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, spokesman for the employes, said: "That would be only another form of arbitration and our men are sick and tired of arbitration " Adamson Law Would Satisfy. The brotherhood chiefs cont.i nd their demand for the basic eight-hour day for all classes of work, with pro 'rata time for overtime, would give ( them onl what they would gain under the provisions of the Adamson law. Thej have abandoned their original de-, de-, mand for time and a half for over-I over-I time. Declaring that the rank and file of the brotherhood membership had become be-come impatient and would tolerate no further delay in enforcing their de mands, Mr Lee said the supreme court might adjourn without banding down a der ision on the Adamson act. In that event, he declared, there would be no decision until next winter, and the men would not wait. The managers' refusal to comply with the ultimatum of the brotherhoods brother-hoods was based upon the contention that they must "await and abide" by the decision of the supreme court on the Adamson act. They assorted their willingness to submit the whole controversy con-troversy to the eight-hour commi: sion if the law is declared unconstitutional aud agreed to accept any decree of the commission. Pointing to the four chiefs the grave international crisis which confronts the nation, they appealed to their patriotism pa-triotism to prevent a strike. The brotherhood chiefa. in a formal statement, state-ment, expressed indignation at thp at tltude taken by the railroads in declaring de-claring a strike would be unpatriotic. "It goes without saying," the statement state-ment declared, "that the railroad employes em-ployes have been patient and loyal to the interests of tho country and in the event of war have offered their services serv-ices to the government It must not be overlooked that during this period, when the railroads have persistently denied their employes that which was intended by the president In his proposition propo-sition and that which was intended bj the congress in the Adamson law the railroads, during a year's period, showed net earnings of over a thousand thou-sand million dollars, whilo the em-ployes, em-ployes, with no Increase in wages, have suffered an Increase in cost of living equal to more than forty per cent. "If. after moro than a year, wo have tailed to secure some relief and train and engine men conclude to fold their bands and starve in realltj rather than by degrees, should they be considered as disloyal to their flag?" W O. Lee was informed tonight of the announcement from Washington thai Presidenl Wilson would do everything every-thing in his power to avert a strike and probably would appeal directly to, the patriotism of the men themselves He was asked what effect this would have. "Why do you ask me that?" he demanded. de-manded. "We have heard nothing from the president of the United States. When we do hear, we will take up that que.si ion " Warren S. Stone declared that if the president mado an appeal to tho men it "would ho considered." He added, however, that there was "no bluff about the strike. |