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Show McCormick Resolution Authorizes Au-thorizes Committee to , Investigate i : B. R. T. OFFICER SAYS STRIKE'S END NEAR Switchmen From Coast to Coast Go Out in Sympathy With Chicago 'Insurgents' WASHINGTON, April 0. Congress Con-gress took cognizance today of the strikes of railroad employes which starting at Chicago, have spread to half a dozen cities from the Pacific Paci-fic to the Atlantic coast. Senator McCormick, Republican j Illinois, Introduced a resolution authorizing the Interstate com-' com-' mcrce committee to Investigate the walkouts and to report the causes and tho merits of the controversy. i It was referred to the contingent -1 expenses committee which will recommend whether funds for the ' Inquiry should be voted. Tho resolution proposed an invesli-Slition invesli-Slition of any existing strike of railroad rail-road employes not authorized by the: lenders of the railroad workers' union. Senator Pomerone, Democrat, Ohio, wanted to know whether the resolution resolu-tion would apply specifically to strikes reportod today from Los Angeles. Buffalo Buf-falo and other cities. Senator McCormick McCor-mick said it would apply to all strikes in which the men "havo disregarded the judgment of their responsible leaders." lead-ers." i These walkouts he said, have taken place despite the efforts of tho lcad- L era of the railroad crafts to prevent them. With the unauthorized strikes spreading, President Wilson's advisers urged him to speedily appoint the railroad rail-road labor board provided for In tho transportation act. Those who talked With him said he probably would make them in a few days. . I Many Cities Affected. i CHICAGO, April S That unauthor-j ized strike of switchmen and railroad cuginemen which started in the Chicago Chi-cago district and spread today to several sev-eral cities, will be broken within the next 43 hours, A. F. Whitney vice president pres-ident of the Brotherhood or Railroad Trainmen and S. E. Heberling, International Inter-national president of the Switchmen's Union of North America, predicted tonight to-night The strike situation In Chicago showed some improvement during the day but Whitney said that the traffic traf-fic handled was still less than fifty por cent of normal. One thousand brotherhood brother-hood men from other cities have answered ans-wered the call to come here as strlko I breakers, he added. I The railroad managers association I reported that more engines were op-I op-I orated today than any time since the I strlko began. I While conditions hero showed 1m- I provement, the strike was spreading! throughout the country from coast to coasL Reports tonight summarizo thei situation as follows: Chicago, S.000 men out freight traf-i fic thirty to forty por cent of normal; j 40,000 packing plant workers thrown out of work with complete suspension suspen-sion of the plants, employing 50,000 men, in prospect tomorrow. Buffalo 1,500 to 2,700 men idle; embargo em-bargo on all freight in effect-Kansas effect-Kansas City 100 to 500 men out; ' freight embargo iuoffect. Los Angeles 1,200 men employed ' by transcontinental lines on strike. Toledo 600 men out; completo freight tieup withjn 24 hours predicted. ' Detroit 1,000 men out and 500 more expected id follow tonight. Gary 300 to 400 idle; 350 B. R. T. men vote to remain loyal to their union East St, Louis 200 out; 5,000 in St. Louis vote to "resign" at midnight unless un-less demands are granted. Decatur, 111. 107 on strike, vote to stay out until demands granted. Joliet 111. 50 on "on four roads strike j Chicago Outer Belt men refuse to Join walkout. I Springfield, 111. Baltimore and Ohio 1 switchmen uot. '. Colton, Cal. 50 Southern Tacific men out. Cleveland 1,500 to vote tonight on ' strike issue. 1 Sheridan, Wyo. Men vole to remain i at work and send delegation to Chi- ' cago to aid In breaking strike. Niagara Falls Switchmen refuse to strike after listening to appeals from 1 fifty Buffalo strikers. J Elmlra, N. Y- Yardmen of the Del aware, Lackawanna and Wostorn, New York Central and Lehigh Valley ordered ord-ered out. Pittsburg 2,000 Pennsylvania em ployes at Conway yards vote to strike at midnight if demands col. granted. Memphis Yardmen on all but two roads entering the city, vote to strike) at 4 p. m. Friday if demands are not granted. Fort Wayne Strike of 3200 Pennsyl-H Pennsyl-H , vania shopmen believed settled. Strike had no connection with switchmen's H ; H San Francisco 20 switchmen quit Jersey CH, N. J. Eric yard brake-men brake-men struck today. ; Effect New Organization. BUFFALO. N. Y., April 8, At a ! meeting tonight attended by about H ' 1300 switchmen, the Grand Lodge of h the- International Yard Workers' as- H : sociatlon was organized. II was said by the officers that this organization H i would he extended to other cities they declared that tho association where tho switchmen are on strike and B -would supersede tho the switchmen's union and also tho Brotherhood of 1 Railroad Trainmen as far as it affects H i vardmen. B i ' Speakers at the meeting emphasized H ! the contention that tho men were not ' on strike, but that they had walked v out as individuals. The speeches wero, ' moderate in tone and a striker who al- ' tempted to interject remarks in praise of Eugen V. Debs, was denied a hearing by tho assemblage. H After the meeting Edward C. Hola-Hi Hola-Hi han president of the new organization Hl i' .mnouueed that the switchmen's de- I Inand for' wage . Increase and an eig1it: j I hour day would he submitted to of-j licials of the railroads tomorrow. Ho said that there would be no compromise comprom-ise and that the mon were prepared to remain away from the yards if their demands were not granted. Shop Strike Ends. FORT WAYNE, Ind., April 8. The strike of more than 3,000 Pennsylvania railroad shopmen, inaugurated a week ago when a demand for a closed shop was made, was believed practically to bo settled today. Turn Down Strike. OMAHA, Neb., April 8.--Switchraen here have voted down a proposition to join in a sympathetic strike. CHICAGO, April 7, John Grunau,' whose "personal grievances" precipi-j luted the present strlko of railroad switchmen, is president of the "outlaw" "out-law" union, known as the Chicago Yardmen's association. Grunau, a yardmaster, was conductor conduct-or on a work train operated by the Chicago Chi-cago and Northwestern road. Recently the company added a passenger pas-senger car to tho train, making necessary neces-sary the replacement of Grunau by a road conductor, officials say. Following Follow-ing his discharge, Grunau organized the Yardmen's association among switchmen, who formerly were members mem-bers of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and called the local strike. Grunau is oaid to have been unsted from the brotherhood during the war for alleged pro-German utterances. St. Louis Strike On. ST. LOUIS, Mo., April 8. Two hundred hund-red switchmen in tho East St, Louis terminals failed to report for work at 3 o'clock this afternoon after demands for increased wages had been refused. Officials of the SL Louis djstrlct Yard-mens Yard-mens association said that 5,000 switchmen, switch-men, fireman, engineers and firemen would he out by tomorrow. "Wo are Just resigning," they assorted. as-sorted. Out At Jersey City. JERSEY CITY. N, J., April 8. All yard brakemen employed In the Erio railroad yards here wont on strike late this afternoon without giving any reasons rea-sons for their action. Railroad officials offi-cials deolared that the rr;i:e was unsanctioned un-sanctioned by union officials and apparently ap-parently was called in sympathy with the unauthorized strikes of railroad employes in Chicago, Buffalo and other oth-er cities. S. p. Men Out. SAN FRANCISCO, April S. Twenty yardmen and switchmen employea bv the Southern Pacific company struck hero at noon today in sympathy with the strike of their fellow workers elsewhere, else-where, f be company announced, " i ' 1 |