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Show PACKINGHOUSE WORKERS BACK DESPITE CUTS ! No Action on Strike Vote to Be Expected for About a Week ARMOUR DENIES TEN HOUR DAY IS SOUGHT j Big Chicago Company Puts Out Notices of Industrial Democracy Plan WASHINGTON, March 14 Secre-jtarv Secre-jtarv I i.i vis had recehj today replies from th five leading packers and ; their employes agreeing to hit, plan , for a conference here between two ; representatives from each In an effort ,to reach an agreement on the question I of wages and other differences. Mr Pa vis has not yet set a date I for the conference, but he is understood under-stood to be considering Friday f this week suggested h- the employes who I will by then have checked up the results re-sults of their strike referendum. ELECTION C ILLKD. CHICAGO March 14 Armour & Company today called an election in all of Its plants for tomorrow for the employes to elect representatives to form an industrial democracy In which employers and employes would have equal representation and which would settle all matters of working conditions, condi-tions, wages and hours in the Armour Ar-mour plants. GHICAOO, March 14. While awaiting await-ing the outcome of mediation plans and thr result of a strike vote, employes em-ployes in the packing plants of Chl-cago Chl-cago and their leading branches In the middle wet had b elded to gotp work foda'V Hnider the n luced w ig. scale announced by the five leading packers which goes Into effect today. More than 100.000 men are affected I IV Ihn rd.lnrllnni r.t IS n .-. A 11 r.w , cent In the hourly rate and piece , work rate respectively, v. Ith time and ' a half for overtime only alter ten hours. "An assumption that we arc at- templing to establish a ten-hour day Is wrong." said a statement from Ar-l Ar-l mour & company today in answer to charges of union leaders The whistle I In the Armour plants Will continue to ! blow at the end of eight hours' work each day. M VSS MEETING HELD j At mass mct-ings held In half a1 I dozen packing centers yesterday, the workers were advised to remain at work until the strike vote was com-1 pleted which It was said here would be about Friday. Union leaders suggested Frldn, March IS the date for the proposed conference In Washington of repre-' sentatives of employers and employes with James J. Davis, secretary of la-' bor According to reports here. Secretary Sec-retary Pavis had received but on.- official of-ficial response from the packers to his mediation proposal. Wilson and com pan) agreed to send two repres-; entatlves. In a drastic shake-up of the police departfnent, Captain Wesley H. West-brook West-brook was on duty today In the stock-; yards police district because of his ability to cope with labor troubles), Chief of Police Fltzmorn said IGE ( I TS SMA1 1, 1 "Our cut In wages is small when) compared to other firms.' said the Statement of Armour and company. "We have a list of 21 other firms reducing re-ducing wages where the decreases ran from 14.25 to 33.34 per cent. The stockholders of Armour and company! could not dodge the fact that we ar"' losing money, That is why wages' arc reduced. j 'The average working time In the killing department In the past year, has been forty-'.wo hours Under the, new arrangement a worker will bo able to earn a substantial Increase" LISA EM TO SPEECHES Thousands of packing house employes em-ployes marched In the. rain back of tho yards here yesterday and listened to outdoor speeches of union leaders who urge-d them not to start a "runaway "run-away strike" The wage cut will he delayed until April 11 in the plants at St Louis, and St. Joseph, Mo., it was stated by. C. K. t'ruhart. manager of the SI Louis plant because of a Missouri law requiring thirty days' notice for wage reductions for employes of manufacturing manufac-turing concerns- |