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Show Text of Message Sent to Harding by Striking Railroad Shopmen Accepting His Terms of Peace CHICAGO. Aug 3 The text of th strikers' niessnge to President Harding Hard-ing aeceptlng his terms for (he aet-ti( aet-ti( men't of the strike follows I "Tin- representatives of the em-ployea em-ployea feel themselves under ohllga-Itlbna ohllga-Itlbna to support every proper effort on the part of the government to I'brlng iiiout or to preserve the unin-lerrupted unin-lerrupted operation of the transportation transporta-tion Industry. The stubborn refusal of the railway executives to establish 1 board of adjustment, as contem-plated contem-plated bj law, In order to settle ef-ficlently ef-ficlently disputes ovet rules ;md working work-ing conditions between the carriers In nil their employee; the eontinued r -'fusul of railways, representing over a quarter of the tlas one railroads, tc comply lth the decisions of the railroad labor boani against th- practice prac-tice of contracting out work and shops, the persistent campaign to de-n de-n to the railway employes Just ami reasonable wages, to Impose upon theni unfair working conditions and to disintegrate their organizations, nnd conditions made Intolerable by the board In their derision of July 1.1 1921, which forced the employes to suspend work. "It Is now proposed that they re- turn to work, temporarily nceeptlng wages and working conditions which they feel to be unjust, with reliance upon the follow ing program for n - dr.-.ss of grievances: ' First, railway managers and workmen work-men are to agree to recognize the validity va-lidity of all deeislons of the railroad ! labor board, and to faithfully carry out such decisions as contemplated b law. II E Kit. 11 r TO QVIT. The- employes have always taken1 the position that as long as the con-! tlnued to render service tbe should abide by the ruie and working conditions con-ditions and accept the wages agreed upon by proper negotiation, or determined deter-mined by the labor board after a hearing of a dispute upon any of these matters. The respectfully point out again that violations of law and refusals re-fusals to comply with decisions of the labor board, have been exhibited onl by the railway managements and that It has been universally admitted that tho employes In exercl.slng their rights 1 to suspend work under non-acoeptnhle conditions, were neither violating thej law nor the decisions of the board "We understand that the recognition recogni-tion of the validity of all decisions of the railroad labor board' as seen i by the law, means, for example 1 n tho caae of the Pennsylvania railroad all employes will agree to reduced wages and working conditions con-j talned In the decision of the labor! board and the sole question of validity' va-lidity' pending In tho authority of tho labor board to determine as In derision de-rision number 218, the method of se-lei se-lei ting aerredlted representatives of Ithe employes, assuming that the rail-'road rail-'road has appealed from the derision of the 1'nlted States circuit court of appeals, which sustained the action of I the labor board. SECOND PROVISION. " '8econd, the carriers will with-1 draw all lawsuits growing out of thel strike, and the railroad labor board decisions which have been Involved In the strike may be taken. In the exercise ex-ercise of recognized rlghta b either party, to the railroad labor board for rehearing.' "It Is the understanding that th representatives of the employes, upon seeking a rehearing of the. controverted controvert-ed decisions concerning wages and working conditions, will be afforded a prompt rehearing and derision, by the labor board. We assume also that the practically unanimous action of the employes In electing to suspend work and In continuing thin suspension suspens-ion under the sunctlon of, and in accordance ac-cordance wrllh law of. their nation-1 organizations has ended any captious questioning as to who are the properly prop-erly accredited npokesmen of the vast majority of railway employes "We desire de-sire to call attention to orderly and disciplined conduct of these employes under different conditions, which has demonstrated the ind laponsable value of their national organizations In aid of the effective adjuntment of controversies con-troversies and the efficient conduct of the Industry. PROPOSAL ON SENIORITY. " 'Third, all employes now on strike to be returned to work and to their former positions with Henlorlty and other rights unimpaired The representatives repre-sentatives of the carriers and of the organizations uspeclully agree that there will be no discrimination by either party against th emplove wno did or did not strike." ' We are glud to obeerve that the obvious justice of this proposition has been accepted, it would certainly be u wholesale injustice of unparalleled extent. If hundreds of thousands of experienced men who have given four to forty years' service, and whose value to the transportation lndustr Is proportioned pro-portioned to the length of their service, ser-vice, should be placed in a position of Inferiority to a limited number of men who havo been employd as sub-stltutef sub-stltutef for thone experienced railroad rail-road workers. The demand that aucn A a wrong should be perpetrated, as a penalty against men who hae exercised exer-cised a fundamental and admitted right not to render service under non- acceptable "onditions was so unfair that we could not believe it would receive re-ceive the sanction of any impartial Judgment "We understand the language "all employes now on'strike' to Include all employes who hold seniority rights under un-der the rules agreed upon between the carriers and the organizations of em-in em-in promulgated bj the t'nlt ed States railroad labor board M IKING CONCESSIONS. 'It should be understood that in arting faorably upon these proposals propos-als for settlement of the pending controversies con-troversies the representatives of the I organized emploves feel that tlr LI Imaking concessions and sanctioning sacrifices on the part of the employes which entitle them to the highest con-slderatlon con-slderatlon and to recognise as law-abiding law-abiding Americans, who are ready to and willing to do nil In their power, even beyond that which is strictly reasonable, rea-sonable, in order to promote Industrial peace and to further the uninterrupted uninterrupt-ed flow of the commerce of the nation. na-tion. "We see evldenoe of little sacrifice required on the part of the managements manage-ments to whom like proposals hav been submitted They will suffer no loss In abandoning a host of futlla lawsuits, complaining of wrongs whl h have never been committed It is understood un-derstood that the labor board must confirm Its previously announced position, po-sition, and that the railways must abandon the condemned practice of rontractlng out work and shops and restore tho employes to their former status. It should be noted that this practice Is not only a violation of the transportation act and of the decisions decis-ions of the board, but as shown by many derisions of the courts, is a violation vio-lation of the charter obligations of the railroads and would have been unlawful unlaw-ful without the passage of the transportation trans-portation act or any action by the labor board. BOARD OF A D.T I STMSSNT. "We understand that an effort will be made to Insure the setting up of a board of adjustment, but inasmuch as such a board can function effectived only with full co-operation of both managements and employes, we can look merely with hope, ,-md not with certainty for the establishment of this essential part of the machinery machin-ery ' to decide disputes between be-tween the carriers and their employes In th" meantime, upon advice from you of the expressed acceptance of your terms of agreement contained in your telegram of July 31, bj all carriers, car-riers, we will take the responsibility of dlrertlng the employes lo return to work, and upon the confidence that by action of the labor board upon rehearing re-hearing of the recent controverted decision de-cision a delayed Justice will be rendered ren-dered to the employes In the matter of wages and working conditions. "We should certainly assume that the railway executives In their own obvious Interest eventually will accept the proposals made, unless their counsels coun-sels are dominated sufficiently by anti-labor anti-labor forces to resist een the pressure press-ure of public opinion exerted through your high office and to carry' on to the bitter end a annlhlllslic policy of attempting to destroy the self-protecting, democratic Institutions of organized organ-ized labor. We can hardly believe that such a counsel of folly will finally fin-ally prevail within the railroad managements man-agements It. therefore, appears that upon the organizations of railway executives ex-ecutives and employea rests the Immediate Im-mediate responsibility t serving the public Interests in bringing about a resumption re-sumption of efficient operation of the railroads. Under pressure of this re-sponblllty. re-sponblllty. we have voted by the requisite req-uisite constitutional majority to accept ac-cept the terms of agreement which you have submitted to us , accept reluctantly, it Is true, but commit ourselves our-selves to carry out the terms of settlement settle-ment In utmost good f-alth and 1n aid of the general belief If these proposals pro-posals fall to bring ahoui the results which you dealre their responsibility Of failure itlll not rest upon the rep-resc rep-resc ntattves of the organized employes." |