Fort Towson Enterprise. (Fort Towson, Okla.), Vol. 12, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, September 1, 1916 Page: 2 of 8
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THE FT TOWSON ENTERPRISE
MIL STRIKE CALLED FOR SEPT FOURTH
WILSON’S LAST APPEAL TO CONGRESS
pnly Quick Passage of Dras
tic Legislation can Stop '
A General Tie-Up
President Proposes Quick Action by Con-
gress and Passage of Laws to
Prevent Strike and give both
c sides what they want
Washington — President Wilson lay-
ing the railway strike situation before
congress with recommendations for
legislation advanced the crisis to a
stage where the next developments
depend upon two points They are:
Whether the legislation he proposes
can he passed
If enacted will it he effective to pre-
vent a strike already called for 7 a m
Beptembr 4
The brotherhood heads themselves
announcing their Intention to fight
certain portions of the president’s pro-
gram are at loggerheads over whether
Its enactment would prevent the
strike
The railway presidents favorable to
“Gentlemen of the congress:
“1 have com to you to seek your as-
sistance In dealing with a very grave
situation which has arlaen out of the
demands of the employee of tho rail-
roads engaged In freight train servica
that they be granted an eight-hour
working day safeguarded by payment
for an hour and a half of service for
every hour of service beyond tho eight
Matter Long Agitated
“The matter has been agitated for
mors than a year The public has been
made familiar with the demands of tha
men and tho arguments urged in fa-
vor of them and een more familiar
withthe objections of the railroads and
their counter demand that certain pro-
vision now enjoyed by their men and
certain bases of payments wonted out
through many years of contest be -reconsidered
especially in their relation
to the adoption of tha sight-hour day
“The matter came some three weeks
ago to a final issue and resulted In a
complete deadlock between the parties
The means provided by law at media-
tion of the controversy failed and the
means of arbitration for which the law
provides were rejected
“The repreeentativee of the railway
executive proposed that the demands
be submitted In their entirety to arbi-
tration along with certain questions of
readjuament as to pay and conditions
of employment which seemed to them
to be clearly associated with the de-
mands or to call for reconsideration on
their own merits: tha men absolutely
declined arbitration especially if any
of their established provisions were by
that means to be drawn again In ques-
tion Commerce Paralysed
“The law In the matter pute no corn
fulslon upon them The 400000 men
rom whom the demands proceeded had
voted to strike if their demands ware
refused the strike was imminent it
has since been set for the 4th of Sep-
tember next It affects the men who
man the freight trains on praotfcally
every railway In the country The
freight service throughout the United
States must stand until their places are
filled If Indeed It Should prove pos-
sible to fill them at all Cities will be
cut off from their food supply the whole
commerce of the nation will bo paralla-
ed men of every sort and occupation
will he thrown out of employment
rountlesa thousands will In all likelihood
be brought it may bo to the very nninr
of starvation and a tragical national
calamity brought on to be added to the
other distresses of tn times because no
basis of accommodation or settlement
has been found
Offered Mediation
“Just as soon as It became evident
that mediation under the exletlng law
had failed and that arbitration had
been rendered Impossible by tha attitude
of the men I considered It my duty to
confer with representatives of both the
railroads and the brotherhoods and my-
self offer mediation not as an arbiter
hut merely aa a spokesman of the nation
In the Interest of just We Indeed and as
a friend of both parties hut not as a
lodre only aa a representative of one
hundred millions of men women and
children who would pay the price the
Incalculable price nf lose and suffering
should these few men Insist upon ap-
proaching and concluding the matters In
controversy between them merely as em-
ployers and employes rattier then aa
patriotic rlilxens of the t’nited mates
looking before and after accepting the
larger responsibility whleh tne public
would pot upon them
Aoprcvee Eight-Hour Day
“ft aeems to me in considering the
gubicct matter In the controversy that
the whole spirit of the time and the
preponderant evidence of recent won
©r‘c eoeetence spoke for the eight-hour
tlnv f he-1 been ndlnrted by the thought
pnd c— --'e-re of recent years a thing
ii-- -— in Is-JustiSed in Insist-
I -ntsrret of hsalth sfflelstt-
r- and a general Increase
I
President Wilson’s plan In the main
think it would make it difficult for
the strike to begin
Meanwhile although negotiations be-
tween the employers and men wero
broken off by the rejection of the rail-
way presidents’ latest proposal for ar-
bitration President Wilson Is contin-
uing hla efforts to bring- the two sides
together on some form of agreement
Immediately after the president had
delivered his recommendations con-
gress set about to see how they might
be enacted Into law
No Conclusions at Conference
President 'Wilson had a conference
In Speaker Clark's room at the capltol
Besides the president and the speaker
THE PRESIDENTS APPEAL TO CONGRESS
in the interest of economic vigor The
whole presumption of modern ex per
lence would it seemed to me be In its
favor Whether there was arbitration or
not and the debatable points to settle
were those which rose out of the ac-
ceptance of the eight-hour day rather
than those which affected its establish-
ment Proposed Adoptlen
1 therefore proposed that the eight-
hour day be adopted by the railway
managements and put Into practice for
the present as a substitute for the ex-
isting ten-hour basis of pay and serv-
ice that I should appoint with the per-
mission of the congress a small com-
mission to observe the results of the
change carefully studying the figures
I of the altered operating costs not only
but also the conditions of labor under
w’hich the men worked and the opere-
tion of their existing agreements with
I the railroads with Instructions to re-
' port the facts as they found them to
thecongress at the earliest possible day
but without recommendation and that
after the facte had thus been disclosed
and adjustments should In some orderly
manner be sought of all the matters now
left unadjusted between the railroad
managers and the men
"Thaae proposals mere exactly In line
It Is interesting to nots with the posi-
tion taken by the supreme court of the
united States when appealed to protect
certain litigants from the financial losses
which they confidently expected If they
submit to the regulation of their charges
and of their method of their service by
public legislation
'The court has held that ft would not
undertake a form of Judgment upon fore-
caste but cofld base Its action only on
actual experience that It muet be sup-
plied with facts not with calculations
and opinions however scientifically at-
tempted To undertake to arbitrate the
question of the adoption of an eight-
hour dar In the light of results merely
estimated end predicted would he to
undertake an enterprise of eonjecture
No wise man eould undertake It or If he
did undertake It couFd feel assured of
hla conclusions
Assured of Inereaoee
"T offered the fiiendlv servloea of the
administration to the railroad managers
to see to It that Justice was done them
In the outcome I felt satisfied In esser-
lor them no obstacle of law would be
offered to stand In the way ef their
Increasing thsfr revenues to meeting the
additional exnenee go far as the devel-
opment of thslr business and of their
administrative efficiency did not prove
adequate to meet them The public and
representatives of the public J felt Jus-
tified In assuring them were disposed to
nothing but Justice In such esses and
were tiling to serve those who served
them
"The representatives of the brother-
hoods accepted the plan but the repres-
entatives of ths railroads declined to ac-
cept It Tn the face of whet I cannot
hut regard as the practleal ceetgfntv
that they will be ultlmetelv obliged to
accept the eight-hour dar bv the con-
certed action of organised tabor backed
by the favorehle Influence of eooletr
the representatives of the reftwav man-
agement have felt Justified in declining
a peaceful eettlement whleh would en-
gero el the forces of Justloe public
and private on their side to taka care
of the event
Otereeard Friendly Aaeureneee
They fear the hoetlfe Interest of ship-
pers would be onposed to an Increese
of freight rates ffor which however ef
coures the mihlfo would pev: they ep-
parerv feel no confidence tbet the I-
t estate commerce commission could
withstand tn objections that would be
made ThT do not cara rely upon
the friendlv assurances nf the congress
or the president They have thought It
best that they should he forced to ytetd
if they must yield pot by sonsent but
bv the goffering of the eenntry While
mv conference with them were In prog-
ress and while to all outward appear
nee these eenfertagse eome p
yield to his request that pending ac-
Leader Mann Democratic Deader
Kitohln Representative Sterling of Il-
linois the ranking republican of the
house Interstate commerce commit-
tee and Representative Adamson the
chairman No - definite conclusions
were reached
President Wilson confided to advis-
ers his earnest hope that the brother-
hoods recognising the fairness with
which he has treated them would
able -fruits for shipment were Issued
tion by congress they rescind their
strike order He asked the leaders
to do so at the conference but they
refused flaUy saying they had not
the power President Wilson takes
the position that In view of his recom-
mendations to congress the brother-
hoods have nothing to gain and much
to lose If they oarry out their strike
order because be believes under such
circumstances public opinion will
stand against them
Will Appeal to Leaders
The president Intends to use all his
Influence to hasten action In congress
but should there be delay he Intends
to appeal to the patriotism of the
leaders and they duty to the public
not to persist In calling the strike at
this time
With the issues now set forth before
the country the president expeots the
pubUo to make known to the brother-
hoods Its opposition to a strike re-
gardless of the merits of the contro-
versy Embargoes Are Placed
Meanwhile the railroads and train-
men have prepared themselves for a
strike Orders not to accept perlsh-
tlvely remained here They announce
by many lines notices were issued to
prospective passengers that unless
they could oomplete their journeys be-
fore 7 o'clock Monday morning they
would risk delays Many of the rail-
way president left for their headquart-
ers announcing they considered it
necessary to be near their properties
standstill the representative of tho
brotherhoods suddenly acted and set the
strike for the fourth of September
"The railway manager baaed their
decision to rejeot my counsel in this
matter upon tnelr contention that they
must at any coat to themselves or to the
country stand drm for the principle of
arbitration which the men had rejected
1 baaed my counsel upon the indisputable
fact that there was no means of obtain-
£g arbitration The law supplied none
earnest effort at mediation had faded
to influence the men in the least
More than Futile
‘They stand firm for the principle of
arbitration and yet not to get aroltra-
tlon seems to me futile ana something
more than futile because it involved in-
oalculabie distress to the country and
consequenoe in some respects worse
than war and that In the midst of
peace
to n° man in firm adherence
alike of conviction and of purpose to the
principle of arbitration in industrial dil-
utes but matters have come to a eud-
en crisis In this particular dlapute and
the country has b$en caught unprovided
with with any practicable means of en-
forcing that conviction in practice (by
wrhose fault we will not now stop to in-
quire) "A situation had to be met whose ele-
ments and Axed oonditlon were Indis-
putable The practical and patrlotio
course to pursue as It seemed to me
was to secure Immediate peace by con-
ceding the one thing in the demands of
the men which society Itself and any
arbitrators who represent public senti-
ment were most likely to approve and
immediately lav the foundation for se-
curing arbitration with regard to every-
thing else involved
"The event has confirmed that Judg-
ment 1 was seeking to compose the
? resent In order to safeguard the fu-
ure for X wished an atmosphere of
peace and friendly co-operation in which
to take counsel with representatives of
the nations that ware the best means to
prevent and so far ae It might prove pos-
sible to provide against the recurrence
of such unhappy situations in the future
— -he best and most practicable means
of aeouring calm and fair arbitration
of all industrial disputes In the days to
come This Is assuredly the beat way
for vindicating a principle namely hav-
ing failed to make certain of Its observ-
ance In the present to make oertalu of
Its observance In the future
Refused to Admit Case
"But I could only propose I eould
not govern the will of others who took
an entirely different view of the cir-
cumstances of the case wdio evsn re-
fused to admit the circumstance to be
what they have turned out to be
"Having failed to bring the parties to
this critical controversy to an accom-
modation therefore I turn to you deem-
ing It clearly our duty as publlo ser-
vants to leave nothing undone that we
can do to safeguard the life and Interests
of the nation
fyeemmindi Lews
Tn the spirit of such a purpose I
earnestly recommend the following legis-
lation Flnit— Tmmedlat provision for the
enlargement end aamfnetrstlve re-
organisation of the Interstate com-
merce commission along lines em-
bodied Id the bill recently passed
by the house of representatives
and now awaiting action by the sen-
ate in order that the commission
may be enabled to deal with the
many end various duties now devolv-
ing upon It with a promptness and a
thoroughness which ere with its
present constitution and means of
action practically Impossible
fleoond-— The establishment of en
eight-hour day as the legal basis
alike of work end of wages In the
employ meat ef all railway employee
who ere actually engaged tn the
ererk ef operating train in the In-
terstate transportation
Proposed Invest leetlen
Third-—Tbe avthevtsatlea at ip
FREIGHT EMBARGO HAS BEGUN
Efforts Mad- to Clear Up All Ship
rnent Before September 1
Oklahoma City — Unlei there are
favorable developmenU in Washing-
ton in negotlatlona to atop the threat
ened railroad strike the embargo of
the Southern railways against further
shipments ef freight will become op-
erative at onoe aocordlng to a tele-
gram received by W T Keating local
commercial agent
The telegram also reported the
WARREN B STONE
Grand Chief ef the Bretherhed ef
Locomotive Engineers who —III be
the directing heed ef the strike
trainmen’s etrlke order aa follows:
Strike order of ergaal gallon of
trainmen his been Issued nailing for
general cessation of tranapcrtaUon
throughout the United States begin-
ning it 7 i m Monday September
4 Unleae favorable developmenU It
Is probable that embargo on all elaasee
of freight will be Issued with twenty-
four hours Extend this advice to
shippers tn your territory
The telegram was signed by L
Green general freight traffle manager t
of the Southern Railway Company
A telegram received from Tulsa saya I
officials of the Frisco railroad in 1
Tulsa called on 8heriff Wooley for
fifty special officers to guard the prop-
erty of the road there in case of e gen-
eral strike These men arato be paid
93 per day and all expenses
potntment by the president of e body -of
men to observe the actual reaulta
In expenses ot the adoption of tho
eight -hour day In railway transpor-
tation alike for the men and for
the railroads Ita effecta In the mat-
ter of operating costs In the applica-
tion of ths existing practices and
agreementa to tha new conditions
and in al other practical aspects
with ths provision that ths mvaa-
tlgstors shall rsport thslr conclus-
ions to the congreea at tha ear-
liest possible date but without
recommandatlon as to leglststtvs ac-
tion In order that ths public may
learn front an unprejudiced source
just what actual development havs
ensued
"Fourth — Explicit approval by ths
congress of the consideration by tho
Interstate commerce commission of
an Increase of freight rates to meat
sufh additional expenditures by ths
railroads aa may have bean rendered
necessary by tha adoption of tha
sight-hour day and which have not
been offset by administrative adjust-
ment and aconomlas should tho faots
disclosed justify tha Incraaao
Provides Investigation
“Fifth — An amendment of the ex
lstlnf federal statute which pro-
vides for tha mediation conciliation
and arbitration af such controver-
sies as tha present by adding to It
a provision that In case tha methods
of accommodation now provided for
Should fall a full publlo Investiga-
tion of tha merits of every such dis-
pute shall ba Instituted and com-
pleted before a strike or lookout
may lawfully ba attempted
“And Sixth — Tha lodgement In thg
bands of tha executive of tha pow
or In case of military necessity to
take control of such portions and
auch rolling stock of the railroads
of the country as may ba required
for military uses and to operato
authority to draft Into tha military
servica of the United Xtatsa such
train crews and administrative of-
ficials aa the circumstances require
for their safe and efficient use
wa”nnotln'anVc!rmme7anceeeufrsr I CCordDg to tha Pral critic Hector
the nation to be hampered In the ttitn- i Ci Bywatf SO Ilf M building
till matter of national efenee I gwii Mtiitrartinn nnnn
Army Muit Be Considered 7TQ conairucuon plant art concerned
'At the present moment ctreumetanee Uiara lfl HO ftMOII why Germany COUld
render thla duty particularly obvious 1 not have 2ft battleahlna ah knu
"Almost the entire military force of ? DunP Or CatU
the nation I stationed upon tne hiexioaa crulaera under construction at ona
murt7rt:u7pli:rnnd‘ Though he admit that thl fig-
teadtiy supplied with whatever it needs ua may ba aatoniablnf ba ahowa that
for Its maintenance and efficiency If u examination Of ths various yards
should be nsoesaary for purposes of na- i “ ‘ " variuua yarus
tlnnal defense lo transfer any portion 1 governmental ana private In Germany
10 fct-h
foreseen ample mne of transportation tnat aimuitanaoualy a program tnclud
"“ available and available without mg light crulaer detroyera and aub-
delay The power conferred In this mat- ! “
tar should ba carefully and eapllcttly marine! COUld DO put through alnca
a’? £?"£ Td"5r32S °enT
and ample I although they cannot build capital
-‘TO are pion e JVlM I ‘J! 1° PrW0
tin w should make all arbitrable tna lighter craft Ha aatlmataa tha
awards Judgments by records of court
ef law In ordar that thslr Interpretation
and enforcement may lie not with one
of tha parties to the arbitration but
with an Impartial and ailthoratlva trlb-
Laws Needed New
“Tnee things I arge upon yon not In
hoots or merely as a means of meeting
a present emergency but so a perman-
ent and necessary addition to tho laws
of the land suggested Indeed
eumalancea wo had hoped never
but Imperative aa wall as Just 'If attrh
emergencies are to bo provantso In tha
future I fael that na aatendad argu-
ment la needed to commend them to
your favorable consideration They
demonetate them selvas Tha tlma and
tha occasion only glvea emphasis to their
THE EUROPEAN WAR A
YEAR AGO THIS WEEK
August 28 1015
Austrians In southeastern Ga-
licia pierced Russian line In two-
places French artillery silenced Ger-
man guns at four peinU in the
Argonne
French aviators dreve off six
German aeroplanes that at-
tacked Parle
Allied aeroplanes shelled Ger
man positions en Belgian coact
Count Bemstorff premised full
satisfaction for the Arabic
August 29 1915
Hlndenburg pushsd en toward
Riga
- Violent artillery struggle In
the Argonne
Heavy bombardment ef Ger-
man lints on west front began
August 50 1515
Von Macknsen started a turn-
ing movement In the south
Russians wen big victory en
the 8trypa In Galicia 7
lUllans renewed their atUck
n Tolmlne
- August 51 1915
Russians checked Teutonic el-
lloa In Galicia
Russians captured 7000 pris-
oners near Lutsk
'Germany atated British had
lest 50000 men In Dardanelles
since August 5
September 1 1915
Austrians captured Russian
fortress ef Lutsk
General Alexleff made chief
f staff of Russian army
Allies In command of Buvuk-
Anafarta valley on Gallipoli
peninsula
Germany premised America to
oink no more liners without
warning
September 2 1915
Rueelane evacuated Grodno
fort re ee and retired to ' right
bank of tho Nlemon
Four Turkish transports sunk
by British oubmarlnoo In tho
Dardanelles
Heavy fighting In the leonxo
valley
September 8 1915
Germane stormed bridgehead
at Frledrlchetadt on tho Dvina
Italians repulsed by Austrians
at Tolmlno
German submarines sank Brit-
leh steamers Roumanle and
Churston
tout working fore tn all theca yard
at 100000 men
Far off tho coast of Maine la
jagged ledge of rock known aa Sad-
dleback Island on which the only
mesne of landing la by derrick to
which a eort of chair la attached A
by lighthouse I maintained on thla lodge
managed by a keeper and two aaslat-
ants with tea men on duty at all
tlmea
Holland’ ml nee are now producing
coal at a rate ef aboet 1000000 tone
t year
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Fort Towson Enterprise. (Fort Towson, Okla.), Vol. 12, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, September 1, 1916, newspaper, September 1, 1916; Fort Towson, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1793726/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 28, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.