Reports on Brooklyn Street Railway Strike. First, on Efforts at Mediation and Arbitration and Cause of To the Legislature: Strike. OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION, ALBANY, January 21, 1895. A strike of the employes on the five electric surface street railroads of the city of Brooklyn, who are members of District Assembly No. 75, Knights of Labor, embracing nearly all the operating forces, took place on Monday morning, January 14th. The Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad Company alone effected a settlement, which enabled it to continue business without interruption. This board made every possible effort to settle the differences between the other companies and their men, but was successful only in the case of the Brooklyn City and Newtown Railroad Company, with which, and its former employes, an agreement was brought about, and contract signed, under which traffic was resumed Thursday morning, and still continues without interruption. The following correspondence, Friday evening, with Mayor Schieren, explains the situation at that time, when orders for calling out the militia on requisition of the mayor were decided on by him: MAYOR'S OFFICE, BROOKLYN, N. Y., January 18, 1895. The State Board of Mediation and Arbitration: Gentlemen. Please to inform me as early as practicable this afternoon, and as definitely as possible, what progress has been made by your board in the matter of the pending strike, and especially what prospects there are for a termination of the strike. Yours respectfully, CHARLES A. SCHIEREN, Mayor. STATE OF NEW YORK, BOARD OF MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION, BROOKLYN, January 18, 1895. Hon. CHARLES A. SCHIEREN, Mayor of the City of Brooklyn: Dear Sir. Your letter of this date, requesting to be informed what progress has been made by the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration in the matter of the strike of the electric railroad employes, and what prospect there is of the termination of the same, is received. During the past four days this board has had a number of meetings with the executive board of District Assembly No. 75, K. of L., who are acting on behalf of the men; has held conferences with that committee and President Wicker, of the Queens County and Suburban Railroad Company, together, and with President Partridge of the Brooklyn City and Newtown Railroad Company, President Lewis of the Brooklyn Heights Railroad Company, and President Norton of the Atlantic Avenue Railroad Company, separately. In the case of the Brooklyn City and Newtown Railroad Company, the board succeeded, by mediation, in effecting a settlement at 2 o'clock yesterday (Thursday) morning between President Partridge and his men, which was embodied in written stipulations satisfactory to both parties, and duly executed by the president and the executive committee, and the lines of the system resumed traffic yesterday morning at 5 o'clock, and have since been and are now in successful operation, without interruption or interference of any kind. In the case of the Queens County and Suburban road, negotiations were in progress all day yesterday and up to 12 o'clock last night, with the result of substantial agreement upon all points in dispute, except the final one of re-employment of the men on strike. The executive committee made the condition that all the men should be taken back in a body. President Wicker declined to accede to this, for the reason that, as he stated, he had advertised for and made individual contracts with a large number of men for their services, which he was morally and legally bound to observe, and that he could not receive back all his old employes, while willing otherwise to do so. As a counter proposition, he offered to make places for all the old employes except those who would be excluded by employment of the men contracted with, and to distribute the latter one-half on full runs, one-quarter on trippers, and one-quarter on the waiting list. This was declined by the committee. President Wicker then, at the request of this board, consented to modify his proposition by reducing the number of new employes to fifty, placing one-half on full runs, one-quarter on trippers and one-quarter on the waiting list. This also was rejected by the committee, who insisted that all or none of the former employes should be restored to their places. This exhausted the effort at settlement by mediation of the strike of the Queens County and Suburban Railroad. In the cases of the Brooklyn Heights and Atlantic Avenue systems, Presidents Lewis and Norton, respectively, refused to enter into negotiations of any kind, and no progress toward a settlement could be made with either. The presidents of all the lines declined to accept the proposition of the executive committee of District Assembly No. 75, conveyed to them by this board, for arbitration of all the differences in controversy. The prospect, therefore, of a termination of the strike now on, by mediation or arbitration, is not favorable. Respectfully yours, WILLIAM PURCELL, Chairman Board of Mediation and Arbitration. Investigation of the causes of the strike was made, and it was ascertained that it proceeded from failure on the part of the executive committee of District Assembly No. 75, K. of L., to effect a renewal of the contract of 1894 with the companies for 1895, with certain proposed changes which involved, principally, an advance of wages from $2 to $2.25 per day to conductors and motormen, who form the bulk of the employes; an establishment of the propor tion of permanent regular runs to special trips made for accommodation of congested travel at certain times of day; and an observance of the statute, which prescribes ten hours' labor within twelve consecutive hours on street railroads as a day's work. The demand for an increase of wages was finally withdrawn and the two other points of difference, which the men deemed vital, remained in the cases of the Brooklyn Heights and Atlantic Avenue companies, while the Queens County and Suburban Company was willing to yield them, but could not effect settlement because of the individual contracts made with new men, which would prevent the return of a number of the old men, and to this the executive board of District Assembly No. 75 would not assent. However the existing troubles on the Brooklyn street railroads may be settled, the statute with regard to the hours of labor will, unless amended so as to explicitely state and settle what shall constitute ten hours' labor, remain a constant irritant and source of dissatisfaction and contention on the part of the employes. The companies construe and enforce the words " ten hours' labor to mean labor while the cars are moving upon the rail, without taking into account waiting time at either end of the routes. Thus, by the evidence taken, it was shown that upon one line, where there were eight regular runs a day, there was waiting time of three minutes at each end, making forty-eight minutes per day, during which the conductors and motormen were on duty and in charge of their cars, but for which they received no compensation. However this method of computation of time of labor came to be established, it is clearly not within the terms or intent of the law, and is not just, as the employes contend. With a view, therefore, to removal of this cause of the present strike, and prevention of its agency in working further trouble on lines of street railroad, it is suggested that chapter 529 of the Laws of 1887 be amended so as to prescribe that the “ten hours' labor to be performed within twelve consecutive hours, with reasonable time for meals," provided for as a day's labor, shall commence when the employe reports for service as required by the rules of the em ployer, and cease when the employe, upon their expiration, is relieved from duty for the day. All of which is respectfully submitted. WILLIAM PURCELL, GILBERT ROBERTSON, JR., EDWARD FEENEY, State Board of Mediation and Arbitration, CHARLES J. MADDEN, Secretary. Second, on Further Examination into the Cause, Directed by the Assembly. OFFICE OF THE Board of MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION, To the Assembly of the State of New York: Pursuant to resolution of your honorable body passed January 23, 1895, this board returned to Brooklyn and made further examination into the causes which led up to the strike on the surface street railroads of that city on Monday, January 14, with a view to the recommendation of such measures as may prevent such occurrences in future," to the end that laws may be enacted to insure relief and justice to all." The additional inquiry failed to throw any new light upon the cause of the strike, which, in a word, was the direct consequence of inability of the officers of the roads and the executive officers of the employes embraced in District Assembly No. 75, Knights of Labor, to renew for 1895, the contract of 1894, between them, with certain amendments proposed by the latter, as set forth in the special report of this board to the Legislature, January 21st, and re-presented above. Cause and Prevention of Strikes. This disagreement of the employers and employes, however, was but an apparent or superficial cause an effect, rather than a cause. The primary cause of this Brooklyn strike, and of all kindred strikes, is to be found in the fact that the Legislature, |