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designate, and tell you why you should submit the wage question to arbitration. Let me know if you want me to meet you, and I will do so immediately.
Urges Talk at Home
"Take my advice boys, and go home and talk this all over with your women folk. They have good sense. They have to bear at least half of the burden of the strike. Read this over with them and ask them if they don't think that you ought to submit the wage and other questions to arbitration..."
* * *
New Yorkers Shocked
by Deadly Stillness of Their Noisy City
______________

It was the deadly stillness of everything that first put a chill into the heart of
 New York early yesterday morning. It seemed as if a vital cord had been severed and the spark of life had flickered out. People living blocks away from the "L" and the subway felt that something was amiss, while those near enough to have the friendly rumble and rattle in their ears day after day had a definite sense of loss. Their noisy city had lost some of its vitality, is distinction. They had a sense of resentment that grew as the day advanced, and the vague unrest of the early morning hours merged into the distinct annoyance and anxiety of the afternoon and evening.
 But on the whole, good temper and good humor triumphed over inconvenience. Wit was rampant, for there was much to laugh at and genuine amusement neutralized some of the more serious aspects of the strike. Every one thought it a fortunate circumstance that New York's reversion to the trans- portation of another era took place on a Sunday - a dismal Sunday at that, with gray skies, whiffs of scurrying wind,
blowy street corners and intermittent showers. Few people wanted to leave the shelter of their homes unless they had to. Excursions were out of the question. There was no business pressure of any kind. Even a good many worthy churchgoers curled themselves up in cosey lounges and read the Sunday papers with never a thought of the blue Monday stealing upon them.
 Wait for Worse to Happen
A good many were calmly waiting for worse to happen. Some thought the worst had already arrived as they were jostled in the street cars and found um- brella spokes stuck dangerously near their only pair of eyes.
Perhaps in the street cars more than any where else the strikers were blessed in accents neither gentle nor mild. There was little moderation in the crowds that swarmed on the snailing surface cars, but the Fifth Avenue bus preserved its customary calm and refused to accommodate one passenger too many.
All the vehicular peculiarities that a city like New York can master were abroad in the streets and there was a wealth of color and human interest for the curious, in spite of the drab tones of the day. The "'ansom" and the cabby were in their element. The almost forgotten horse became an object of interest again.
Bicycles were produced from cellars and borrowed from messenger boys. Great unwieldy trucks put up some scaffolding and proceeded to take on crowds. Every one was glad for any kind of lift. The motor, no matter what its age or make, was easily the ace in the pack.
New Form of Salutation
A new form of salutation came into being when the wheels of the magic sub and "L" stopped revolving.
"How did you get here?"
Apparently no one expected that any one else could get anywhere. A journey of ten blocks successfully achieved was something to exclaim about.
"Did your leaders go back and report to you yesterday that I asked Hedley if he would give you the 50 per cent increase if the Interborough got 8-cent fares?
Did they tell you how Hedley replied? In case you don't know what happened, let me tell you.
"Won't Meet Your Demands"
"I asked Mr. Hedley if he would meet the proposed wage scale if this city agreed to eight-cent fares, and he said 'No.' Remember that if Mr. Hedley gets eight-cent fares he couldn't give you that 50 per cent increase. God knows how much he will give you, but I guarantee that if they get the eight-cent fares they would give you as little as they could and give Wall Street as much as they could, so don't be fools.
"Mr. Hedley went further. He said that no matter how much income the Inter- borough had he still would not give you the increase your leaders ask for. It was right after this that one of your leaders said he would take Hedley's word as to the income of the subways rather than statements of the city's statisticians, and he made the remark, 'Hedley is good enough for me.'
"Hedley may be good enough for that particular leader, but when you come to understand all the circumstances, you will have a different idea about it. Mr. Hedley uses your 50 per cent increase demand to ask for eight-cent fares, and in the same breath says that if he gets them you won't get the increase you ask. This is the truth, and if your leaders tell you it isn't, I have a way of proving it. I am willing to meet the whole 15,000 employes at Madison Square Garden, or any other place you
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©2003 The Composing Stack Inc. ©2003 Gregory J. Christiano
Updated January  20 , 2003