The two sides had agreed to a tentative settlement of the strike. However, as Truman was talking, an aide approached the podium with a message for the president. On the afternoon of May 25, Truman went before a joint session of Congress to update the nation on the strike and ask for temporary legislation to draft railway workers into the army - a stance that met with enthusiastic applause from lawmakers. Dairy farmers worried about getting their milk to market, and it was predicted that if the strike continued, more butter than usual would be produced before stored milk could be allowed to spoil. Meanwhile, delivery of mail was slowed, although air mail continued to be flown through Rochester’s airport. Gopher Aviation made chartered flights to Chicago and Milwaukee, the Post-Bulletin reported, and the Yellow Taxi company took customers to Chicago, Milwaukee and Mason City, Iowa. Others ran out of patience and booked passage in whatever way was available and convenient. Some resigned themselves to being stranded in the city for the time being, and extended their stays in downtown hotels. “Emotions of visitors range from complacency to anger,” reported the Post-Bulletin. “I live in Minneapolis and want to get home,” the conductor shouted to bystanders.
The final northbound train for Minneapolis left just seconds before the strike began at 4 p.m. The last eastbound “400” train left Rochester at 2:10 p.m., May 23, and reached as far as Chicago before being halted. To get the trains moving again, Truman said he intended to draft the strikers into the army. Truman understood that many Americans relied on the railroads for personal transportation and shipment of goods. President Harry Truman, despite having a reputation as a friend of organized labor, was angered by the strike.
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