That same day, Knapp joined Neill in Atlanta. On May 29, the strike was called off as the two parties entered into discussions. Following Knapp's arrival, the railroad and union came to an agreement that the ten white firemen whose firings had triggered the strike would be rehired, but the railroad rejected the union's proposal to fire all African American firemen. Additionally, the railroad and the brotherhood agreed to allow a team of three mediators to resolve the remaining issues under the terms of the Erdman Act. The three men selected as arbitrators were Thomas W. Hardwick (the union's pick), Hilary A. Herbert (the railroad's pick), and University of Georgia chancellor David Crenshaw Barrow Jr. (Hardwick and Herbert's pick). On June 21, the three mediators began to hear testimony. On June 26, the arbitrators released their decision, wherein they decided against the union on every major point. However, the arbitrators did rule that the railroad would be required to pay African American and white firemen the same wage. Hardwick had been a dissenting vote on several of the issues, and he opposed allowing the railroad to employ African Americans, but supported the requirement for equal pay. The decision, while unpopular among Ball and other union officials, was not appealed. In an article published concurrently to the strike, African American newspaper the "Atlanta Independent", noted that the strike was "nothing less than a cowardly subterfuge … for the purpose of oppressing black working men because they are black." Furthermore, Benjamin Davis, editor of the "Independent" and father of civil rights activist Benjamin J. Davis Jr., called the strike an act of "coercion and violence" against African American workers. American historian Darlene Clark Hine said the strike was the most widely covered labor and race-related incident prior to the East St. Louis riots of 1917. The arbitration's decisions were popularly received by many in the African American community, especially the ruling of equal pay for both whites and African Americans. While there were initially concerns that this ruling would result in whites being selected over African Americans, railroads retained African American firemen at pre-strike levels. Many saw the decision as a vindication of Booker T. Washington's ideas of racial progress through economic development. Washington personally thanked Herbert for the decision, which he said would have a far-reaching positive impact on the African American community. However, Hubert Harrison would cite the strike in his arguments against Booker T. Washington.