The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-07-23
I, 1,,,a Great Combination.

.AiSJsSI,sA - : = : s
81 The Great lnbination. 55.fa
The combination OF 6 strikers" as they
sareea,,ed, ID the most extensive that ever
3 occurred IN this country. Beginning in
.sou,e 81 che smaH towns Of West Virglnia
mon the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, II
has spread into parts Of Maryland. Penn-
sylsanta, Ohio, and New York. Whether
IL goes further or not It remains to be seem 7:
That It viii be auieted is certain. Indeed,
resumption OF railroad operations Is indis-
pensabie. The country cannot get along
without Il. II the contumacicns hold OUT
long enough the railway corporations m must
make concessions.
The condition OF matters between the
railroad men and the railroad officials is cal
cu)ateli to make a very decided impressions
unon those officials and also upon railroad;
;nroperty. If the /. strikers" SO called, wiiF
hold ont, and at the same time infiics no an-
Jury upon property, they viii not be. inter ,i
fered with. They have a right to work or
not, and none can modest them. Buff they
follow the precedent set by other combina-
nations, and proceed to interfere With
Others who are willing to work, and, more
over, do anything to iniure or destroy pro-
perty, they viii be seized and held to an
:swer. If they get into the hands OF the law
in this manner they viii be handled with
severity, and their position Of aggression
and OF contumacy will soon have its 9 back
broken" ~
The question as TO the duration OF .
suspension OF railroad operations on sac-
count OF the combined strike Is interesting.
On enc side there IL the want OF food ZOE
workmep and their families. On the other
there is the pressing necessity OF commerce
ana OF travel, and furthermore OF the rail-
waps themselves. II is a question OF endu-
rance OF these opposing forces, both under
the pressure OF heavy and imperative ne
cessity.
Such strikes are, Of course, not new; but
the present one has greater magnitude tban
any OF its predecessors. The main question
as to the power OF the strike IS as TO
whether the engineers. firemen, &C., VIII
al. refrain from work. When any surren-
der and 60 to work the resistance subsidies.
Nevertheless, the show Of combination ana
pluck in the railroad force inculcates amore
serious appreciation OF their power and the
propriety OF more deliberately and fairly
arranging the economy OF railroad. opera
tions which have grown in magnitude be-
yond all conception OF days past, and IN
yolve the welfare OF The country. . s..f>gt
That railroad corporations have prac-
ticed devices OF the most greedy and I'M
feeling nature we have not doubt. That
cunning strategies have been conceived and
put into operation. intended to enrich those
who had immediate control OF some rail-
ways, and to do so In part By economizing
distressingly in the department. of labor,
we have no doubt That the gains in this
way only whetted the. expedients bywhich
they were made, we doubt not. The'pr
tice OF measures with this motivo-such,
for instance, as the Directors Chartered
line, by (which the stockholders were rob,
bed. Of their just profits -cont inually tend
ed to illiberality and parsimony, and the,
discomfort OF the engineer and lab0rer natu--
rally grew as they saw how the directors
fattened in the midst Of the distressing.
economy that had been instituted This is,
true OF some corporations. We cannot ex-
pect that practices that are questionable,
shall be pursued By wealthy railroad Off:
Gals without bunting the scruples Of
those under them rwhOl are aware OF the
censrrable character Of much that they see.
In short, the immortality that steals into the
management of s railroads is sure to faint
their whole economy, and we must look for
outbreaks and strikes, and for deep.seated
resentments towards persons Who, if they
were surely right themselves In feeling and
conduct, would not invoke upon their heads
the ill-will Of the employe. III, itfs
Nevertheless there must be in this coun-
try, under the best and fairest management,
occasional outbreaks OF workmen who are,
too apt1o grow unreasonable. Large bodies
OF workmen celebrating yer the question
OF reductio htet, IN times q hardship
and: depressions Is unavoidable too
prone Il, take Str ngi ground against any
diminution Of their compensation. They.
do not: recognize the; general law, which,
requires q graduation of all compensation
to level with that general ratio which
cannot be 6disregarded. At this2 time all
compensation is lowered in conformity with
the unavoidable necessity of the day. That
that peculiar hardship has fallen upon the
Baltimore and Ohio workmen, the clear
statement inthe Baltimore 4Het icdp shows.
And no man can read that statement with
out feeling that it, would be desirable il
the Baltimore Company would pay out y.
as the sailors call it--their line of liberality
q little. -, ~. q .,,s ~
The country learns in this disturbance q
lesson OF the power Of, the railroad labor
Ing community, and that community itself
learns something Of its own strength which
it had not fully understood. They learn
this important point: That engineers, fire
men, and others Of great railway are citi-
zens OF degree Of consid eration in a COM
munity that must be regarded in very diff
aerent light from collected bodies OF miners,
moulders, &c. They are more scattered,
and their family alliances are more widely
and firmly rooted. Engineers and firemen
especially rise to the level Of trusted men
L,