The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1877-04-20
THE STRIKE OF THE ENGINEERS.

On the 9th of March Mr.. Wootten, Gen.
eral Manager ofthe Reading Railroad issued
circular which set forth that all employees
of the Company who belonged to the Broth
crhood of Locomotive Engineers should
abandon that Organization or leave the
Company's service. On the ith of April
this circular was answered dcc>ively by the
engineers who, at twelve O'Clock, midnight,
of that day abandoned their engines. Their
places were filled by non.union men, so far
as possible, and the mail trains ran ON time
both on the main road and its branches. The
freight trains did not I'll a. n', on &. CatG-
wissa branch, on Monday, an4 but iew coal
OF freight trains on The mai road The
striking engineers were peri city quiet and
orderly aud we have not ard Of single
breach of the peace.
There is much difference Of opinion as to
the propriety Of this step On the pat of the
Railroad Company. We are free >p admit
that our sympathies are with the engi-
neers.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
is beneficial Association, created to care
for its members in illness or misfortune aud
to provid, for their families in cases of death.
As a class the engineers are hard working
and competent men and they have never
organized a strike, nor have hev in.erfeied
with the business Of the muan5, but on
the contrary during Ae 81 fes ni 'he miners
refrained from ragJicipa iol therein. If to
/ be a mcNhar ola ueuev1,ui body ia crime
. in the -yus oi Reading K ir.a1 officials
Why do they not extend ,l1ir 9roarriptire
/ order so as to include Ma,...,S agi odd Eel
| lows?
Mr.. Gowen, the President Of the road, has
made statement in which he aver. that the
association is"an oath-bouud and aggressive
trades.uaion directing its funds and the con
| tritutions OF its members to organize and
sustain strikes" He does not ray, however,
| tia. any strike has been organized on his
read, but instances the cases of other roads
where sCrikes OF engineers have taken place.
But arguing tha; such 81 event might occur,
he portrays in eIoquen. phrases the oireful
effects which might follow aud shows how
tens Of thousands Of miners would be thrown
out of Unemployment if the four hundred engi.
neers in service should refuse to work. OF
course Mr. Governs arguments are we'll ar
ranged, as they always are, hut they are
based on asuppositious state of affairs which
may never exist. Mr.. Gowen had the SYM
pathy of the whole community in his strug-
gle with the lawess men who destroyed
property, ruined business and embarrassed
the working of the Reading Railroad, but it
does not appear that the locomotive engi-
neers were of the number So grievous has
been Mr.. Gowen's experience with certain
union societies, that the existence of any
workmen's association seems to him to call
for instant suppression.
Had the Brotherhood committed any overt
act, by which the Reading Railroad had
been u sufferer, directly or indirectly, then
there might be reason for strong measures
in the interest of self protection, but "a it
is, it looks far too much like an arbitrary
and unnecessary exercise of power. To dis
charge men who belong to an organization
simply for the reason that at some time diff
6culties might arise, savors not u little Of
persecution. Nobody can deny Mr.. Gowen s
vividly drawn account of the distress which
would probably arise in the event of gen.
eral strike Of the railroad engine eers-but
, everybody must deny that such condition
of affairs does exist. "An ounce of preven-
tion is worth a pound of cure" but there
] ought to be some justification for admins
tering the ounce.