The New York herald., 1877-07-24
The Situation.

The number of strikes and strikers has
considerably increased during the last
twenty-four hours. Several railroad COM
panies, among them the Central Pacific, the
Louisville and Cincinnati, and, it is said,
the Pan Handle. have rescinded their orders
for a reduction of wages. At a large meet
ing OF the employees of the New York Gen.
trail Railroad held last evening at Albany,
it was resolved to ask Mr.. Vanderbilt to
make general increase of twenty-five per
cent ON the wages of all classes OF work
men on the road, and if he refused
o strike was determined on. 1t is probably
in consequence of this that Governor Rob-
inson last evening ordered the whole Ma
tional Guard, twenty-eight thousand men,
to hold themselves in instant readiness.
Riots have broken out and persons have
been killed at Reading, in Pennsylvania,
and at several other points. The President
has declared Pennsylvania in state of in
surrection and issued warning to riotous
persons to disperse.
From an extended inquiry we judge the
number of the actual strikers all over the
country to be not greater than eight or
at most ten thousand. scattered at
various points. But the striking hands
at many places yesterday compelled the
large forces employed in railroad shops
to quit work, and thus added greatly
to the crowds on the streets at such
places and to the apparent strength OF the
movement. Then at Pittsburg and else
NH .v,D Do 10 Cf i'm
turning out to show their sympathy with
the movement /; there are great crowds OF
idlers, tramps and thieves congregating at
every centre to repeat the Pittsburg riot;
and thus the movement not only looks but
is formidable by reason of outside indu-
ences, which will presently be beyond the
control of the respectable strikers. At Pitts
burg these have expressed their disgust at
the mad work of Saturday and Sunday, and
what happened there should be warning
to honest strikers everywhere that they
are playing with fire and evoking spirit
which they themselves would hate, but
which they cannot hope to control
There are as yet no signs that the
managers of the principal railroads and their
hands are coming together for the purpose
of making an amicable settlement OF the
difficulty. There can be no longer any
doubt that the strike was thoroughly organ
lied and prearranged, and the formal
budget of complaints brought by the
train men OF the Pennsylvania Rail-
road against their employers, the mana
gers, shows that they have among
them some one who knows at least how to
state their case. They say that the railroad
has been managed to further private inter-
ests at the expense Of the company, and
that thus the company is impoverished
while some of its managers have grown rich;
that with good and faithful management
the company would be able to pay liv-
ing wages and that the train men
make now only about seventy-fve
cents per day, on which they cannot
support their families. They assert that
managers and directors are interestedrin
''fast freight lines" and other special enter
prises. which bleed the railroad company
for the benefit ofthese special and privileged
undertakings And they allude to the
watering OF stock, on which the managers
claim the right to earn dividends, as the
workmen say, by cutting down wages
Now, it is always well to look the truth
square in the face and the plain truth is
that many railroads are justly charged in
this indictment. This revolt Of the train
men would not have SO great share of the
sympathy OF the thoughtful and respectable
public as it has if this were not generally
known. This does not, as we have con-
stantly warned the strikers, justify them in
any unlawful acts; on the contrary,
they ought to know that mob vio-
lence only loses them public sympathy;
and they stand at this moment in
danger of an explosion of public indigna-
tion which will crush them. Another out
break such as that at Pittsburg will cause
universal and peremptory demand for the
severest measures of repression and punish
ment. We advise them, therefore, to the
utmost prudence and patience, else they
will force the public to forget, what it now
believes, that they have grievances worthy
Of attention and which ought to be re-
dressed.
If they have really an organization and
know how to formulate their grievances we
advise them to issue such general state
ment ut once. The movement has now as
sumed such proportions that the public
wants to know definitely and authorita-
lively what it is about. In May the follow
ing were, we SEQ it stated, the rates paid to
the men now striking on the lines we name
below
ftrenei. Brdlemen
Baltimore and Oho... 81 50a L 20 81 so al IS
Philadelphia, Whining
ton aud baltimore. T3a2 90 73a1 32
Pennsylvania New Jer
scy division). l 80, . W ~ 10
Erie .................. l 10, "a !. SO rs a 9 90
Now York Central. .... 20, 30 u l Is l 65 n ID
We believe these rates have since then
been reduced ten per cent, and on this re-
duction followed the strike 1t should he