The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-07-23
The Great Com ination.

npon the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, u
has spread into parts OF Mary Penn mn,
syIyania, Ohio, and New York w hether
ii goes further or not it remains to be seen.
That it will be quieted is certain. Indeed
resumption Of railroad operations is ind EIs
nensabie. Tho country cannot get along
without Ii. II the contuuacious hold out
long enough the railway corporations mus
make concessions. 80
! The condition OF matters between the
railroad men and the railroad officials ts cal
cu,atef, to make very decided impression
mon those officials and also, upon railroad
nronerty. n the g strikers, . SO called, wall
hold ont, and at the same time inflict no IN
;ury upon property, they will not be inter-
tered with. They have a right to work or
not. and none can modest them. But II they
follow the precedent set by other combins-
nations, and proceed to interfere with
others who are willing to work, and, more
over, do anything to iniure or destroy pro-
persy, they viii be seized and held to an
swer. If they get into the hands Of the law
in this manner they will be handled with
severity, and their position OF aggression
and Of coutumacy viii soon have its "back
: broken"
The question as to the duration OF
suspension OF railroad operations on &C.
count OF the combined strike is interesting.
On one side there is the want OF food Tor
workmen and their families. On the other
there is the pressing necessity Of commerce
and OF travel, and furthermore OF the rail-
ways themselves. II is 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 than
any of its predecessors. The main question
as to the power OF the strike is rs to
whether the engineers, fremen, &C., VIII
all refrain from work. When any surren-
der and go to work the resistance subsidies.
Nevertheless, the show Of combination and
pluck in the railroad force inculcates more
serious appreciation OF their power and the
propriety Of more deliberately and fairly
arranging the economy Of railroad opera
lions which have grown in magnitude be-
yond all conception OF days past, and in.
yolye the welfare OF the country.
That railroad corporations have, prac-
ticed devices OF the most greedy and I'M
feeling nature we have not doubt. That
cunning stratcgies 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 By which
they were made, we doubt not. The prac-
fice of measures with this motive---such,
for instance, as the s'~ectorS' Chartered
line, by which the stockholders were rob
bed of their-just profts-continually tend
ed to iIliberalty and parsimony, and the
discomfort of the engineer and laborer 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 arc questionable
shall be pursued by wealthy railroad Off
Gals, without blunting the scruples OF
those under them who are aware Of the
censurable character of much that they see.i
In short, the immortality that steals into the
management Of 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 employs. - :.ia1
Nevertheless there must be in this coun-'
try, under the bestand fairest management,
occasional outbreaks Of workmen who are
too ant to grow unreasonable. Large bodies.
OF workmen celebrating over the question
of reduction.-which in times OF hardship
and depression is GunavOidable-ar too
prone to take, strong ground against any
diminution OF their compensation. They
do not recognize the general law which
requires graduation of all compensation
to level with that general ratio which
cannot, be disregarded. AT this 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 in the Baltimore american shows.
And no man can read that statement with
out feeling that it would be desirable il
the Baltimore Company would "pay out p
as the sailors call it-their line of liberality
little. " ssz ..ssa
The country learns in this disturbance a
lesson 0; 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 a degree Of consideration ina CONF
munity that must be regarded in veryldif-3
ferent light from collected bodies Of miners,
moulders, sc. They are more scattered,
and their family alliances are more widely
and firmly rooted. Engineers and firemens.
especially rise 10 the level OF trusted menf
In the matter of human liie.s They are
akin in the trust and faith reposed in them
to the soldier, and it is all the better for So
ciety that they should be- treated with that;
consideration which will inspire them with,
self-respect and cherish that important feet
ing without which public security Weulds
be greatly lessened. We saw that in Mar
tinsburgr and other Vest Virgins towns
the citizen soldiers were disinclined to fire