The New York herald., 1877-08-31
TILE RECENT STRIKES.
Review Of the Late Railroad Troubles
by President Thomas A. Scott.
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES.
Legislation Required to Protect
Interstate Commerce.
rProm the North American Review, SeptembsrOcto-

the request tnat you have done me the honor
make 10 give on for tho North
eciese such results Of my observation and experience
during the recent disastrous disturbances IN This
country as may appear have bearing upon the
general interests Of the community, nnds me alb
sorbed In imperative duties which make IL difficult for
me 10 comply with your wishea But the issues and
results of these deplorable events OF such i'm.
i rortaucc 10 tho prosperity and happiness OF the
American people, without distinction Of class
emu the very existence OF our social
and political institutions, that one per-
Laps who happens, through whatever circumstances
20 have brought into immediate contact with
these events, should allow personal considerations
10 restrain him, when the proper occasion is pro-
seuted, from expressing his candid deliberate
views regard to them. therefore take pleasure in
giving you the following statement, which must be
Tor what 1t Is worth by the thoughtful readers OF
the North American Reries0, my hope that It
may be found of some in helping tho public in this
country form just practical conclusions the
subject.
BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILRoAD STRIKE
On the 10th of July it became known that the fire.
and freight brakemen OF the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad were on strike at MartnsDurg, W. Va,
and that freight trains allowed pass that
point in either direction. This proved TO DO the be-
81 rning OF movement which spread with great ra.
pidity New York to Kansas, and from Michigan
10 Texas, which placed an embargo ON tho entire
freight traffic OF more than twenty thousand miles OF
railway, put passenger travel and the movement
pf the United States mails at tho mercy
pf mob, subjected great commercial centres
like Chicago and ST. LOUIS to the violent dis
lurbance OF all their business relations, and made the
great manufacturing city OF Pittsburg for twenty-four
hours scene OF riot arson and oloodshed as can
never be erased from the memory OF its people In
la elu nd I'M
Fort Wayne Columbus Cincinnati, Louisville and many
points in New York and New Jersey the were
ut Defiance the properly Of the various railway com
panes soiZed, injured destroyed, the civil author
lies ovcrpowcred oyerawed, ana In many
PEELED To call upon The military power OF lhe States To
protect persons and property This call could in all
be fully met The governors of West Virginia,
Maryland and Pennsylvania acted with great prompt-
ness, but ound the military organizations OF their
States although very efficient for The suppression OF
any ordinary outbreak, unable 10 suppress what
rapidly grew from riot to an insurrecton and were
compelled the aid OF the United States gov
ernmenL To this the President at once responded 10
tie of he forces his command and the
OF deIachments OF the regular army and navy hastily
gathered from all quarters and hurried 10 the points
most seriously threatened aided largely in securing
the comparative quiet which row prevails within the
borders oil those States. Had not been, however,
that IN many communities the municipal authorities
acied Win great nerve ana emciehcy ana were sup
ported by organizations OF cizens, and by public
sentiment Determined 10 maintain aw aud oroer at
any cost, the troubles to DC encountered would no
doubt have been much more serious
swAYED INSANITY OF PASSION.
do wish, and happily IL rs not necessary, to fill
your pages with the mere recital OF the distressing
Of voleace and outrage which marked the course
OF these rois unexamped in American history. Sui
flee 1t say that the OF the entirely
inconsistent with the idea that this uioysment could
have been directed by serious, rght-minded men bent
on improving the condition of the laboring classes.
How wages could improved by destroying property,
the existence OF which alone made the payment OF
apy wages at all possible II is difficult to
Nothing but the insanity oil passion, play upon by
designing and mschievous leaders, can explain
the destruction OF vast Quantities OF rail-
rnni mt nh
transaction OF Its business by men whose complaint
that the business done by the full equipment in
possession of the railways did not pay them sufficient
compensation Tor their labor
During the greater part OF our century OF national
existence have enjoyed such unbroken prosperity
that had perhaps come to expect exemption from
many OF the worst problems which perpiex other and
older civilizations. The vast area OF public land
open TO cultivation and settlement had steadily
drained OFF not only our own surplus population, bat
that of other countries and the rapid extension OF
railway system by furnishing markets ior the produc-
uons OF all parts OF the country, had increased the
national wealth aud built upa general prosperity
But Tor the civil this state OF things might have
continued TO exist; bW the waste OF human
lie and the destruction OF property which ac-
companicd that war, the loss oil real productive
power aId the creation Of large debts, national,
State and municipal, invoving heavy taxation 70 meet
them, have entaiied burdens upon which were
lightly eli during ibe ieyerlsh excitement OF the civil
conflict, but the weight OF which Deca me suddenly
onerous and almost iuloersbe when the ancial
aition OF the country was so seriously disturbed Dv
credit mon which the fabric of our apparent
prosperity rested almost entirely destroyed,
be capital which had been fairly lent to all enterprises
offering even show of prospective profit was sud
denly Withdrawn. Since that time The country has
been obliged to meet It's debts, not by renewals but by
actual pay mcnts from It's resources. Every important
industry in the country has bcc1 compelled 10 prac
the closest and most rigid economies In 10
escape marketing It's PRODUCTS at absolute loss.
The cotton aud woollcn mills OF New England,
the furnaces and mines OF Pennsylvania, Ohio
Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, have all passed through
the same experience and have the story tell
Tue capital which Communist orators SO eloquently
dcnounce has YIELDED such scant returns as tho mon
VINO pretend TO dictate the scale OF adequate wages
for labor would regard with disdan. In every
ufaclurng State the country IT Is perfectly well
known that many establishments havo been kept in
operation SIMPLY tnat the men might be employed
THIS has been done often without uta
Of profit to the owners. During the last winter the
large rolling mills IN Pennsylvania have been
closed, aud thousands OF iaboring men reduced
'dcncss and possibly want, had not the railroads.
mich during the recent madness that swept over the
country were selected for mob violence and oppro
orum-comc to ,hcir rcef by anticipating their
Of their actual requirements Political economists may
object tnat It was not an act OF charity In when
great corporations had any right to indulge, but is
certain that without this thousands Of Iaoorng meu Ia
the state Pcnusy ylvanIa alone would have suffered
,cvorey Not only this. but order TO aid The indus
rles which mucn depressed. aud 10 cnabe
manufacturers TO continue business and thus keep
incir men steadily employed, the railways OF
he country have reduced their local freight
charges TO the lowest point ever known,
snd have moved the heavy materials used
In max ron Steel glass aid other products at rates
barely above the actual cost oil transportation; ana
yet, by curousIy inverted process OF reasoning, the
course thus pursued by the railways has been most
butterfly denounced by the setconstitutcd mouth pieces
OF The very classes which have alone prolted by IT,
TOO MANY HASDs EMPLOYED.
Ii is sale 10 assert HAT far as the
special class OF railway employees. iremen and
irci .ht brakemcn is concerned, there are, per.
haps, but few railway companies IN the United States
which not TO -day employing orce OF train hands
larger their actual business requires. With the
fnlliug of ol from irafic. the question WAS
pfosene4 at once to railway managcrF whether tho orcc
employed the lines should be reduced to that actu
ally necessary for the Work to uo dVne which Case
greater compensation might nave been paid ~ |
lhe men retained ~hiio others equally |
deserving must have been turned adritt, whether
i would not 10 both wiser aDG kinder TO retain As !
many possible ia tho service, by 30 ailotlng
Inc work as to permit AL to earn sum, sinaer in-
aeed than IN The past yot t hoped sufficient 10
support themselves and their families during the severe
period depression, the near close Of which rail-!
way managers, an common With all The business men
OF the counry perhaps too coE hdenty looked Orwar
This course as have SAID, may be condemned bv ,
the hard rules OF political economy The experi- !
OF the p4st cw weeks TO show that 4
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