The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-07-20

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,ApE1TATEsF TEnlE eya z I 49, sls fEa 1 AL .
LINE
The Baltimore s.dUericqns which Is very
friendly To- the railroad company, says:
There Is no dfsgdfsing the fact that the
lpublic sympathy I'D. with she employees OF
the Baltimore aud Ohio Railroad Company,
who are trying to prevent q further redue-
,tion,of tiieirsypareg bglpreHentiu the rum
ring OF freight fratnsi III the; statements
made BY the ssrskipg Hsenens as to their in-
.sufEcient 3cempeusatfon are corr ect tand
doubt them, they Ger
fainly have Teasgr5 TO cUmplain OF the system
a1opted iby tie company which prevents
them from working more than two to four
yiays I'M the week; AMI throws 6n them the
burden Of paving their bourf at the tern5-
Aus of the division until they have q chance
.to,brine a train back 10 the starting point
where they1haye ti1eirh bones. q The fireman
who makes the trip from Baltimore to Mar
:tfnsbure, aridjremains there two days at his
,own;expense before liecan get back to Bal
,timore; has mot earned d dollar over and
above his expenses during his three days
and waiting! ca system Ike thls
is certainly calculated to breed tdlscontent
aniongft the trainmen,t and ;tohin press. them
with a conviction that t hey are not Justly
dealt with 5911a issi'it 4'paiS Q : ~
sat i''twnEs We CONE TO stSvEsrIGA ATE 5,n -,
the underlying cause 81 this apparent. in
illstice to. the fiferfleI on the freig
'Wsxind nd reason for charging the company
with i 2disposition. to Cypress its employ es.
III fact, the whole trouble proceeds from
4 laudab7e effort on the part Of the company
RI keen more men in its service than are
necessary iori the moving Of its trains du-
ring the present season OF depression IN
business. The managers Of the road sup
lpjossed that it would be better to give the
firemen q, chance to make three or four
trips week than to discharge them, entirely.
= It happened that the practical effect OF
dividing work, among six hundred men
that, could have been easily performed by
two hundred dissatisfied al OF them, and
precipitated' the present unfortunate strike.
But in, presenting their case, to the public
the strikers must not lose sight of the fact
that, they were Obliged TO wait, at the, ends
ot divisions for day or two before making
Tie return trip, simply because there were
no trains, for them TO bring back. ., ..i,iya,.
=. ~ I. .G.,iTRE DECLINE. IN BUSINESS. stI
ifs. something over which the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad Company has no.contr0l. 1T
would be to its interest to keep allitsfreight-
engines in constant motion, and TO allow
the firemen; to make a full trip every day'i In
the week, il there was sufficient freight to
be: moved to justify the working OF the.road
totits, full capacity ); but'the company can
,not;a afford Ito keep tits irelling-stock linimo-
ton merely for the sake ofIgiEing its EN-.
ployes an opportunity to earn reasonable
wages. ut has tried to do something in the
way of philanthropy cutting down
wages and dividing up the work OF
moving its trains amonSaai great many
people in! i ORDER to- keep them in tits
service &, but 1.-the III attempt, has been
o. failure, and the strike that is now Destroy
ing it's business and wasting its resources
can be traced to this. .well-meant endeavor
to divide: the. labor and wages of one emu
ployG among, three. " neither this last re-
duction;in the pay, OF fremen islenforced or
mot. tae. inevitable result of the strike will
bethe discharge ofaeVery man whose SER
vices can be dispensed with. .tGUnless there
is some Improvement in business these IN
fortunate strikers may lin the end regret that
thew did notsubmitrto what seemed to
them d most unjust reduction IN their pay
rather thnn bring on crisis which deprived
them of tall means OF earning aeliving:aEI
AS we have already said, the strikers have
*; THE PUBLIC SYMPATHY ON THEIR SIDE.
The average man man and woman take a. pure
" sentimental view Of the struggle between
the employer and the employed, and. are
prone to regard the former as q grasping and
exacting tyrant. When it is corporation
that seeks to put down OF keep down the
wages of its employees, the familiar maxim
that 20 corporations have mo souls . .fitly
expresses the popular contemplation Of its
conduct. People read, the touching, nara.
tiyess OF the poverty, the perils, and the for
bearance OF the long-suffering fremen who
are now on a strike, and they forthwith con-
clude they are Justified in taking this violent
method or protesting against the grinding
exaactions oil, the railroad, This is very SUI
perfciarYieW OF the matter, and one that does
gross Injustice to the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company. Like all other corpora
tons engaged infthe transportation bust
ness, the Baltimore; and Ohio; Company has
the highest motiveior maintaining the good
will of its employees. Upon their vigilance
and efficiency depends the prosperity OF the
company, and il they should become suilen,
:discontented, and rebellious, no amount OF
skill and energy on the part Of the managers
could save tberoad from disaster For this
reason It should not wantonly Cypress Its
employees, or ask them to work for insult.
Icient COMPENSATION, unless, as in the present
instance, there.was some solid, substantial
reason for cutting down expenses ito, the
lowest possible figure. -
4aaN A2iYaaorHE Loss sUFFEREDsa sl'.f''j
!bythe Baltinaoreand Ohio Company during
the last three dayslWill be felt by thousands
of persons who are quite as dependent on
the company as are the dissatisfied fremen.
We are aware thasia great deal Ihas been
said about |! the policy of the company IN
making ten per cent. l;divide fids out OF. the
earnings nf the,eolnpany when itonly ought
to have divided six per cent:,but this is a
matter oil, which the fifemen DIRE, not 'eompe-
tent tteo pass judgment, Up 10 within
the past two years we believe. that the
Baltimore and Ohio Company paid
its, employees, the same, wages that were
ibbaid by the other trunk Ines and certainly
tie money which Went To- make up the ten
Der cent. dividend was not educted from
The pay Of the 1remep. But Whether the
employees were stlnted for the benefit Or the
shareholders Or otherwise, II is morally GER
tain that the firepep's strike will not weak
EN- the motive nor lessen the necessity for
the practice iof stringent economy until
such time as the anspoftation business
again becomes active and profitable.
We have tins TAT Comma upon ls'i'
3 rs. THE FiREhtk's sTRiKE -.
as IL il were mere; refusal ON, the part Of
certain emp loyGs of the baltimore and Ohio
Company to perform their & ccustemed du-
ties. we recognize the light OF every man
to auit.work when he s,n0 longer satisfied
with his wages But this is not a mere