The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-08-09
THE END OF THE STRIKE. .
A DANGEROUS THREAT OF GOV. ROB-
ENsON TO stCLEAN OUT
TIE STRHK ERs.''
How Garnett and scott Lost Their Heads
in the Panic.

Inc strikers did not quite 1ulllll tlle pfed1C-
tion in my letter of ten days ago, which was
that they would hold out about two weeks.
They lacked about four days of making me
an accurate prophet. But, il the strikers did
not quite fulfill my expectations, the railroad
managers did, for they have compromised"
Indeed, there was no other way for it. The
notion of
SURPRISING THE RIOTERS,
as those in authority saw fit to phrase it, was
too absurd for any head to entertain except
such heads Us did entertain it. to wit. White
law Reid, Carl Schurz and Hartranft, to-
getiier with the other average country poll
ticians who are usually found acting as Gov
ernors of States. And here let me say that
II the country should be plunged into new
disorders, compared to which those we have
just seen would be as the zephyr to the hurri-
cane. it will be because such idiots and pre-
tenders as | have named succeed in Impress
ing their "views' upon those in power.
1t is of the gravest Importance that the
men who are at the head of affairs should un-
destand that the country has escaped the
most dreadful danger that ever yet menaced
our society and our institutions, not through
the moderation and
STRONG COMMON SENSE OF THE STRIKERS
themselves. 1t never was the purpose of the
men who struck for equity to let their move
ment be turned into war against society at
large. The demonstration of lawless vaga-
bonds and vicious fanatics in st. Louis, San
Francisco and Chicago, under the several
auspices of "the Commune, "the Interna-
tional Society and "the Hoodlums," had
more effect towards calling halt upon
the movements of the sober-minded railway
strikers than did all the drum-taps and blank
cartridges of the much-vaunted "citzen
soldiers
To use the words of an intelligent Lacka-
wanna engineer who recently unbosomed
himself to me on the subject "the railroad
men saw that the labor organization was not
perfect enough to enable the workingmen to
make a consistent fight for q definite object"
Also that "there would be no further move
ment until the workngmen should have
achieved an organization sufficiently strong
to enable them to resist the aggressions Of the
military, and protect society at large from
the fury of the criminal and vagabond
classes at the same time
Also that ''there was no sympathy between
the brotherhoods of railroad men and the va
rious mobs of thieves and vagrants who
styled themselves Communists and Interna-
tionalists,' but that "the latter were recog-
nized as enemies in every sense and not as
allies in any sense by the real workingmen
of the country.
These expressions may be taken as embody-
sense of the classes lately in insurrection.
eve strike for equity" said the Chief of the
Lackawanna Branch of the United Brother
hood, mot for plunder,''
THE REALLY CRITICAL HOUR OF THE GREAT
STRIKE
was when the venerable and well-meaning
but not brilliant rural politician who finds
himself to his profound establishment, in the
gubernatorial chair of New York, resolved to
"clean out the Central yards at West Albany"
with his militia; a step the consequences that
would have followed which I have already
pointed out in q former letter. The vener-
able and well-meaning rural politician afore-
said was like the traditional individual who
set fire to his own barn in order to destroy
| the rats that burrowed in his haymow.
He at least could have the satisfac-
| tion of making it hot for the rats.
But Mr.. VIM. H. Vanderbilt was not in favor
of opening fire on the Central employees.
| Hence we saw that within twenty-four hours
| from the time set by the venerable Governor
of New York for cleaning out the yards at
| West Albany" the Central men were all at
work again, and the backbone of the strike
had collapsed. Mr.. Vanderbilt fixed the mat
| ter up in a short conference with a committee
! Of his striking employees. The fact is not
generally known, the New York papers, for
some reason or other not having publishe d
it; but it is fact, nevertheless, that Mr.. Van
derbilt protested in the most solemn manner
against the use of force upon his men, and de-
clared that whenever he failed to manage
the Central railroad, he would sell out. His
conduct was in marked contrast throughout
with that of Garrett of the Baltimore and
Ohio, Jewett of the Erie, and Tom Scott. /
was not surprised at
THE PANIC WHICH OVERLOOK GARRETT,
for it was to have been expected of a man
who had recently refused to receive deputa-
tion of his own employees, and then, when
| respectfully requested to give replies to GER
tain inquiries, responded by discharging the
members of the deputation which made the
request. But it was real surprise to me to
see Scott lose his head and clamor for assist
ance at the very first pass. 1 know Scott
well, and his methods are all of the most
democratic, unpretentious sort. There isn't
| particle ef the aristncrat or the swel1-head
about him in his dealings with those in his
employ Hitherto he has always been popu-
lar with his employees, and I am firmly con-
vinced that he could have reached the same
sort of an adjustment that Vanderbilt made
at any time prior to the dastardly behavior
of the Philadelphia bullies in Pittsburg, if he
had only called upon his men to send repre-
sentatives to confer with him as Vanderbilt
did. OF course
THE PITTsBURG EMEUTE
made gulf between Scott and his employees,
but | shall require better evidence than is
now at hand before believe that Tom Scott
ever counseled such idiocy.