Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-03-22
CLOSE CORPORATIONS.
How the Railroads Watch Their Men
Danger of "knocking Down"-Pho-
tographing Employees.
"Did We get that Job, Mac?"

did We get that job, Mac?"
mo. curse it! The boss told mt
l was black-listed by the Southern Pa
cific."
The speakers, writes an Ell Paso. Tex.
correspondent to the San Francisco
Chronicle. were two of group of rail
road men seated round table in beer
saloon en- Ell Paso street. In their inn
mediate vicinity your correspondent
slipped the weak and insipid lager oi
the establishment, which had at least
the merit of being wet.-by the way.
a merit not to despise in the heat of the
day. for the days here are hot already.
One of the group, who was evidently
with but not one of them, ventured to
inquire:
"What do you mean. Mac. by be-
ing black-listed by the Southern Pa
cificp''
"Well. boys, to begin at the begin
ming, you all know that as machinist
I'm about as good as they make them,
and can hold my end up against the
best of them. About year ago Iheard
could get job in the Southern Pa
cific repair-shop at Deming, SO l sent
in my application. with testimonials,
ETC., to headquarters, and in due
time received favorable reply, with
request to send on my photograph.
Well, dressed up in my best and went
down to Parker's gallery, and had it
taken cabinet size-worse lucki did
not think anything about it at the time.
Supposed that the company had pho
tograph gallery of its employees. like a
militia company 1 was once in, and
wanted to have it complete. Well,
after l had been working for some
time, changed about from here to there,
had a few words from one of the
bosses, and was fired. When l called
to look after that job to-day the master
mechanic looks at me queer like, and
| asked me to sit down in the Office for a
few minutes.
I'm about five minutes he came back
an he says: .Ain't your name Mac
-?' Yes said |. Well. said he.
yer black listed by the Southern Pa
cific, an We can't give you no work on
our line Its all mistake said l.
there are more Macs than one in
the world, an never did anything to
be black listed, There's no mistake
,, at all, he said; 'ain't that your photo
graphp and he showed copy of the
photograph / had taken in Parker's
OF course, that settled it. but if |
thought 1 had myself taken for a
rogues' gallery I'd have seen them an
their job in - first.
Ibid you find out anything more
bout - 9fs .p,,,i,-aI fha f,r-t
"Yes; every fellow whose photograph
they want-an' that's nearly every one
above section hand-must send Il
copy, and then they strike off about five
hundred and send them all over the
lines with which they are in cores
pondence. Then, if the Southern Pa
citic fires him, none of the other lines
will take him on. call it an Internal
piece of tyranny and the speaker
struck the table until the beer-glasses
danced to the music of their own jim
gle.
That's what it is" was the univer-
sal Endorsement, and the indignant
machinist having ''set them up again, ~
resumed: just look at the way they're
putting the crews into uniforms, from
the conductor down. Why, thirty
years ago they wouldn't get free man
in the country that would stand it.
Now times are hard, and the boys have
to sink their independence. Here, in
FL Paso, whether on duty or off. man
mustn't enter saloon for glass of
beer, or he may be fired. That's worse
than they treat a policeman in San
Francisco. It's only when he's on du-
ty that he can't have pleasant time
with his friends"
YES brokein another of the group,
a brakeman on freight train, Cook
how all the lines treat conductors and
how they treat engineers. The con-
ductor has to be responsible for every
thing under the sun; has to make out
reports, remember orders, an has the
lives of men, women, an'children in his
hands as much as an engineer, while
an engineer gets a third more pay.
How's that?''
'Why, just this-we conductors amt
organized" explained third. "while
there isn't in the United States to-day
so strong an organization as the Broth
erhood of Locomotive Engineers. If
there are any men driving engines in
the United States that don't belong to
the brotherhood, I'd like to know
where they are, and so would the
brotherhood. Our organization of con-
ductors is only rope of sand compar-
ed to theirs-no one fears il.
Perhaps" suggested the non-rail-
roader. conductors are expected to
knock down the difference in the salar-
ies."
Much show we get to knock dowr
now! OF course, there is always more
or less of it, but he'd be clever fellow
now who could knock down third OF
his salary. What with spoilers, rail-
road detectives, and sure men, he'd get
fired so quick 'twould make his head
swim"
Nv hat is sure manp'
''Well, sure man is one whom the
company knows never knocks down.
He gets from S120 to $50 month and
only makes half dozen runs or so over
any one division. This is how it is:
When conductor has failed to be
caught by spoilers or detectives knock
ing down, and yet don't turn in as
much as the company thinks he ought
to. he is laid off and sure man makes
half a dozen or a dozen runs on his d.
vision. If the receipts fall, or remain
about the average, the conductor gets
back his train; if they go above he is
fred
Don't freight conductors make
something out of carrying passengers?'
queried the non-railroader.
mo. There are several reasons
why they can't. The people who work /
the freight trains are mechanics out of
employment and people of that kind
who have very little stuff. and who
think if they give 50 to be carried over
a division they are paying away up,
while those who work tie naSsnnrar !