The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-03-07
Mr. Whitley, Of the Springfield Reaper
Works, Declines 0vertures for Arbitra-
ti0n-Labor News from Other Points.
THE GOULD ROADS.

THE GOULD ROADS.
Three Thousand Knights Cease Work, and
Will Be Joined BY Six Thousand More.
ST. LOUIS March 6-At 10 o'clock this morn
ing an order was issued by the executive board
Of the Knights of Labor, district assembly No.
1ll, in session at Marshall, Tex, ordering
strike of machine-shopmen employed on the
Missouri Pacific or Could Southwestern system
of railroads In compliance with the order the
men struck at Sedalia, De Soto and St Louis,
and it is expected that like action will
follow at various other points Seven
hundred men quit work at the Sedalia shops.
$40 at the works at De Solo, and between 200
and 400 at the shops in this city. The running
force of the Gould system, including shopmen.
trackmen and trainmen, is 10000 Of these.
5000 are claimed to be Knights of Labor, but
up to this afternoon only those employed in the
machineshops had struck. It is estimated that
a. the present time from 800 to 5000 men have
gone out but it is thought probable that if the
managers do not accede promptly to the de-
mands of The strikers all the remaining Knights
ON the system will be ordered out.
The cause OF the strike has been very dificult
to get at, but the following statement is as COM
prehensive and perhaps as accurate as has yet
been made:
On the 18th Of last month district assem-
bly, No. 101, of the Knights of Labor. held gen.
eral business convention at Marshall Tex.
Anse~sssshs delegates to that meeting was Mr.. g
A. Hall, foreman of the wood-workers of the
Texas Pacific car-shop at Marshall. He had se-
cured, it is alleged, leave of absence for
7 h. af A.
his immediate superior, Mr.. Cosby the master
car-builder This permission. it is said, was wit
messed by J. j. McGeary. of St. Louis, and John
Thornborn of DeSoto. Mo-, visiting Knights.
The convention, with M. B. Hall as delegate,
sat four days, and on the 18th adjourned. At
noon on that day, Mr.. Hall resumed his work as
usual. On quitting his duty in the evening
he received q note from Mr.. Cosby stat
ing that his services were no longer re-
quired, and, it is said, assigning the cause of
his discharge that he had been absent from his
business without leave The local grievance
committee of Knights at once considered the
matter. His reinstatement was demanded, and
either refused or neglected. A strike was then
ordered by this local committee, and upon the
failure Of the men to obey the order. meeting
of the executive board of the Knights was called
The executive board ratified the action of the
local committee and issued a general order, upon
which the men quit work at Fort Worth, Mar
shall and Dallas.
This action of the executive board, il Is
claimed, was not so much in the interest of the
one man, Hall, as strike for the principle in
volved. One year ago there was an agreement
made between the Knights and the mapagers of
the system that no man should be discharged
without due notice and investigation This con-
tract, the Knights contend has been violated in
this instance of Halls discharge. The Texas Pa
cific railway is one of five roads in the States of
Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas and Louisi-
ana which comprise the Southwestern Gould
system. The Knights of Labor employed
on these five roads are under the
immediate direction of district assembly No.
101. When the local strike in Texas failed of the
desired result the executive board of the
Knights Of this Southwestern system, in session
at Marshall, and in communication with Receiver
Brown, and other officers of the Texas Pacific
railroad, since March l. when the first lot of men
walked out, asked an adjustment of the trouble
by the reinstatement of Hall, and some others
Wno "cro subsequently, OlScndrSeu WIN tniS
request the board gave notice that refusal to
comply would be followed by strike on the
Gould system. The railroad has failed to do as
desired, and to day the executive board gave
the word for general strike of shopmen.
Direct application by an Associated Press re-
porter to the high officials of the Missouri Pacific
system has failed most sgnally in eliciting any
information in regard to the strike, its cause or
its present aspect. Neither Vice president Hoxie,
General Superintendent Kerrigan nor Traffic
Manager Newman would talk. The few leaders
of the Knights of Labor who are here are also
quite as reticent. 1t will therefore, be seen that
information can be obtained only under extreme
difficulties.
When Master Mechanic Bartlett was in
formed by the committee of the order that had
been issued, and that the men in his shop would
20 out Immediately. he asked them if the
were dissatisfied with anything, or if they had
any grievance, but they would only reply, I'VE
have been ordered to quit work and
leave the shops" and they obeyed
the order at once. About two hundred men
were employed IN the shop. At the Office of the
yard superintendent it was ascertained that
some trouble was anticipated in the handling Of
the encinea locomotives ara fred and mado