Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-07-01
Good Grounds for Believing the Lake
Shore Strike Will overlap It's
Present Bounds.
All Pretense That the Organization Is
Not Back of the Revolt Adam
dOned.
Discovery Of the Agreement on Which
the Men Returned to Work
in April
CHICAGO.
The Situation.


The Situation.
Every appearance now is that the pres
ent strike of the Lake Shore switchmen
will not only extend to the other roads
centering in Chicago. but will spread out
side and take in Buffalo, Cleveland, De-
troit, and Toledo. The men are thor
oughly enraged, and there is no longer
any pretense that the switchmen's union
is not behind the strike. 1t is now open
ly acknowledged that it is, and willing to
back up the Lake Shore strikers not only
to the entent of calling out all the other
Chicago switchmen, but also those at 9TH
er points. The cause of the strike is, of
course the retention as switchmen of the
eight Objectionable men against whose
presence the other switchmen struck two
months ago. At the conclusion of that
strike it was given out that the men went
back to work on an assurance that the
eight men should be put to some other
employment, and at the time it was gen
orally supposed that the railroad had
sanctioned that assurance, although 1t
was said that Nels Morris had agreed to
employ the men in his packing house.
The railroad company at the time denied
that it had made any agreement about
the matter at all, but few believed it, and
that it had has been the popular impress
sion. Yesterday, however, the switch
men made public the guaranty on which
they went to work after the last strike,
which is
AS FOLLOWS:
CHICAGO, April %, 18S6.-W. L. STAHL:
If all the switchmen of the Lake Shore
and Michigan Southern Railroad company
in Chicago or Cook county return to work
at once, will personally guarantee that
within sixty days from this date the eight
switchmen will be furnished
other. employment and permanently re-
moved from their present positions.
SETH T. HANCHETT, Sheriff.
This guaranty, Commissioner Mccarthy
asserts, Sheriff Hanchett signed under a
promise from President Newell, of the
Lake Shore road, that he would see to 1T
that it would be kept, but, be that as 1T
may, it has not been observed, and hence
the switchmen are angry and have again
struck. They claim that they have been
misrepresented and betrayed throughout,
and in evidence thereof present the fol
lowing letter, which was printed in the
Times
OF EVEN DATE:
CHICAGO, April II, 1886.-W. L. STAHL,
J. O'KEEFE, Committee Gentlemen: [
am in receipt of your communication of
the 18th inst, replying to mine of the
same date, asking that you state specif-
cally wherein the conduct of the men in
question has been Objectionable.
In your reply you say that they are
"scabs" by which I understand you to
mean that they are not members of an
organization to which you belong.
[ am instructed to say, in reply, that
the men in question have been in the en-
ploy of this company, with one exception
for periods ranging from 10 to Is years.
During that time they have discharged
their duties faithfully and served the
company with fidelity. They have been
and are men of temperate and industrious
habits reputable citizens of good standing
in the community. Most of them have
families dependent on them for support.
Their removal is asked not for any reason
which impugns their character as citi-
zens or trustworthy employees or which
marks them unfit in any way to associate
with honorable men, but for the single
reason that they do not belong to your
organization. For no other reason you
ask that they be removed from positions
with whose duties they are familiar, and
placed in others whose duties they may
have to learn or which may require the
removal of themselves and families from
locality which has been their home for
years.
The officers of this company are always
ready to confer with employees concerning
IL Al
prompting the interests of either or both
The company has no desire to interfere
with their relations to any association.
But when the company is asked to remove
from their positions men whose character
as employees and citizens of the commun-
ity has always been above reproach, and
whose services are valuable to it, for no
other reason than that they have refused
to become members of a certain assOcia
ton, inasmuch as it disclaims any right
to interfere with the personal liberty of
its employees in such matters it can not
consistently concede to such request. The
officers of the company must further
more be the judges of whom it should
employ in the various departm hts of the
service. I am therefore instructed to
deny the request of your petition. Very
truly yours, L. JONES,
General Yardmaster.
This letter, Mr.. Jones, they say, now
declares to have been signed by him
through ''motives of policy" and does
not represent their grievance. The pres
ent strike is of course because the eight
objectionables were not removed within
the sixty days of Sheriff Hanchett,s guar
anty, but the men declare that the letter
misstates their case when it is said that
they object to the men because they are
are non-unionists. The real cause is
because they refused to join in the strike
of 1881, and hence have incurred the en-
nifty of all the switchmen, and are I'M
pleasant companions to work with when
forming part of a crew to make up trains
in foreign yard.
Two of the leaders of the Switchmen's
union declared in the Times Office, last
evening, that their organization would
back up the Lake Shore men in their
present fight. ''You can say" they said,
i