Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1886-05-01
THE LABOR TROUBLES.
hIr. PowderIy's Order is Revoked, and the
Strikers continue their war against the
Missouri Pacific

.
I on Labor to-day and gave some details of
/ the southwestern strike. He said: II heard
I from the men OF the little abuses which 1 do
not think the manager OF the Missouri Rac-
/ tic railroad knows about. Along the Iron
] Mountain road they have q system of taking
\ % cents a month from the wages Of man
/ who receives 81 q day. and 80 cents from a
man who receives s. q day and so on IN
/ proportion for what they call a hospital fund
\ then the men claim as soon as they are TAX
| en- sick they are discharged and denied the
/ right of entering the hospital"
/ Eyes, and I am told also that along the
I Iron Mountain road and along the other
! roads in part of Texas, the Superintendent
| and fOremen are interested ia company
! stores and that the men are compelled to
/ deal at these stores. The men whose money
/ this. In many places double prices are
charged in these stores The committee
viii find proofs OF all these things. The
men also complain that section
men are compelled to work
alongside Of penitentiary conyicts.
/ Our organization aims to settle all differ
ences by arbitration and reconciliation, and
l that is the reason why we have difficulty In
managing it. 1t was never thought of until
l recently that our organization should have
anything to do with strikes. 30 TOO boy
/ cOtting Is something which we never legls-
l lated on but once, and that was to restrain
I 1t, and our restraining influence viii go fur
| ther. Our general organization has never
given its general officers any power over
I strikes"
MT. PowderIy further stated that the
I Knights of Labor had no quarrel to pick
with any body and that he and the officers
I of the order We're ever willing to punish VOL
atOrs oflaW be they Knights of Labor or not
! WASHINGTON. ID. c., April 21.-AIr. Pow
derby again appeared before the committee
! to-day ana gave testimony. he SAID IN re-
/ Spouse to questions as to what the objects OF
! the order OF the Knights of Labor were:
''IO elevate its members by helping TO ed
ucate them; by helping them to save
that which the average workman has wasted
/ through bad habits; TO lift him from the
/ condition into which he has fallen through
such habits, and make him, therefore, an
/ employer instead of an employee; to so edU-
/ cate him by comparison OF ideas ard by dis
( cussing questions that help to educate, that
I he may be able to deal and grasp subjects
which affect not only himself but his en-
| plOyers; that he may become better work
man, command better wages and by cO-Op-
| Grating with his employers help him to such
/ profits that he may be able to pay better
wages"
! Mr.. Powderly also gave q history of the or
. igin of the knights of Labor. The orgauiZa-
/ ton was intended, he said, to take not only
] the man who worked at the bench or mine, but
/ every man who toiled by hand or brain in
] any honest occupation. We left out one or
| two honest ious-laWyers and bankers
/ because they feel they were fully capable
/ of taking care of themselves We VIII not
/ take IN a salOOnkeeper. Even if a members
l wife begins to sell liquor We make him
! resign. 1t is a benevolent society and for
I the protection of all kinds of people who
| toll, and is entirely within the law. Our
/ present membership does not exceed 5OO,-
/ 600. Women are members of our OrganiZa-
| ton on an equal footing with men. Women
/ were first admitted in 1881. We claim that
/ If women perform equal work they should
/ receive equal pay. They manage their af-
fairs IN such way as to reflect credit upon
I them and to be a pattern for the men. We
D make distinction regard color
| creed, sex or condition COiored men sell
! dom enter the assemblies of the white
members They have assemblies OF their
/ own and are managing them very nicely.
WHAT GOULD SAID.
/ WASHINGTON. d. c., April 22-Jay Gould
/ appeared before the labor committee OF the
/ house to-day and gave a resume of the rail
| road side IN the great southwestern strike.
/ Speaking of the number of men now en-
/ pl0yed and the business now being done he
said:
'On the 18th of April, % he began, 1--WE had
in the transportation department 1907, in
| the machinery department 55I, IN the en-
/ CINE and fireman department 1,l32 in the
/ car department 3, 1856, in the bridge depart
ment GA, and at our terminal facilities 3J7
men, a total of 1O,737 men, not including
/ our general offices. The operations OF our
roads land / speak from twenty years eX-
| perience) are carried on in a perfectly
/ regular and ordinary way. Trains are
/ all run and the business We were char
I tered to do Is being transacted regularly
/ Replying to the questions, Mr.. Gould said
/ his dispatch to HOZIe was not intended as an
I order, but as q preCauuOn. He put the mat
/ ter in HOZie's hands and held him response
bic for results. de did not send HOLI5g
either on the Monday, Tuesday, or Saturday
preceding, any other kilograms or advice.
/ The cOmpany's policy remained unchanged
from the first. Continuing, the witness
said arbitration Is getting TO be a very easy
/ and popular way of settling difficulties be-
/ tween individuals and corporations, and be-
/ tween corporations and their individual en-
plOyes. have always been IN favor Of arDl-
tration.
Inregard the employees of a railroad cOmpa-
ny as upon a different footing from the en-
. plOyss of a manufacturing or other private
/ corporation A railroad corporation acts IN
/ two senses ursts as private organization
/ and second, as a public corporation, having
I a contract with the state by which it has Ger
tain duties to perform.
/ Being asked why his views friendly to
| arbitration were not carried out at st. Louis
. he said. Mr.. HoXie has been always ready
. to carry them out. That has been always
/ our policy. We are ready to arbitrats any
/ grievance between the company and Its en-
/ plOyes, but the Interpretation winch MI
| POwderly put upon it was that the Knights
| of Labor were TO step IN and oversee this
[ arbitration. There are 10000 men employ
ed by the Missouri Pacific company who are
/ not members Of that order but are members
/ Of other organizations which deal with us
directly. After The strike in 1885 we termin-
ated our relations with the order Of the
Knights of Labor.
WORK OF STRIKERS
Fort WORTH, Tex, April PA Missouri
Pacific freight train was wrecked some dis
lance below this city yesterday. Two rails
had been torn up. and the engine and -four
cars left the track, gong over an embark
ment eighteen feet h1ghs being completely
wrecked. Robert Barrett, engineer, and
fireman John Burns and a brakeman were
seriously, and Burns fatally injured. The
state has offered a reward Of $500 for the ar
/ rest of any men engaged IN the da5tardly
work. The railroad company supplemented
this by Offering 500 for each man caught
who had hand IN II. 1t is claimed py
many that the strikers had a hand in q 9
/ outrage.
INTERVIEW.
New BRUNSWICK, N. j., April 23.-jOhu
W. Hays, member of the general executive
board of the Knights of Labor, returned to
this city last evening. He says that no pro
grsss has been made towards a settlement
of the differences between the strikers or the
Gould system and the railroad officials. he
says the reports sent out by the railroad
that they are handling all the freight they
want to every day are untrue The roads
are all blocked up, and what freight is run
out goes under the protection OF deputy
sheriHs and the militia. The railroads
claim, and Mr.. Hays admits, that they have
which Is very little, on account OF the block
ads. There have been, he says, 1900 load
ed ears standing IN the yaE1s for four weeks.
MIR. Hays says that the uncalled for mas
sacre Of innocent people by the deputy sher-
IFS was instigated By the railroad authorities
the state militia until some act of violence
was committed They therefore got togeth-
er gang OF r0ughs, who brought On the
trouble, and the governor thsn ordered the
h.