Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-03-26
LABOR'S WAR.

Over Fifty Thousand Workmen in l"i0-
ness Through the Various Strikes-otter
Failure of the Missouri Pacific Company
in It's Attempts to Move Trains.
New York, March 15.-Special kilograms
| TO Bradstreet's from the more important
| business centers report the movement Oh
| general merchandise rather below than
| above previous totals. At st. Louis ana
southwest thereof business is at a STAND
still, owing to the continued interrupt
ton of traffic over the Gould South
western railways and the Texas d Pa
cifc line. The number OF strikes through
out the country h increased beyond all
precedent, and the mum Der OF employees SO
idle is reported as 81, 900 east OF the
Rocky mountains. In December, 1854,
the total covering the same territory was
about Is, OOO. Both the bituminous coal
and the textile strikes outrank the South
western railway strike in point OF numbers.
ST. LOUIS, March lot is understood
that Governor Marmaduke is attempting
to open negotiations between the Missouri
Pacific railway officials and the Executive
Board of the Knights of Labor, but the
| results OF his efforts are not known. 1t is
| believed, however, that after the Labor
| Commissioner has reported to him some
definite arrangement will be affected to
bring about a conference between the con-
hicting Knights and their former employ
crs.
Mr.. Hoxie, general manager OF the Mis-
! souri, Pacific railway, emphatically denied
yesterday that propositions OF compro-
mise or settlement OF the difficulties had
| been made by either the or the
| Knights OF Labor.
ST.. LOUIS, March 15.-The attempts of
| the Missouri Pacific road to start out
trains Saturday morning ended in failure,
the engineers and firemen deserving the
trains as soon as requested by the strikers.
The first engine called out came steaming
from the round-house, and had not gone
far when the fireman, who was called off by
the strikers, left his post, and the engineer
brought his machine to q standstirl.
sistance of the fireman, who would
consent to do nothing unless it was
to assist in getting the engine back
into the round-house. The same engine
with another crew was stopped at another
point, and again the engine went back to
the round-house. The engineer said he
| could not proceed because The strikers in
tcrposcd an objection, and SO the plan to
move the freight was abandoned. No ac-
~commodation trains went out. NO freight
is moving at any point, and every thing is
dead in the surrounding yards. The
strikers arc peaceful but determined, and
there is no prospect OF a speedy settlement.
Similar scenes were enacted at Sedalia
and other points on Saturday, the strikers
being successful in every case in persuading
engineers and tiremen to abandon their en-
gines. Not a freight train was run out
from any point on the road.
Late Saturday afternoon the Missouri
Pacific filed a petition for an in junction in
the State Circuit Court against J. j. Nc
Garry and other strikers, and Judge
Horner granted a temporary injunction
restraining such persons from going OF the
railroads property or interfering with the
employees. The object OF this move on the
part OF the railroad company is to prevent
the strikers from making personal appeals
to or threats against the engineers and
tiremen in charge of engines.
The engineers had IL meeting yesterday,
as did also the firemen, and they decided
to live up to their agreement with the Mis-
souri, Pacific road as long as the company
performed it's part of the contract,
but will not run their engines if intim-
idated by the strikers. The company
will endeavor to give them protection, SO
that they will have no excuse for DESERVING
their engines, as most of them did who
f, started out with freight trains last week.
The strikers at all stations on the road are
! to be e%njoined from entering the property
OF the company or interfering with the run
ming OF trains, but whether this will have
the effect expected by the company re-
mains to- be seen. The company claims that
it has received several hundred applica-
tions for work, and that if the engineers
and firemen live up to their agreement
the road can be operated without the as
sistance Of the strikers.