Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-04-23

dispatch to Mr.: Hoxle did you intend q
act according TO his own judgmcntr Did
yon intend Il as peremptoTy order, OF
7 merely as advisorygn
} Mr. Gonids nNot even as advisory;
. Intended it as a matter Of precaution.
meant TO put the whole matter in his
hands. 70 give him entire control, and 10
hold him responsible for the results.n
Mr. Burnes; ''Dld you send to Mr..
lIoxle or did you cause to be sent 81
him, either on the Monday, on the sun
day or Saturday preceding, any other
telegram or any other advicegN
Mr.. Gould; ono, sir; my telegram to
Mr.. Hoxie means Just what II Gays, and
we have not changed II from that day 70
this by the crossing Of a t or the dotting
OF an l."
Mr.. Burnes: "In your testimony as TO
this dispatch to Mr.. Hoxle you seem 70
favor the principle OF arbitration for the
settlement Of contentious between en-
ployers and employees. Give US the re-
suits and experience Of your observations
as TO how that principle can be csrricd
out practically"
Mr. Gould "Arbitration Is getting TO
be very easy and popular way Of
settling difficulties between individ-
uas and corporations, and between
corporations and their individual
employees. / have always been in favor
Of arbitration | regard the employees of
a railroad company as upon a different
/ footing from the employees OF a manuiac-
turer or other private corporations. A
railway corporation acts In two senses,
! FIRST as a private organization and second
az public state corporation, having a
contract with the state by which il has
certain duties TO perform. These duties
are to be performed not by the
rails and engines alone, but by the entire
organization, and they clothe themselves
with public duties from the president to
the lowest employe. They clothe them
selves with the public duties which APP
pertain 10 the operation OF that rail-
road.n
Mr.. Burnes aIIaye you considered
the question as TO whether there is any
mode by which the whole working force
OF railroad can be put under the control
OF the peopleI"
MIR. Gould eyes, sir, the laws do that
now. The difficulty is only In enforcing
them. You see that on roads operated
by receivers strikes are rapidly overcome,
be cause there is respect for the United
States courts The public has right to
fines that right and complies with its pro.
vision for arbitration, would be prac-
teal solu ion OF the question, but the
arbitration should not be after the
men had struck and seized the
property Of the railroad company 1t
should be the duty Of the men to keep on
at their work. A railroad is not merely
the rails, ties, grading, locomotives and
cars but 1t is the whole thing. II is the
duty OF somebody to manage It,"
Mr. Burnes: "Might not the general
government licence and thereby govern
and control the officials of railroad from
the superintendent down?n
Mr.. Gould: ~ think the officials as
sumo that to be their duty now. 1t
might be made more distinct by some en-
actment, and II any injustice be done
there should be a mode OF arbitration.
nave been always in favor of that
The chairman reminded Mr.. Gould that
during the civil war the public duties OF
railroad officials were recognized by law
in the fact that they were exempt from
conscripton, and Mr.. Burnes mentioned
as an analogous case the licensing of
pilots.
Mr.. Gould 81 think that Mr.. Pow
derly Is undertaking too much. All that
| can do Ia TO manage the Missouri Pa
ciflc, and | have no end Of trouble with
that. But Mr. Powderly Is running the
shoemakers, the men who make pens
and leather, and all other tradesmen, and
not only the employees OF the Missouri Pa
cliic railroad, but of all the employees
on railroads. | do not wonder that he
has broken down under the load. II
think that the government should have
such right to govern and control railroads
rs to have troubles arbtrated even with
out consulting the companies or its en-
ployes."
Mr.. Burnes "You mean compulsory
arbitrary"
Mr.. Gould "Public opinion on these
questions is allpowerful. Perhaps vol
un'ary arbitration would have greater
fftct than compulsory arbitration2"
Mr.. Burnes; "And yet for some reason
you and Mr.. Powderly and Mr.. Mcdowell
were In consultation, endeavoring to
bring about settlement of alleged griey-
ances, and 1t was not brought about?n
Mr.. Gould: "Oh, 1t was not endeavored
to do II "
Mr.. Burnes; "You were not endeavor-
ing to arbltrate?"
Mr.. Gould: ono sir, we met individu-
ally to have talk over the situation.
The matter was In Mr.. Hoxle's hands,
and | never changed II in any
shape or form. said at the start that /
would not so stated in my letter and
have always stated so. 1t is one of the
matters OF detail which do not talk up.n
Mr.. Burnes; "Why We're not your
views, that are friendly TO arbitration,
carried out at st. Louis?n
Mr.. Gould; "Ml. Hoxie has been al
ways ready to carry them out That
has been always our policy. We
are ready 10 arbitrate any grievances
between the company and its employees,
but the Interpretation which Mr. Pow
derby puts upon 1t was that the Knights
OF Labor were ready TO step 10 aud over
see this arbitration. There are 10000
men employed by the Missouri Pacific
company who are not members Of that
order, but are members Of other orders
which deal with us disectly. After the
strike In 1885 we terminated our
relations with the order of the knights
OF Labor. They had taken possession
of our road. There was anew deal. We
put them on a different footing. We took
back the men, but we took them back as
individuals. We did not ask them wheth-
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