Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-05-08
THE BRAKEMEN'S STRIKE.


The strike, by the Brotherhood Of Rail-
way Brakenen, ordered upon the Union
Pacific Railway system. a few days ago,
reached Butte yesterday. The initiatory
steps were marked by acts Of violence and
la~wlessness, which are not, however,
chargeable to the strikers, but to a hood
lum element that gathered about the de-
pot as soon as the strike occurred. The
Sheriff and his deputies were promptly on
the scene OF action, but in consequence OF
the; crowds that had assembled, and who
e sidently sympathized with the strikers,
only little could be done by them saw to
protect property.
The strike is due to a recently adopted
method Of paying brakemen employed
Upon the road. Instead Of paying by the
day or month, as heretofore, the men will
be paid upon a basis Of the number oil
miles run-that is, they are to receive $50
for every $500 miles run The present
pay is s65 a month. BY the new method
the pay OF the men on this division would
be materially increased, but other divis.
ions, notably that OF Laramie, would be
decreased. On the latter division the men
could make only $40 amonth. ii they made
80 or 81 full days o month. As this
is a real hardship their brethren all
over the systems have joined the Laramie
men in securing to them q just compensa-
ton for their labor. Hence the general tie
up.
No reasonable NAL will claim that S42
a month is due compensation for labor SO
dangerous and hard as braking. The sum
now paid, S65 a month, is certainly low
enough for this rather expensive country,
and consequently public sympathy is
largely with the strikers, though acts OF
violence are deprecated on every side.
To Butte and Anaconda the strike has
a wider and more serious meaning than
strikes usually have to the places in which
they occur. The mines, mills and smelters OF
the camp have on hand only Small quanti-
ties OF coal, coke, wood and salt, and if the
embargo on trade is continued for even
three or four days the consequences will be
very serious to the camp. II the strike
should continue for ten or twelve days,
every aiding mine, mill and sme'ter will be
compelled to shut down, and from 5000 to
5000 men will be thrown out OF employ
ment. This would mean disaster to the
business of Butte and cause a panic
which it would not recoverfor months.
If continued for any length OF time it
would entail untold misery upon many
families and individuals. These
thoughts should suggest themselves to the
OF the Union Pacific Company
and induce them to settle their differences
with their employees at once. Not only
would the shutting down OF the works here
prove disastrous to our people, but it
would prove equally disastrous to the rail.
way company. The present rate OF wages,
$50 a month, is assuredly low enough, and
since it is satisfactory to the men, the rate
be restored by the company. The
in cost to the company does not
seem to be very large, at any rate.
The strike in this. respect suggests som
food ;or thought to the labor reformers and
those interested in the labor problem.
Here is a handful szof men, seeking redress
from supposed wrongs, who jeopardize the
OF a whole community OF 10000
or 25, 900 souls and threaten to paralyze
the business Of a great section. This
scarcely seems just and is certainly against
the good old Democratic principle-"The
good to the greatest number
The. labor question is yet far from being
understood, much less solved. So
as $50 or 200 men in seeking redress
rom their employers threaten the employ
.ent, peace and happiness OF 5000 or
6, 900 fellow laborers there is something
fundamentally wrong in the conduct OF
organizations. Some method other
than 1ie-ups and strikes will have to be de-
vised, Where is the master mind to Crap
pie this subject and solve it intelligent!y?