Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-07-14
Grand Chief Arthur.

Twelve years ago the grand chief
engineer of the brotherhood of Loco
motive Engineers resigned, His order
was in just such condition as Mr..
Powderly, in his late address, said that
the Knights of Labor are now in. There
were too many strikes. and it was not
possible for the chief engineer to control
the membership The great Pan-Han-
die trouble was on then, and every state,
almost, had IN engineers strike. 1t
was during this crisis that p. NJ. Arthur,
the present grand chief, took the helm
He was radically conservative. He held
that men should work until they found
their differences could not be settled by
arbitration, rather than strike until they
were adjusted.
By n little diplomacy he fixed up the
Panhandle trouble, and then made
tour of the country. Wherever he met
the officers of the road the men were
justified and work was resumed. In
several instances he found the men had
violated the principles of the organza-
tions by striking without exhausting all
resources. In such cases the men were
forced 10 apologize TO the company and
90 to work, or suffer the revocation of
t@rir charter. Mr.. Arthur went all the
Wy to Maine to defend an engineer
who had been arrested for interfering
vita the mails by refusing to take out
MS engine. Although the man was
liable, Mr., Arthur paid his fine and the
expense of the trial, amounting to 49,
900. Then he prosecuted to the bitter
end defaulter who had run away with
funds belonging TO the insurance depart
ment of the brotherhood. All this was
q revelation to the order, which had be-
fore believed that the grand chief was
simply the boss striker He was re-
elected and but few strikes followed.
There never has been Il strike on any
road by the engineers under Mr.. Arthur
after the company consented TO an in
tcrview with him. He will ALWAYS
make concessions. The doctrine which
he has taught the order is "comc, let us
reason together"
The order was in very good shape
when the trouble arose in 1876 on the
Grand Trunk road Mr.. Arthur went
with his committee of thirteen to Mont
real, but his request for Il conference
was spurned with offensive words. He
called his committee together and coun-
selcd them that during the strike which
he was about to order no violence
should be done to any one nor to prop
erty. No engine was to be KILLED
nor derailcd. Every engineer who was
put up by the company was to be taken
down by the men by their contracting
to pay him regular wages for doing
nothing The men struck, and for three
days not wheel was turned on the
road. Then the company sent for Mr..
Arthur and his committee and treated
them like kings, concGding everything.
For eight years the brotherhood has
not had strike.
Mr.. Arthur ran an engine from AL
bany TO Schenectady on the New York
Central for twenty years. His engine
was the "Willam II. Vanderbilt" the
crack engine Of the road. 1t was then
that he and sixteen other engineers were
discharged for daring to ask for passes
for their families. They had no organi-
cation then, but Il few years later they
concluded 10 ask for enough more
wages per day TO pay fare for their
wives. The same man who discharged
them was glad to grant the increase.
Mr. Arthur is very proud of his order,
which is very cXtensTe and wealthy.
He does not believe in general orders
the banding together # engineers and
shoe-makers-but believes that every
branch of skilled labor should look out
for itself. He says America is proud
of her railroad engineers. The brother
hood discharges for drunkenness and
other otlcnScs, and he says the traveller
goes to bed in his slecping-car in the
darkest and atornicSt night that ever
blew with Just rs much confidence in
his safety US he would ut the finest
hotel. This assurance, he believes, is
largely due to thu work of the brother
hood. Mr.. Arthurs greatest work now
IS in editing his magazine for engineers.
Its circulation is worldwide, reaching
10000 copies,