Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-04-02
WHAT o X WILL DO.

{ and will Take Back All Strikers Except
Those who Have Engaged In the De-
struction of the Company's Property.
ST.. LOUIS, March Ex-Governor Martin,
OF Kansas, and Governor Marmaduke, OF
Missouri, arrived in the city from Kansas
City Saturday morning and were almost
Immediately closeted with ice-President
Hoxie, OF the Missouri Pacific, with whoia
they conferred for many hours upon mat
tiers relating to the strike.
In their communications with MIR.
Hoxie the Governors review the agree
ment which they with other State ofh-
GERS caused to be made in March, 1885,
by Captain r. S. Hayes, at that time first
vice-president OF the Missouri Pacific, with
his employees then on n strike because OF
certain grievances. They say that in their
opinion the Missouri Pacific has lived up to
the requirements OF the agreement then
m~ade-namely, to restore to the employees
the same wages paid to them in Sep
TENDER, 1884, including one and one-half
price forextra time worked, and to restore
all said striking employees to their several
e~mployments without prejudice to them on
account of said strike.
They then say that they recognize the
fact that the Missouri Pacific Company
may Justly claim that the strike of March
6, 1886, relieves it OF the obligations it as
suined in the circular OF March Is, 1885,
but, nevertheless, they IRE anxious that
amicable relations be restored by
the Missouri Pacific Company and
it's employees, and would recon-
mend that the agreement embodied
in Captain Hayes circular OF March Is,
1856, he restored and continued in letter
and spirit, and that the Missouri Pacific
, old employees, without prejudice to them
on account of the late strike, SO far az the
business OF the company will justify their
unemployment.
Mr.. Hoxie's reply is in effect that he will
| employ good and competent men, without
reference to their past or present relations
to the company, or to any society whatso-
ever, and that he will pay the rate OF wages
recommended by the Governors in March,
1885, and still paid by the company;
that this rate OF wages will be in
creased, if necessary, to equal that
paid by other railroad companies in
the States through which the Missouri
! Pacific runs, and that all old employees OF
SAC "hl OS lC-CllEttScNl MlUIlOuU
prejudice so far as the business OF the COM
pany will justify their unemployment.
preference being given to employees having
families dependent upon them. The COM
.pany can not, however, re-engage or. con-
tinue in employ any persons who have
actually engaged in the destruction or in
jury OF its property, or who have advised
such destruction or INJURY.
After the close of the conference Cover
nors Martin and Marmaduke repaired to
Hurst's hotel, where Martin Irons, chair
man, and several members OF the Execu-
tive Committee OF District Assembly 1Ol,
Knights OF Labor, were in session, and pre-
sented to them the result OF the conference
with Mr.. Hoxie. Both Governors made
brief speeches to the committee, strongly
urging them to accept Mr.,Hoxie's terms
and appealing to them to end the strike
at once, SO that the OF
four States can be restored to it's
normal condition. The committee
made no reply, other han that they
would give the correspondence promptand
careful consideration.
Martin Irons, chairman of the Executive
Committee of District Assembly lO1, and
the man who ordered the present strike,
said in an interview Yesterday that unless
the grievances OF the Knights are adjusted
within three days all Knights on every
railroad will be called out and every wheel
will stop moving.
KANSAS CRY. Mo-, March 22.-The Mis-.
souri, Pacific Railway Company has filed
in the United States Circuit Court q bill in
! equity agalnst3OO OF the strikers, charging
them and other late employees with having
formed a conspiracy to abandon the com
pany's service and assume control of it's
property, and with resisting the perform.
ance OF service for the thus pre-.
venting the railway company from carry
ing on its business as a common car.
rler. 1t is also charged that the defend.
ants are acting under orders of a secret or.
ganization known us the knights OF Labor,
formed for the purpose, among others, OF
debating the relations OF members to their
employers. The court has issued an in.
junction to place the company in possession
OF It's property and restrain the strikers
from interfering with the business.
COMMISSIONER WRIGHT ON LABOR TROUBLES.
. WASHINGTON, March 22.-The first an
nual report OF the Commissioners of Labor
estimates that seven and one-half per cent.
OF the industrial establishments of the
United States were idle during 1885. en-
forcing the idleness OF 99S, $3.50 persons,
The report says:
q miiiion men out OF employment means q
loss to the consumpt.ve power of the country
OF at least $l,NU,O1O per day. or a crippl: ny Of
the trade OF the country of over $50, OJ0, UNJ
per year. The earnings OF the people in
vowed IN the classes named above would not
be FUR from $500 each per annum. rep
resent'ng total earnings of 81, $780, l6, OUl,
The wage. earnings Of tho million
that should he employed are crippled to the
extent OF over $500, OOU 600 Der anlnum. = = ;
LIS curious to observe, however. that while
the sever ty of the depression causes q erin.
ping TO the extent of several hundred mai.
IONS or dollars per year OF the consuming
power OF the people the volume of business
transacted is not crippled comparatively to
any such extent. w
The commissions also shows that the
foreigners immigrating to our shores are
at once absorbed, to the depression of
labor. Immigration, therefore, should be
discouraged. The importation of foreign
contract labor to take the places OF dissat-
isfied home laborers is declared a, misor.
able failure for all parties concerned, ex-
cept, perhaps, the parties imported. The
report continues:
AS to the severity of the present industr,s,
depression and its duration, it can safely hn
asserted that the depression commenced early
~ 1867 ana has continued unit the present
t,me. From the time the agents of the bureau
entered the field in prosecuting their investi.
cations to the time thew laft ~ n -"