The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-07-07
UGLY BUSINESS.


tive engineers arrested at Aurora, H.,
on the charge Of conspiracy to blow up
trains and destroy the property of the
Burlington railway, are guilty. 1t is
difficult to thind that intelligent men
will be so depraVed and vicious. AS a
rule Brotherhood engineers are good
men. They are honest, trustworthy
and capable. The effort is to keep bad
men out of the erder. The society is
not like some OF the unions which
welcome all corners. Before man can
get in he must demonstrate that
he is not only qualified to per-
form the important duties of
managing aslooomotive, but is per-
son of character and trustworthiness.
OF course scoundrels will get into the
organization in spite Of all efforts to
keep them out; but such fellows are the
rare exception in this, the most praise
Woythy and creditsble of all he large
labor unions.
1t is just possible that some bad men
were in the great Burlington strike,
and that their defeat has made them
desperate and their necessities turned
them vicious. 1t is possible that they
have concluded to get ''even" with
the company by using the weapons of the
Anarchists and the most depraved
of men. If this shall prove correct
neither the law nor the public should
show them the least sympathy or con-
sideration. Their wrongs, even if they
have Been wronged, are not of such a
nature as to even suggest the resort to
the davilishness which is alleged.
Whether or not popular sympathy will
go out towards the Brotherhood, will
depend upon the course it will pursue,
as an organization, with reference to
the accused. If the Brotherhood shall
step in and with its influence
or its mo- ey, endeavor to
defend the accused, and shield them
from tia consequences of their crime,
the society may at tie same time bid
goodbye to its responsibility, and take
leave of tie place it has occupied in the
esteem OF the public. L can not show
any concern for the fate of unworthy
members without endangering its posi-
ton as asworthy organization. On the
contrary, if it has reason to believe that
the accused are guilty as charged,
the Brotherhood should be more
eager than the railway officials
to bring the wretches to
punishment, for the union cannot Of
ford to incur even the suspicion of
countenancing the commission of such
a crime as is alleged against some of its
members.
BY this time it should occur to the
Brotherhoodof Locomotive Engineers
that3he Burlington strike was mis-
take. 1t may not have been mistake
for the engineers to refuse to work foE
the company which imposed rules and
regulations which were Objectionable
to them; but it was a very grave
blunder to attempt to bring the com
pany to terms and force it into taking
back tie striker OF terms proposed by
the latter. There is where the mistake
occurred. True, the strike has cost the
Burlington million or two,
but il has cost the strikers
good deal of money besides
their situations. The railway has tri-
umphed, let the engineers say what
they may to the contrary, and the
strikers have failed completely. A wise
thing for them to do now would be to
acknowledge their error, sit down on
their unwise or misguided leaders, and
by industry and the avoidance of future
mistakes seek to recover the ground lost
when they foolisAly undertook more
than it was possible for them to accom-
plish.