The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-03-02
THE DANGER POINT.

THE DANGER POINT.
Trouble Will Commence when the Strikers
See They Are About 10 he Beaten.
Chicago Times.
THE danger point of the strike, not only to
the Burlington. but to all Western lines, is when
the present strikers begin to realize that they
stand fair chance to be beaten"
This was the remark yesterday of q general
manager of a competing system, an official who
is watching the strike critically, with an sppre-
hension that his company wi II become in
volved. He continued: mo matter how Wig
orously the brotherhood may protest or how
much superior they may be to the average Ia
borer ana mechanic, the logic of strike is that
where it is successfully resisted its outcome is
violence and turbulence. Therefore the greater
the progress of the Burlington peo pie toward
resumption of operation, the more critical will
the situation become Defeated. or convinced
that defeat is awaiting them, they will play their
reserve card, calling out the Brotherhood mem
bers from other systems and involving the whole
Western territory. They can gain nothing by
such 3 move, but they will not stop to reason
this out, as it will be their idea that COM
pietely blocking the wheels on other systems the
pressure from these corporations and from those
Suffering by suspension OF trade and commerce
would be SO great that the Burlington, being the
key to the SITUATION, cannot resist it.
''In this they would be gravely mistaken
fensible principle. In fact, If a general strike
should. result the Burlington would be stronger
than ever. 1t has had the time and opportunity
to pick up all or the good men, and will have
swept the countTy IN this direction, and the
other roads would be completely powerless.
There would be absolutely nothing left for
them to do but to suspend all operations, dis
charge their men from the freight warehouses
and Shops and sit down and wait until the Broth
erhood wore itself ont beating against thus
passive resistance. Chief Arthur protests that
this strike shall be quiet and orderly, but
Chief Arthur is speaking only for himself, and
the material he is dealing with is just as infiam-
mable as that composing any other labor organi-
cation The superior morale of the Brother
hood members Is due quite much to the rail-
road corporations to the order Recognizing
its usefulness, and Its conservativeness in here
tofore holding aloof from other labor organiza-
tions. the managers and superintendents have
aided in process of natural selection which has
put the competent men to the front There is
nothing more utterly without foundation than
Chief Arthurs charge that the COM
the old and reliable engineers and
filing their places with those of a lower
grade. Such course would be simply suicidal,
and it is safe to say that not railroad corpora
ton has ever deliberately and from m6tives OF
economy pursued sucn line. The trouble Is
that the engineers OF a lower grade have secured
control of the Brotherhood and have reversed
its policy completely, and it is these younger
and more hot headed men who will prevail in
council, and to whom will be due the spread of
the strike, which believe will inevitably come
We making preparation to meet such
neutrality-suspicious. is possbe-and il it comes,
as L said before, there Is way to meet it.
cept by passive resistance, awaiting of the
disintergation of the strike from which
the strikers will be powerless to control
In talking over the situation with majority
OF the heads OF the several Western roads, it was
found that the general manager referred to
above reflected their opinions aud voiced their
fears. While some contend that the mem
bers of the Brotherhood would never commit
such extreme act of folly as to order a gen.
eral strike on roads where no possible pretexs
could be had for such action, it was plain that
they were apprehensive of just that result.
They generally believe the more confident the
Burlington officials are that they will win the
more serious the situation becomes for other
lines. The striking engineers will be inclined
4. employ every weapon at hand, and men
seeking a pretext to adopt certain line
all of the efforts Of the railroads to
keep free from the entangements. The rail-
roads competing in the same territory with the
Burlington have preserved the strictest neu-
tralIty. The most rigorous instructions have
been given to the heads of all departments, and
through them to the employees. to extend no aid
helping the Burlington taking sides with it in
its present troubles, but it is doubtful If this
will be of any avail when it dawns upon the
strikers that they ara about TO be worsted The
members of the Brotherhood well aware,
these managers say that their position is con-
sdered untenable from railroad point of view.
and that the neutrality of the competing lines is
due to a fear of like experience.
The concessions which they have wrun g out of
the railroads on the non clasS ncAtIon basis have
in no instance been granted because the corpora
tions believed that the principle was correct. but
in each instance because they did care to
risk contest with the order. Hence there is
sympathy wasted as between the Brother
hood and the railroad com panies and In consid-
ering the question whether the extension of the
strike is expedient, the sentimental view of the
situation will not enter into IL 1t is this aspect j
of affairs which causes the extreme degree of
nervousness prevailing among the officials
charged with the conduct of railroad affairs in
the West
AS OF them remarked. yesterday. lin the
event of general strike would be completely
powerless. It be. and is extremely probs
able, that the Burlington company will succeed
in filing the place of their strikiug engineers,
but with all of the Western lines involved there
would be possibility of supplying the vacant
places with Such step would mean
a complete tie-up aud the total suspension of all
business west of Chicago"
The rep esentatives of both the Pennsvlvania
and Erie railroad lines at this point have
ceived instructions to keep the Eastern head
quarters fully posted regarding the progress of
the Burlington strike. Both of the roads men
toned standing in fear of a similar exper-
ience with their employees in certain depart
ments, and have under consideration complaints
and demands for reforms in several branches of
the service. 1t is believed that collapse of the
Burlington strike would encourage the Eastern
roads mentioned to decline to entertain some of
the demands made