Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-03-19

lantic and Pacific to Return to Work.
Copyright 1885, by l.e California associated Press
NEEDLES, March 1Sth-The followine
| bulletin was posted in the railroad Office
to-day:
am unwilling to believe that you
have well considered the position in which
you place yourselves by joining the pending
| strike against this company, and feel sure
that If each man will independently think
and act for himself there will be no general
abandonment of this company's service by
its engineers and iremen. The company
| desires to retain you in its service, and it is
| reluctant to undertake the task of seeking
| and employing other competent men to
take your places. 1 have, therefore,
| thought it best, before undertaking to reor-
| ganize our force by employing new men,
o.call your attention to the following facts
First-You have no grievances against
this company. We have heard all of your
| complaints. We have met your commit
| tee, and our demands you admit to have
been fair and Just, and we have agreed with
| you upon all matters relating to your du-
ties and compensation. Our agreement
covering all of these points is in writing,
and essentially satisfactory to you. We
have been, even up to this date, absolutely
free from asking any of you to do any
| lnlb5 ludI was uuISdSOudDlt, OF IQdL WOULD
IN any way initiate against the interests of
| the Brotherhood. We have maintained
| absolute neutrality in the controversy be-
tween the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
| and its engineers, and all statements to the
contrary are absolutely false.
| I'VE have treated you in all respects, as
| you all admit, with perfect fairness and ab-
| solute justice, and we have faithfully kept
our promises to you. True, we have not
been able to promise you that we can or
will disobey the laws of the United States
and the laws of the Territories through
| which this road runs. We have thought
! best to be frank with you, and to assure
you that in the end we shall all be obliged
to obey these laws as they shall be con-
strued by the Courts.
Your committee have assured US that
| they did not ask us to violate the law, and
you must know well that we could not, il
/ we would, comply with such a request, if
| made
"Second-By the terms of the written
| contract between this company and the
Brotherhood, by which, according to the
rules of your society, you are explicitly
| bound, it is provided that no one of you
shall be discharged without cause, and that
when charges are preferred you shall in all
cases be entitled to hearing before an i'm.
partial board; and in consideration of this
and other valuable privileges secured to
! you by such contract, you therein agree not
to leave the service without giving US thirty
days notice.
rd-Notwithstanding these facts the
| Chairman of your committee, l. Conroe,
notified an officer of one of the divisions OF
| the Santa Fe system by telegraph ON the
| 18th instant, which was received at $50 P.
NJ, advising that all engineers and firemeu
on the Santa Fe system would quit work at
4 o'clock p. NJ. of that day. So that, instead
of thirty days notice, as required by your
| agreement, your committee saw fit to give
| only ten minutes noIice.
we have been assured by your COM
mittee that none Of you would be ordered
/ to quit the service, and that each man
would be left free to act according to his
own judgment. | do not believe that you
ought to regard as binding upon you any
! order from any committee or any Organiza-
| ton requiring you 10 violate your solemn
! contract with this company. or with the
| Santa Fe system, Of which this road is part
| and to commit great wrong by striking
against an employer who you know has
not wronged you in the slightest degree.
"If, therefore. such an order has been
| issued, l should not, trust, appeal to YOU
in vain to resist such tyranny. But 1 am
glad to be informed that your leaders
disclaim any purpose to deprive you
of the freedom which by right belongs to
every citizen. If as a body you quit our
| service you will do the company, yourselves
and many of your co-employes a great
| harm. 1t will take much trouble TO fill
| your places with competent men, and we
| shall operate the road with none other.
| The operation of our line may il a measure
! De stopped for q time. The company will
suffer heavy pecuniary losses, the public
will also suffer, and will, in my Judgment
! insist upon your giving satisfactory rea-
| son for having caused so much wrong and
injury.
IF the trains stop, we shall have for the
| time being no need of the services of a
, large number of employees who are engaged
in connection with the operation and me-
chanical department. They will have to
be dropped until traffic can be restored, but
! the greatest EVIL will follow on Yourselves
| if you force US to fill your places with other
competent men. 1t will be impossible for
Us hereafter to remove these men without
cause, in order to take you back We shall
| treat them as we have treated you, and re-
| move no man without cause, so that YOU
will permanently lose your places
These are evils. 1t is not little matter
! to stand before the community as response
| BILE for them without being able to show
that an overwhelming necessity prompted
your action. Your only plea will be that
you did 1t to help your comrades in the
cor test with the c.. B. and @, but that will
not be sufficient. 1t is no excuse-it is
worse than hone-for the plain reason
that your action helps, not hurts, the
| Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. That
company and the Santa Fe are business
! opponents. We operate competing lines,
| not connecting at any point. If you Grip
! pie us and make it impossible for US 10
| handle freight, you will increase the busi-
ness OF the Chicago, Burlington and
| Quincy by throwing into its hands the
freight that would otherwise come to US.
How you were persuaded to believe that
| you could hurt the Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy by striking down one of its
| strongest competitors, passes my under
Standing Moreover if your action would
injure the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy,
1t would not justify your action, because it
is never either lawful or right to strike q
friend or benefactor in order to injure an
enemy.
Our company must place itself in DO
sition to perform its whole duty as COM
| mon carrier as soon as possible | appeal
to you to reconsider your action and return
to your post of duty on or before O'Clock
P. NJ. of Thursday, the 22d. At the expira-
ton of that time, limited as above. the
| agreement between you and the Atlantic
and Pacific Company, Western Division,
will terminate, unless in the meantime
you have resumed your customary runs.
| We will proceed to reorganize our forces
| by employing new men wherever thev can
| be found to take the place of such of YOU
| as iemain off duty. A A. GoDDIs,
General Superintendent.
Approved: c. w. SMITH"
EFFECT OF THE STRIKE
NEEDLES, March 16th-The effect of the
strike has caused an order for all the men
employed in the shops to be suspended
until further orders. This order throws
out of employment at this place about one
hundred machinists, blacksmiths and la
borers. An east-bound mail from Los An
geles was sidetracked at Peach Springs,
and the engineers refused to handi, it out
OF that place, and there it remains side
tracked.
Supplies will soon be very short, and
merchants and all classes will be the suf-
ferers
L