The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-04-05
STOPPED WORK.
The Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul
Road Tied Up.
Rumor Says the Strike Will be Elk.
tended to Other Roads.
The Burlington to Ask Aid in Raising
the Freight Blockade.
Engineers to go Out if Forced to
Handle 20" Freight.

CHICAGO, March 31.-The rumor
that a tie up of the Chicago, Mil
wauke s. st. Paul road was decided
upon at a meeting of the strikers last
night proves to have been true. The
engineers and firemen, switchmen, and
brakemen and a number Of the con-
ductors of the road have quit work.
The strike includes the employees of all
the divisions centering in Chicago,
both freight and passenger. At a
meeting of st. Paul employees last
night fully 200 men were present.
The meeting was an excited and en-
thuSiastic one. 1t was learned that
when the motion was made to ''tie up''
the road it was carried without a dis
senting voice. This strike, which by
tonight may include every. division of
the st. Paul system, is the result of
yesterdays work at the yards. The men
are incensed over the action of the COM
pany in employing new engineers and
bremen and conductors who have acted
as engineers to take their places. Many
men regard yesterdays strike as triv-
ial affair and expected that the COM
pany would gracefully coneede and
make a binding promise not to receive
So" cars. Instead the company &C
cepted the situation and commenced
filling the places of the strikers at once.
This is the real cause of q strike that
promises to be long and desperate
one. The strike was not declared by
any organization OF brotherhood, at
least, not formally. The men say it is
entirely an individual action on their
part. Even if the strike extends no
further than at this writing the effect
will be practically suspension of bust
ness on the entire system. The Pan
Handle sWitchmen struck at midnight.
They had been on the verge of a strike
for several hours, owing to dissatisfac-
ton resulting from the the receiving of
20" train. The men all quit at II
o'clock and returned after being out
half an hour. The engineers took their
engines out of the round house and
commenced work but the switchmen
quit again at 1:30 O'Clock this morning
and declared that not man would go
to work when the day men were due to
go on duty.
1t is learned that the grievance COM
mittee of engineers on the Lake Shore
road called upon Superintendent Ans
den last evening. They informed him
that the nOn-union Switchmen on his
road had been induced to join the
Switchmen's union, or act in harmony
with the union men. They, the engin-
GERS, did not like to involve the COM
pany in a strike, and therefore hoped it
would issue orders to agents not to
handle Burlington freight, as the
switchmen were determined to strike
if the company persisted in handling
such freight. The committee would
not state what the engineers would do
in case they were required to handle
%" freight. Superintendent Amsden
fold tho aOn0n0Iffnn fh1t TuhIla II
his earnest desire to avoid trouble with
the men on the Lake Shore, he could
not under the Interstate law refuse to
handle 20" freight.
All the switch engineers and switch
men in the Pan Handle yards reported
for work at o'clock in spite of their
reported decision to stop work to-day
and at 8 o'clock they are working as
usual.
Suburban travel on the Chicago. Mil
Waukee s. st. Paul railroad was at a
stand-still this morning. AS early as
O'Clock great crowds were waiting al
Almira, Humboldt, Boulevard, Pacific
Junction. Hermosa and Cragin for the
early train, but no train appeared. This
| train is in charge of two passenger
switchmen, George Mofford and JACK
Getz, who usually make it up at West
ern avenue and back it to Cragin, leav.
ing the latter place at 6 a. m. The train
is an important one, as upon it about
800 working people depend to reach the
| union depot before z O'Clock a. M
| feelings were smothered, however, anC
the crowd settled down to await the
coming of the Itasca train due fifty
minutes later. They appointed com
mittee to wait upon the telegraph oper
ator at Pacific Junction and ascertain
whether or not the train would run
| Engineer James Kennedy at 1taSca re
| turned the answer II will not bulge
a foot" Then the crowd of men, wO
men. pretty sales ladies and even youni
cash boys and girls started in largC
numbers to walk and could be seen To-
hours afterward counting ties toward
the city.
The Chicago, Burlington s. Quincy
railroad company is determined to cal
to-day upon the Pittsburg & Ft
Wayne, the Lake Shore and Michigan
Southern, the Rock Island, the Illinois
Central and perhaps the Alton for as
sistance in raising the freight blockade
in its yards. This it claims it has /;
right to do under the interstate com
merce law and the roads called upol
are liable to damages under this act
they refuse. The Pittsburg and LAX
Shore officials have announced tina
they will haul Burlington cars if callet
upon to do so. The Rock Island ha
already refused to take sides with tn
Burlington. The moment the en-
gineers, firemen or switchmen of eithe
roads are asked to assist i
moving ''Q' freight they will strike
thus the chances are favorable to ger
eral railroad tie-up on the lines center
ing in Chicago. The brotherhoo
sWitchmen and brakemen on all tn
1 FFyOT.7yinnr aforementioned IL
and they appear to be as determined t
win as the railroad companies. Chail
man HOge of the grievance committe
of the Burlington road, who is at tn
lead of the strike operations in the al
sence of Chief Arthur, practically az
mitted this morning that the engil
GERS, fremen and switehmen of thre'
and perhaps four, other roads would 2
out some time to-day. thus precipita
ing one of the greatest strikes evt
known in Chicago. The roads marke
for strike are the Chicago & Altol
the Fort Wayne, Pan Handle, Roc
Island and Santa Fe. The men c
} these systems were struck with IL
} strike fever more than week az
:, The engineers. fremen and switchmE
5 on the Burlington's competitors a.
4 desperate, said Mr.. Hoge, and if OF
: car from the Burlington is offered
any OF them 10 move CHoy Will Slmp
q refuse and quit. The switchmen, c
e pecially. are imbued with the desire
J, strike and the fever is spreadin
!. There certainly will be a great mo
e within the next twenty four hours.
d The strike has spread to the Fo
o Wayne employees. The strike on
n Fort Wayne in Chicago is general al
l. is supposed to be the result of the col
= pany accepting a train Of freight Il
q afternoon from Burlington.
% BURLINGTON. Ia, March BIT
e switchmen's strike extended to Il
10 city to-day. Eight of the for
r Burlington switchmen took their I'll
and quit, but giving no reason for tn
action. The company's officials s
y the places will be filed this afternot
t Ssnteneed bald KnObbers.
d ST.. LOUIS, March 2s.-The trial
Is the Christian county Bald Knobb
y for Eden Green's murder was resun