Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-03-07
The Burlington Strike Apparently No
Nearer Settlement.
Chief Arthur Preparing to Extend the
Strike to Other Lines.
His Statement Of the Present Attitude
of the Brotherhood.
DISCHARGED Reading Men Not SO Plen'
tiful As First Reported.

CHICAGO, March Z.-1ne agreement De-
tween the Brotherhood Of Engineers and
Firemen and the Knights of Labor had no
apparent effect on the number of applicants
at the Burlington Office this morning. The
majority oil the men, however, look more
like frsmen thar engineers. The officials
of the company claim the situation is
steadily improving. Fourteen passenger
trains were sent out from Chicago to-day
and sixteen came in. The company COM
menced running coal trains on the Chicago
division to-day and claim they are running
local freight trains on the most part OF
their system. At the round-house on
Twelfth street the foreman said to a re-
porter to-day:
II am tired OF looking at some OF the
| men who are employed to take the place OF
the strikers. The engines are in horrible
shape. Three OF our finest locomotives are
ruined and the Others are badly broken
down."
A most important move was made to-
/ day by Chief Arthur in the strike. The
following telegram was sent to each chair
| man of the general grievance committee OF
| the Brotherhood of Engineers and Firemsn
| on the following ines of railroad. viz
! Chicago & Alton, Chicago & Northwestern,
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, Wabash
| Railroad, Wabash & Western, Missouri
Pacific, Union Pacific, Atchison, Topeka q
| Santa Fe, and Wisconsin Central:
| DEAR SIR AND BRoTHER-You are here
| by authorized and ordered to come to the
| city of Chicago at once and report at head
quarters. There are many important
| matters to consider in connection with the
c., B. & @. strike, and your immediate pres
ence is imperative. Be prepared to con-
| vene your committee from here at a
moments notice.
sTATEMENT FROM CHIEF ARTHUR.
Chief Engineer Arthur tonight gave out
| a long statement concerning the position
| of the engineers and firemen as to their
| present attitude toward the Burlington
| road, In it he says: THE men are strik-
ing, not to compel the railway company to
| pay them for services they do not perform,
| nor to compel the company to accept blind
men to run engines; neither do the men de-
mand that the company shall furnish free
| passes for all of their relatives. The main
issue is: Shall the c., B. & 9. Railway pay
| the same wages for the same work that lie
! paid by 80 per cent. in mileage OF all the
| railroads in the United States? This Is
| almost the only question at issue. The
| principle OF grading according to years OF
service as engineers, adopted by the c., B.
& O., is
ILLOGICAL AND UNJUST.
| Under that system a man serves from
three to five years as a fireman, when he ia
supposed to be an apprentice learning the
rudiments o! engineering. He then takes
| his place as hostler and runs an engine from
the round house in which capacity he may
serve for q year or more before he gets a
switch engine, for another year or two when
be may get on the road. By this time he
has served an apprenticeship OF from five
to nine years, and still the company expect
| him to serve three years longer before he
| gets full pay. There is no other trade in
existence that is asked to, or would, sub
| nit to the injustice of being a candidate for
| the s~uperannuated list before becoming a
full hedged master OF his trade. There is
PRACTICALLY NO DIFFERENCE
in the service rendered or the results to a
railway between an engineer OF the first
grade and one OF the third. There is no
trade or calling in which years OF service
| will determine a man ability, as an engin-
eer OF one years service ia often better
qualified to run an engine than one who
has had twenty years experience. There
is one and only one just rule to determine
the question, and that is equal pay for
equal service. In the present controversy
the engine ers and firemen can afford to
lose the fight, but there is NO possible way
in which they can recedefrom their demands
on the question OF wages, except at a sacri-
fee OF their entire organization. There is
no other way out OF the difficulty but by
concession IN the part OF the company, on
the question OF wages or fight to the bitter
end"