Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-04-09
POWDERLY
TALKS ABOUT The GREAT STRIKE.
The Deal With the Engineers Brotherhood
Complete.

SSha0AON, IA , hPAA
ly has confirmed the report of a deal with
the railroad Brctherhoods.
As q result o secret conferences between
the General Master Workman and repre-
ssItstives of the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Engineers, q friendly feeling has been
established between the knights and the
Engineers by which future ~antagonism be-
tween these organizations will be ayerted.
An injury to one will be the concern Of
the other, and provisions will be made to
prevent Brotherhood men taking the places
of Knights on strike and vice versa.
The committee that recently came here
from Chicago, to wait IN General Master
Workman Powderly had a letter Of intro
duction from Chief Arthur, and when they
were going away Mr.. Powderly gave them
q Il tier to the Chief of the Brotherhood,
assuring him and his order Of cordial SYM
pathy and support
Mr.. Powderly, before leaving for Phila-
delphia last evening, to attend a meeting
of the Executi e hoard, stated that such
was the case, and that an understanding
mutually advantageous to both organisa-
tions would soon be arrived at.
When asked if it was true that he had
ordered ont the Knights of Labor on the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, Mr.. Pow
Derby said:
There is no truth in that statement. i
was waited on By a committee represent
ing the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi-
peers, who came on from Chicago, and the
calling out Of the employees who were
Knights Of Labor was not spoken Of or
limited at. The main question discussed
was the stoppage Of Knights of Labor who
went from the East TO take places of the
engineers Oh the O. road. / explained to
the committee that it was O difficult thing
to reach these men or influence them in
any way, for the reason that they had VIC.
lated their obligations as Knights Of Labor
by taking the step they did in playing the
'scab.'
81 told them it was unfortunately true
that the relations between the Knights
and the Brotherhood had been strained
somewhat previous to the Burlington
strike, and for that reason some Of the
former would be justified in the course
they were pursuing. l also explained TO
them that q great many of the men who
claimed to be Knights of Labor and took
the places of the Burlington strikers had
never been members Of the organization.
Il have taken pains to sum up the num-
Der of men reported TO have gone from
the Reading to the Burlington road, and a
careful computation shows that three
thousand men, all Of them engineers, and
all OF them claiming to be Knights of
Labor, passed through Pittsburgh. 1t is
also reported that less than two thousand
passed through Buffalo, while the other
large centres through which men
had TO pass would no doubt raise
the total number to something like twenty
thousand men. The truth OF the matter is
that all these reports are grossly exagger-
ated, and that not over one hundred and
fifty Knights ell told have gone but TO the
o. road, and over one-half Of them have
returned to their homes. Indeed, / do not
see how a man who has taken the pledge
Of the knights Of Labor could put himself
n charge of Pinkerton agents, for if there
is a creature that crswls upon the face Of
esrth that a Knight of Labor should de-
spise it is G Pinkerton detective. | have
addressed q letter to the Knights along the
Burlington road advising them to meet
with our erripg Knights and ask them 10
return 10 their homes"
HAS any arrangement been entered
into between the Knights and the Brother
hood for a urion Of interests?n
"Well, yes. It's sgreed that when this
strike is over there is TO be an effort made
to have the Brotherhood ami the Knights
of Labor come 20 an understanding rs to
the settlement Of all disputes in the future.
A great many OF the misunderstanding Of
the past have resulted from the failure of
the heads Of the organizations to come to-
gethsr. Had the chiefs Of the Brotherhood
Of Locomotive Engineers and the Brother
hood of Locomotive Flremeu and the
Knights of Labor been on good terms as
they should have been, and had they un-
derstOod each other in the past as they
will in the future, persons who did not be-.
long to either organization could not palm
themselves off as taking revenge for past
injury whenever q difficulty occurred.
II IL lo lall " am hANC 1Vu hhu SDlCl
Arthur buried the hatchet ?"
THE truth of the matter is," said Mr..
Powderly, smiling, there has never been
a Ratchet, or ever the semblance of a tom
aha 4k, between Chief Arthur and myself,
and | can answer your question with q
most emphatic yes so fer as / am concern.
ell. / believe that the rank and file Of the
brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers, as
well as of the Knights OF Labor, are aux
ious to have the difficulties and differences
Of the past buried ont Of s~ight-hatchet
and all-and every Effort cf mine will tend
in that direction"
"Do you think the Burlington strike
will prove a failure ?"
lido not. l Thick that if ever thsre was
a strike that proved successful the Bur
lington strike is the one, for the reason
that it has opened the eyes Of the work
ingmeu to the fact that, no matter what
occupations they may follow, their inter.
ests are identical and there should be a
thorough understanding. il not a complete
organization, between all branches OF labor.
There is no reason Why, with proper edu.
cation and effort, the wcrkipgmen who OPP
crate the railways should not own q con-
trolling interest in them"
"How would you have them do this :"
That's q lopg story, but to condense it
in q few words, let me say that the edu-
Gated workipgmen can secure the passage
of laws which will compel corporations 10
transact their business independent of
water, and 10 such q way that the man
who buys q share Of stock will own a part
of the property OF the concern he invests
in. When that Is done w~orkingmen will
not fear 10 expend their surplus earnings
in the purchase Of stock in the roads they
operate. Being stakeholder, it would be
to their interest to watch with a jealous
eye the doing| Of the directors and the
officers Of tae roads. II would alS) be to
their interest to see that no strike or dis
turbance of any kiGd took place"
Have you any objections to stating
whether you received many replies 10 the
special CALI you sent out recently to The
Order in behalf of the educational PAM"
"Not in the Least. Replies to that spec
ial call are coming in rapidly. have al
ready received 1850 answers, aud au
pleased beyond measure to say that with
ak exceptions they all vote Yes to every
proposition submitted by me. IA an evil
dence Of the enthusiasm which has been
raised, nearly 81 900 has been forwarded
To me already to advance the work Of edu-
cation, and this before any assessment has
been levied. l simply asked if it should
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