Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-11-02
CHIEF AREHUR SPEAKS.
At the Meeting Of the brotherhood In
Richmond, Virginia.

At the Meeting Of the brotherhood In
Richmond, Virginia.
RICHMOND, Va, October 1.-THE twenty
fifth annual international convention Of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers was
called to order this morning at g O'Clock in
Belvidere hall by p. Nj. Arthur, grand chief
engineer. Various committees were ap-
pointed for the purpose of ehecting a tsm-
pOrary organization, after which q recess
was taken until half past O'Clock.
At this afternoons session of the Brother
hood of Locomotive Engineers, Chief. Ar
thur delivered his annual address. He an
nOunced a total membership of $4,000.
CHIEF ARTHUR TALKS.
Regarding the brOtherhOod's strike, Mr..
Arthur said: Upon the threshold of a new
year, as an organization, We have witnessed
the severest conflict in the history of
the brotherhood, namely the strike
on the Chicago, Burlington d Quincy
system. Never, even in our earliest DAYS
when the powers then in existence strOve to
crush US, have we met with such stubborn
resistance against simple right and Justice.
Every known 6Zp9dlen5 was tried to bring
about a settlement between the company
and the men, only to meet with the utmost
Indifference, ana We were forced to yield to
the inevitable and sanction a strike. Had
either the president or general manager
shown the slightest disposition to treat the
men fairly, "a the managers Of other roads
have done, there would have been no strike.
Surely there was no good cause why they
ought not to pay their engineers and FIRE
men as much as their competitors They
both admitted that they had as good a class
of men as there was on any road in the
country, yet rather than grant the re-
quests of their cid, tried and trusted
men, some of whom had grown gray in the
service, they allowed them to quit and en-
ployed others, regardless of their ability aud
qualifications as men, or locomotive engin-
GERS, paying them a higher rate OF wages
than we are asking, besides boarding
detectives, virtually squandering over
$4,000, 900 in their mad sttemp to coerce
the old men into submission. We know as
q rule there Is nothing to be gained by re-
sorting to strikes. They are the bans Of
every organization that engages IN them.
They create distrust and suspicion, engender
i'll feeling and entail misery and suffering
upon innocent women and children. It il,
and has been the policy Of both brother
hoods to avoid them as much as possible.
Mr.. Perkins and Mr.. Stone are the first
railway officials we have been unable TO
settle with during the last eleven years.
We fail TO understand what they expected
to gain by the course they pursued. A large
percentage of the men they employed were
unreliable and incompetent, such men as
they would not employ prior to the strike.
If We had made unreasonable demands
or attempted IN any way to dictate to them
how they should operate their road, they
would have been perfectly justified IN re-
sistance. But when We expressed a willing
ness to submit our claims to any three gen
eral managers in Chicago, and abide By
their decision, and they were unwilling to do
likewise, 1t showed that they were in the
wrong. Be 1t said to the credit of our men
that they acted IN unison and exhibited
throughout patience, prudence and fOrbear-
ance, and were at all times ready to make
some sacrifice rather than to prSlOng a
struggle that could scarcely end fairly where
tyranny, actuated by seIishness, was the
enemy.