Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-02-01
THE RAILWAY ALL WRONG
VIEW OF A COMMITTEE MINORITY ON
THE READING STRIKE.

A Conspiracy Charged, and the workmeu
Deiuded by an Ambiguous Contract
| Proposed Change Of the Day OF Inaugur.
Rtion-Thobe Presents His Little Bill
RiddIeberger's Hobby Again.
WASHINGTON CITY, Feb l.-There was
a minority report presented TO the house
| Tuesday on the Reading railway strike. 1t
was signed by Rayner, Anderson of Kansas,
/ Tarsney Of Michigan, Anderson OF Iowa,
and Lagan, Of Louisiana. 1t states that the
effect of the majority report will be- to lay
/ the original resolution on the table Congress
has a right to investigate this subject because
| the Reading road is a common carrier, trans
porting merchandise between the states.
Conceding the right Of the inter. state CONF
merce commission to make an Investigation,
| that fact does not deprive congress
| Of its jurisdiction in the premises, and the
| evils complained of will have reached their
| elimination before the Interstate commits
| sion can take definite action in the matter
The railroad company, the report says, has
formed an ostensibly independent company
to carry on its mining operations; but that
company is substantially the railroad COM
pany, controlled by its directors and man
aged by its officers and agents. The vital
questions underlying this controversy are
whether the railroad company is shielding
Itself under the charter of the
coal and iron company to produce a
coal famine and raise the price Of
coal, and is there combination or conspir
acy between the two companies actually
one and the same-to enable the railroad
company, indirectly, to escape its duties as a
common carrier; and is the railroad COM
pany, in pursuance of system of allotment
l.. -. II. Al. 90 /.
eliminating against individual operators in
the mining regionsi Congress has power to
expose the conspiracy, if there be one The
fact that labor has been struck down, and
that ruin and distress peryade the Lehigh
and Scbuylkill regions, is only one incident
Of this trouble
The report concludes as follows: 1--WE be-
lieve that the contract made between the
railroad company and its employees is mis-
leading, and we believe that the miners were
deceived as to the proper construction to be
placed upon this agreement at the time they
entered into it, We make this statement
upon the contract ITSELF which has been
given TO the public by the president of the
road, and which is equivocal and suspicious
upon its face. II the road has a right to say
that the contract is at an end because new
organization is in charge of its affairs, then
'uo H'ihoiS nave "a ~ BhV W say IhaI IhelT Gull
tract has also terminated, and the road has
no right to insist that the miners must con-
tinue to work under the old contract
Whatever is to be done must be done
speedily. The Interstate commerce commits
sion is not in the habit of taking up matters
of this sort mere motu, and a mere request
amounts to nothing. The adoption of the
Majority report would be Justification of
the position assumed by the railroad COM
pany, and the interests of all concerned
would be best served by prompt action and
decisive measures if the investigation justi-
files the samen