Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-01-30
THE STRIKERS CAUSE.
CHAIRMAN LEE AND OTHERS MORE
FULLY ANSWER cOR6lN.

Have Been Very Tricky and Snuous.
BALTIMORE, Md, Jan. 30. A large and
enthusiastic meeting of workingmen was
held at the Front street theatre Sunday af-
ternoon in aid OF the Philadelphia ~ Reading
railroad and coal strikers jerome Mu ply,
OF Baltimore presided Messrs. John l.
Lee of Philadelphia, chairman of the exocu-
tive committee of the Reading railroad em-
ployes; John H. Davis, OF Mount Carmel,
Pa, chairman of the joint committee repre-
senting tine railroaders and the miners, and
Hugh McGarvey, of Beaver Meadow, Pa,
of the joint committee, addressed the assem-
bage. The sum of $i67 ! | was contributed
to the relief fund, and the various local as
semblies will take the matter up and en-
deavor to raise a large fund in aid of the
strikers in Pennsylvania.
The first speaker was Hugh McGarvey
His speech was general denunciation of the
employers who were getting rich out of the
| sulferings of the miners, and by manipu-
lating the legislatures were able to Hasten
their grip upon the throats of their work
men," The strike was to decide the fate OF
organized labor in a country that boosted of
| its liberty.
| j. II. Davis dew oted his address to con-
| sideration of the contract between the miners
and the Reading company. He said the con-
tract did not bind the miners to continue
working after Jan. at the 81 80 basis. 1t
was only made for four months, and the
miners were perfectly at liberty to demand
| what they chose after the lst inst The
company itself had insisted on terminating
| the contract Jan. :, the receivers could
not make an agreement for a later date, for
, by that time they would be out of office. He
charged Corbin with emitting in his copy of
| the contract published in both his state
ments, the words "and this agreement is to
terminate Jan. !, 1858, and characterized
this omission as base and glaring attempt
| to deceive the public
Chairman Lee made the principal speech
and in it supplemented his circular issued
some days since in answer to Corbin, and
published in these dispatches. He said that
Corbin had begun rigid economy soon as
he got hold Of the road, and everything was
cut down. In the machine shops twenty five |
men had been discharged, and thirty five |
men required to do the work of sixty; train |
crews had been reduced 40 per cent and |
twenty cars added to each train, while men |
who had grown gray in the service had been |
turned out of place. the men had then or |
gained, and this had resulted in plot be- |
tween Corbin snd others to break up the |
Knights of Labor. The Reading officials |
had encouraged the Lehigh strike, |
while pretending to the Lehigh pro-
prietors that they were against it, |
In this connection he said he had
been appointed 20 all the Lehigh strikers
and had reported to Sweigard Off duty, at
the same time telling him what he was going
to do-go to louisville and open an office to
obtain aid for the Lehigh strikers. Sweigard
willingly gave him leave of absence for that
purpose, telling him it would he of great
benefit to the Reading month later Lee
returned to work, but Swegard said to him:
go back to Pottsvilc. The Reading has
made moro money i'll the past two months |
than ever before Tho l4ehlgh operators have
laid plans to crush oganized labor there, and
the longer the strike continues the more
money the Reading will make out of it,"
Shortly after this the joint committee
waited upon President Corbin, in the
presence of Manager Mcleod aud the gem
eral solicitor to induce him to use his in
duence in bringing about settlement OF the
difficulties in Lehigh. Corbin claimed that
the Knights of Labor were interfering with
the companv's business in refusing to handle
the 'scab' coal of Pardee q Cox. Parenthet-
icay, Lee explained that the convention at
Shamokin had resolve l not to handle on the
Reading railroad any "scab" coal mined in
Lehgh The general solicitor then quoted
law on the suDjec,. ave were peaceable
and law abiding citizens" CONTINUED Lee,
"and when we discovered that we were doing
something even bordering on violation of
the law, ordered the coal reno yed
A few days after Thu Corbin sent for Ber-
nard j. Sharkey, one Of the X. Of l.. lights
and informed him that he was negotiating
with Maxwell, of the Jersey Central and
Harris, of the Lehigh, and trying to Sc
cure a settlement for the Lehgh miners at 8
per cent over the $3.50 basis. "Al this
time, " said Lee, "Corbu was playing a double
game While negotiating with our execu-
hoard ha " vino will iyb |
operators to inaugurate strike on Jan | to
break mp the X. of J.. There was Il conven-
ton of Lehigh and Read ing monopoists in
New York on Dec %, and the result of the
was that Corbin should force
the fight on the Reading He began by fore
ing the employees at Port Richmond and
Elizabethport to handle 'scab' material, and
they refusing, were discharged"
81 am willing to admit" said the speaker,
'that there was a mistake made in refusing
to handle it, but | am not willing to admit
that he (Corbin) did not violate article 10 of
the agreement made year ago which pro-
vided that every employe should have an i'm
partial hearing before being discharged, and
refusing to negotiate with this committee
Proceeding Lee said that after the five
crews had been discharged at Port Richmond
the executive committee was called together,
and it was concluded that under the Lehigh
,he Reading, and that there was not sutfi- .
'ient cause to jeopardize the bust C.
ness interests of the community. "
Lee went to Philadelphia with Bernard c,
Sharkey on December IS to see Superintend.
mt Sweigard. "When we entered Swell
yards office and had made known to him the
object of our visit, Sweigard said: You
wouldn't come, only you know you are
beaten. have outgeneraled you" Sharkey
made some remark here when Swegard
said: "You are liar, id liar; the truth
5 not in you; you are beaten" Lee then
old Sweigard that he had come to make an
surrender Swegard said he
would discharge Sharkey and Ambrose
Heath, the Master Workman of No. G. !Sj
ZEE then agreed to send an order out direct
ng the men to return to work, his agreement
With Sweigard being, that, with the excep-
ion of Sharkey, Heath and the five Port
Richmond crews, whom the X. of l.. would
are for, all the men reporting for duty on
he morning of December n should be EN-
,oyed. Lee sent out his kilograms, but
hose of them addressed to leading
nd active members of the railroad or
aniz alton, and whom the company wanted
D be rid of, did not reach them until twenty
inc hours after they had been filed. On the
18th, learning that the active men had been
itmissed in violation of his agreement with
'weiggard Lee rescnded the order to
he men to return to work, sand /
aim," said he "and so will every fair
minded man, that am right. Sweigard, -
I'd he alone. by reason of his treachery, IS
,sponsble for this strike" a
Resolutions sympathizing with the strikers n
the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad and n
oal and Iron company, and all the other