The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-02-01
THE READING STRIKE
AND MEMBERS OF eoNeREss.
The Committee Reports FAvOrably Res.
OlutiOn InStruotipE the Interstate Com.
msres OOnmissiOn to IOvssuEatS the
MAasr-A Minority Report.

WARRINGTON, D. O., Jan. 3l.-The
House Committee on Oonmerce, upon
motion Of Mr.. Davis, OF Massachusetts,, re-
considered the action on the Anderson
resolution reierripe the question OF inves-
tigation Of the Reading railroad strikes to
the Interstate Commerce Commission at
@ meeting this morning, and adopted
resolution by q vote Of seven to six re-
queEttng the Interstate Commerce Com.
mission to investigate these strikes.
The report Of the minority Of the com.
mittee which was to-day presented to the
House BY Mr.. RRyner, Is signed by him.
self and Messrs. Anderson, OF Kansas;
Tarsney, Of Michigan; Anderson, OF Iowa,
and Logan, Of Louisiana. It states that
the effect Of the mSjority report will be TO
lay the original resolution on the table.
Congress has Q right to investigate this
subject because the Reading Railroad
Company is q common carrier, transport
ing commerce between the States. Con.
ceding the right Of the Interstate Com
merce Commission to make an investiRS.
ton, that fact does not deprive Congress
Of It's jurisdiction In the premises, and
the evils complained Of will have reached
their elimination before the Interstate
Commerce Commission can take 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 rail.
road company controlled by its directors
and managed by Its officers and agents.
The vital question underlying this con.
trovergy are whether the railroad com.
pany Is shielding itself under the charter
Of the coal and iron company TO produce
q coal famine and raise the price OF coal,
and is there q combination or conspiracy
between the two companies, actually one
and the same, to enable the railroad com.
pany indirectly to escape its dutiea as q
common carrier, and Is the railroad COM
pRny, In pursuance Of Q system OF allot-
ment made by the Anthracite Board OF
Trade, discriminating against individual
operators In the mining reRlone. Congress
has the power TO expose the conspiracy,
IL there be one. The tact that labor has
been struck down, and that ruin and dis.
tress prevade the Lehigh and Schuylkill
regions 10 only one incident ol this trou-
BILE.
The report concludes as follows: 1--WE
believe that the contract made between
the railroad company and its employees is
misleading, and we believe that the miners
were deceived as 10 the proper construc-
ton to be placed upon this agreement at
the time they entered into 1t. We made
this statement upon the contract itself,
which has been given to the public by the
president OF the road, and which is equivo-
cal and suspicious upon It's face. II the
road has right to say that the contract
Is at an end because new organization ia
In charge Of the affairs, then the miners
have right TO cay that their contract has
also terminated, and the road has
no right to insist that the
miners must 90 back 10 work under the
old contract. Whatever Is to be done
must be done speedily. The Interstate
Commerce Commission Ia not in the habit
of taking up matters OF this sort mere metu,
and a mere request amounts to nothing.
The adoption OF the msjority report would
be justification OF the position assumed
by the railroad company, and the interests
Of all concerned would bo best served by
prompt action and decisive measures, II
the investigation iustifeS the same.