Omaha daily bee., 1889-08-09
DISSENSION DOING ITS WORK.
An Internai Enemy That is Down
ing the Brotherhood.
soURED ON CHIEF ARTHUR.
His Opposition to Federation OF
Railroad Employees and Weak
ness For the East Sours
Other Sections.
Dissolution Imminent.

CHICAGO, August 8. Especial Telegram TO
The BEE. THE members of the Brother
hood OF Locomotive Engineers In Chicago
are in an uuenvlable frame of mind at pres
ent. They are in the position of men who do
not know what is before them, and may be
said to be on the ragged edge. Their uncer-
tainty Is In connection with their next gen.
eral convention, which will DO held in Den
YER, Colo, in October All of them agree
that the late strike on the Burlington road
will engage a large share Of the attention Of
the convention and many of those who were
most affected by IL hold firmly to the opinion
that though the strike has long since been
declared of and has been almost forgotten by
the public generally, the ultimate outcome Of
it win be dissolution of the brotherhood.
A reporter ran across one of those who
took an active part in the strike and who is
still without an engine, this morning, and
questioned him on the outlook.
"There is no use talking" said he. shat
strike had better never been declared off,
So far only ten or eleven of us have been
able to get places on the Burlington road and
many like myself have not been able to place
our hands on the throttle valve of an engine
since we went out on the strike. A
number have gone to the Northern Pacific,
on the Illinois Central, but they were only
given those places to enable the general
managers TO say they had shown their will
ingness to employ the strikers and that no
black list Is in existence. As matter of
fact, the majority of US are stall unemployed,
and declaring the strike off has made our
position worse than before. 1t has made it
impossible for Us to draw anything from the
brotherhood funds and left us high and dry
without resources OF any kind. The most
.xraAs nalr
dissolution of the brotherhood as imminent.
l am sorry for it myself, but stall am forced
to coincide with the opinion"
"Why should the fact that you are out of
work and unable to draw out of the brother
hood funds bring about dissolution of the
brotherhood9"
'The dissolution will be brought about for
two reasons. The brotherhood is split up
over the retention of Chief Arthur at the
head of the organization. He has got the
fight to re-elect him. The west won't
have HIM on any terms. Here in
this section we believe that he thinks
the brotherhood exists for the benefit of Mr.
Arthur, and the eastern men support HIM
because he upheld them when they refused
TO contribute to the support Of the strikers.
They refused to do anything for US. Then
there IS tho question of the organization OF
federation to include all ranks of railway
employees. The result Of the Burlington
strike proved conclusively the inability of
the brotherhood 10 take care of their own in
terests without the aid Of the other railroad
men. 1t showed that we cannot succeed in-
dependently Of each other. Arthur and his
following is strongly opposed to any fedora
tion of labor. They know that if that is
brought about it will cut away the supports
from under them and Arthur will be no
more. If 1t is not brought about the brother
hood will split into two factions and will be
unable to exist as at present organized.
Should Arthur and his following be beaten
the brotherhood will be swallowed up in the
federation. Its destruction is certain in any
case"
where does Arthur's strength come from
besides the easta"
'.Nowhere. The entire west and north
west and the SOUTH Canada and Mexico are
against him. He has the east at his back,
but all the other sections are against HIM,
and il they act together there should be no
doubt Of the outcome All these sections
are IN favor Of co-nneratiYa uninn :,