St. Paul daily globe., 1889-02-10
Engineers Leave Their En-
gines and Cars Stop Run
ming for a Day.
The Conductors Join and Six
ty Men Are Standing Out
mo Concessions.
The Company Claims That 1t
Can Fill Their Places
With Ease.
The Men Seem Reasonable
and receive Considerable
Sympathy.

At little after II o'clock Yesterday
morning the thirteen engineers em-
ployed on the motor line struck, and as
fast as trains came into the Thirty-first
street station the engines were run Into
the house, and all through the noon
hour the people who usually take the
motor to their homes were seen walking
hurriedly home or jumping onto
the Fourth avenue and LynGale avenue
street cars. The men have felt for
some time that the company, or rather
Superintendent Sharpe, was misusing
them in taking off the hOStlerS and yard
men at the junction, thereby causing
the engineers much extra work and
trouble and making it impossible for
them to get their trains around
on time; and being late was
sure to win reprimand and
a threat of discharge. The men feel,
and apparently with some reason.
that the superintendent has been
disposel to economist, II so it
could be called, by dispensing with
really necessary help and that they
were being compelled to do more work
than they ought to be asked to perform,
and that aside from the extra work that
their pay was too small. The dis
charge of Engineer Amman hur-
ried matters, and Friday, night
they decided to strike if the
company would not agree to put
the hostlers back and raise engineers
wages from $3.50 to So a day. Supt.
Sharpe, when told of the proposed
strike, hurried to interview Vice PreSl-
dent Goodrich, and they evidently de-
al. H. &c
posted notice saying that the action OF
the engineers had made it necessary
for them to hire new men and all who
did not report for duty at once would
be regarded as having resigned. No
one reported and the conductors, nearly
fifty in number, stated that they would
not run on trains handled by "scabs."
and to that extent they too are in the
strike. This makes force of some
thing over sixty men who have prac-
tically declared their intention of bring
ing the company to the terms made by
the engineers, which appear to be per-
fectly reasonable.
After the men went out they imme
diately commenced arrangements to
have a bus line take passengers from
Washington and First avenues south to
the station at Thirty-tirst street, and at
l o'clock the first busload started. The
street car company also put extra cars
on the Fourth avenue and Lyndale ave-
nue. lines. and people who lived inside
of Thirty-first street got along very
well, but the real inconvenience was
for people living out beyond the june
ton. and some even as far out as the
lakes, who had no other means of get
ting home.
The men had a meeting last night at
which the conductors agreed to stand
by the engineers and to refuse to work
on ''scab' trains. Several other mat
tiers. of which those present at the
meeting refuse to talk, were discussed,
and it is understood that the matter of
a general tie-up on the street car lines
OF the city to compel the company to
make the concessions asked. Whether
such a thing will occur is not as
yet known, but the reports
last night that strike had gone into
effect on the Fourth avenue line, was
found to be false. Street car employees
deny any knowledge of an intended
strike OH their part.
The car company isn't sure that they
will be able to start motor trains this
morning, but the number Of men is so
small and the number of applications
for positions SO large that trains will
quite likely be running as usual before
noon to-day.