, 1890-10-23
RAILWAY ENGINEERS
The Meeting Of the Brother
hood at Pittsburg.
ADDRESS BY CHAUNCEY DEPEU
The Order Much Praised for It's
Conservative and Common
Sense Methods.

brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
held their annual open meeting in the
Grand opera.house here this afternoon,
number of letters were read from
prominent gentlemen, expressing regret
at their inability to be present. Among
them were Governor Campbell, OF Ohio;
Governor Beaver, of Pennsylvania;
George w. Childs, of Philadelphia; !;
President Roberts, of the Pennsylvania
railroad, and other prominent railroad
officials.
After prayer by the grand chaplain,
Mayor Gourley welcomed the delegates
to the city. Chairman Adams then in
troduced Hon. Chauncey NJ. Depew,
president of the New York Central Rail
road Company.
The appearance of the distinguished
gentleman was the signal for the widest
applause. When order had been re-
stored Mr.. Depew proceeded TO deliver
an address, which was listened to with
great interest. Several times he Was
compelled to pause, owing to the deafen-
ing applause OF his hearers.
Mr.. Depew spoke highly of the broth
erhood of locomotive engineers, and
said that during the period of its exist
ence and prosperous growth, hundreds
of labor organizations had been formed
and dissolved. They had been started
to carry novel theories, or to put in
practice unusual and untried processes.
THE success of your body" he said,
sis due 10 the rigid adherence to the
right principle upon which it was
founded. No labor organization can
permanently succeed whose whole and
only object is to increase wages aud
diminish hours. 1t lacks the essential
bond of mutual sympathy and brotherly
help IN bettering or tightening each
others burdens. The tendency of such
organizations is inevitably and rapidly
to collisions and failure. The fun da-
mental principles of brotherhood are:
First charity in support of the sick or
injured, and contributions to
the families of the dead second,
education, which perfects the artisan in
the theory and practice OF his trade and
broadens him for larger usefulness as n
citizen third, protection in securing
and maintaining your rights. Your
record is unexampled in the history of
contracts between employer and en-
ploye, at home or abroad. and in intelli-
gence and prosperity"
Mr.. Depew spoke of the all prevailing
idea of the past few years, trusts, and said
that this universal effort to absorb the
individual, to divide people into employ
ing companies and employees, and to
destroy compaction would inevitably
end in disaster. Hostile legislation and
the laws of trade would leave only the
legitimate enterprises surviving. In the
same way and from the same cause
there had been several ambitious at
tempts to form gigantic labor
trusts, which should COM
bine under one control. and have
authority in every occupation in which
wage earners could engage. In all such
associations of trades and occupations,
having nothing in common, certain
qualities of audacity, huency of speech
and the capacity for the nipulation of
caucuses and conventions pushed to the
front many men who knew little of the
great interests contided TO their care.
Labor must be as intelligent as capital
upon its own grounds" said MIR. Dope W.
'The committee which calls upon an
employer or railroad officer must
know its own business as well as he
knows his. Otherwise, from angry con-
tentions, because of Ignorance, comes
the exercise of brute force and violence
which fails to secure tn at which in nine
cases out of ten could have been had by
intelligent representation. Hundreds Of
committees of our employees have been
to see me, and can safely say that after
the full and free discussion, which always
| took place, not one Of them ever went
out of my office except to carry back
a satisfactory message to their con-
stituents. The reason for these
ready settlements was that the men
understood their own business and knew
precisely what they wanted and how
much the company could afford to con-
cede. But in the operations of what
may call the labor trusts l have had
different experiences"
MIR. Depew cited an instance of where
fifteen men at one point on a line were
ordered to strike by the chief of their
local assembly, who was shoemaker,
and who took that action because he
had row with passenger conductor.
on one other occasion high official in
the order called on Mr.. Depew. who
soon discovered that he knew nothing
OF what he was talking about. The
official confessed that he never had been
in tho railway service in his life.
such representatives OF organized
public. A committee called upon me
last fall with cries of complaint, all OF
which were quickly and satisfactorily
adjusted. They then made a demand
on behalf of the locomotive engineers.
When informed them that the en- gineers
could speak for themselves, they then
said that their object was TO break up
the organization of locomotive en-
gineers, and gather into one organiza-
ton every department of railroad en-
ployes. If the management of the New
York Central would recognize engineers
only through them this result would be
brought about, and upon II much lower
basis than the brotherhood could ad init
and II we did not do so they would
strike and tie up the road. | informed
the committee that they might do their
worst but in matters affecting the
brotherhood / would recognize only
that body. The threatened strike never
came"
Speaking of the great Central strike,
Mr.. Depew said that the years OF
successful travel ana OF fair, frank, and
friendly discussion with the employees
OF the New York Central had led them
to believe that strike was impossible
| on that road. In that trust he went
abroad on his annual holiday, to have
his hopes rudely shattered by cable
gram announcing the strike. "But the
engineers leaders" he continued, "were
true to the relations which for many
| wears had been maintained. The citizens
| of New York and Of the whole country
owe to the Brotherhood OF Loo comotive
Engineers debt Of gratitude for the
which they stood by their posts and per.
formed their duties during the recent
| troub bic on the New York Central"
Mr., Depew touched briefly on the