Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-13
THE STORM REC0ILS.
Dismissed Conductors Will Sue for
$4,000 Damages Apiece.
SHOWING THE DUPLEX RECEIPTS.
An Army of Men Will Pledge Themselves
to Push the Test Cases.
ASSESSED TO PAY Spoilers WAGES

The seance among the passenger conduc
tors of the Pennsylvania Company has JUS
gotten in shape. While the company sent
out cyclone which blew many of the mer
out of positions, the men themselves are en-
gagged in scattering black paint over g
thunder cloud which will be turned loose
tomorrow. Preparatory to this the Fedora.
tion of Railroad Employees will hold meet.
evening, to add the thunder to the cloud.
The coming storm will be in the shape oI
suit for defamation of character ana GRIM
inal libel against the officials of the Penn
sylvania company. for $50, 900 damages in
each case. The suit will be brought by
John Day and John Bacon, two of the old
est and most respected and competent men
in railroad service anywhere. The men say
the officials have claimed the discharges
were either for incompetency or dishonesty.
These two men are admitted to be most
thorough railroad men, and the charge of
incompetency cannot be brought, it is said,
for their official records, they assert, are
pure as maiden's PRAYER, and their asso-
ciates are all firm in this belief.
MAKING A TEST OF IT.
d. T. Watson, Esq, has been retained In
the case, and the meeting tonight will be to
officially place the case IN his hands, and
vote money to pay the expenses. These
cases will be made test ones, and on the de-
cision rendered on them will rest the fate of
a score of others.
Another feature which will occupy much
of their time will be decision as to whether
the Union Guarantee Company will also
have to be included in the charge. This is
company scarcely known, outside of rail-
road circles, to exist. In fact, it is one of
the inner circles of the great Pennsylvania
Company. All conductors are required to
give a bond through this company, no out
side parties being allowed to 60 on a con-
ductor's bond. This bond has to be renewed
every year and each conductor is charged
81 so for this service. The conductors claim
to have proof that the money thus raised Is
used in keeping up the corps of spoilers.
That is, the wages of the spoilers, which,
like shadows, ever watch their movements,
are paid by the conductors themselves.
What the men fear is that should their
case prove good one against the PennsyI-
vania Company, that corporation could at
once crawl behind the Union Guarantee
Company BY the statement that the latter
concern made the allegations of crooked
ness. If the suit was made against the
guarantee company it might also pursue the
course of shielding itself with the larger
concern. 1t is, therefore, probable that
joint suit will be made against both corpora
tions.
The men claim that all the evidence the
railroad company has against them is the
unsupported statements of paid spoilers, who
must either find crookedness or lose their
1nhc To- %han Al.
witnesses to prove their honesty.
DISCHARGED MEN BLACKLIsTED.
the men also claim that to be discharged
under the present circumstances means that
they are blacklisted on every road in the
country, and will have to go outside of the
railroad business to hunt position.
How far-reaching will be the results of
this decided action can only be imagined
when it is learned what vast reserve force
lies in the Federation OF Railroad En-
ployes. It'll national organization, en-
bracing every railroad employe in
the country, from the train dis
patcher down to laborers and mecnan-
les employed along the line and in the
round-houses. These cases will interest lust
as much the California conductor as they do
the ticket puncher in the East Money to
push the cases through courts will, if
necessary De raised from every one OF the
thousands of employees in the country.
Quietly the work of recognizing the men
has been going on ever since the unfortunate
strike on the Missouri Pacific road, until it
has assumed its present enormous propor-
tions.
Comprised within the Federation of Bail
road Employees are the following organiza-
tions: The Brotherhood of Brakemen, the
Brotherhood of Firemen, the brotherhood
of Railway Conductors, the Swtchmen's
Mutual Benefit Association and the Yard
masters Mutual Benefit Association. These |
are national-that is to saw.
they embrace large proportion of the men
at the branch of work indicated
by the title, throughout the United States.
The engineers also have their organization,
but have held aloof from the Federation
until recently.
With this Power at their backs the con-
ductors say they will make a desperate
fight. Besides this. as soon as the meeting
is over tonight the other main offices OF |
the Federation will be notified and asked to
lend their assistance. These offices are at |
Chicago, San Francisco, Cincinnati, St. |
Louis, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. |
SCHEMES OF sPoTTER.
The conductors are especially angry over
tuc usc VI opottcIS Ny Tue COMPANY. O0e OF |
these spoilers, who is woman, has, 1t |
is claimed, been responsible for a |
number of the discharges. She worked |
on through trains mainly, and gave
special attention to the division between
and Crestline, O.. A short time
ago sine got on Conductor John Bacon's
train, at CrestIine. She said she was tray
cling for a Erush mandatory in New York,
and was "dead broke" She said her uncle
was dying in Pittsburg, and she wanted to
see him. The conductor refused to carry
her, and she finally paid her fare TO a
station near Rochester, and with tears in
her eyes, begged to be carried into the city.
The conductor refused, and she was put off
at the station. With the other conductors
she was more successful, and John Day and
several others fell victim to her tears.
On the other hand, the officials of the
company say the men were discharged for
knocking down" and for Showing the du-
plex." Their only proof.of this is the spot
ters' reports. As described by the spotter,
the method of Showing the duplex is as
follows: 1t is we'll known that when a cash
fare is taken the conductor gives the pas
;enger receipt for 10 cents. 1t is punched
IN the name of the station at which the pas
senger boards the train, and also at the
point of the passengers destination. This
receipt is double and must be punched in
The presence OF the passenger. One
receipt is torn off and given to the