The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-09-04
NUMBER 33.


THE POINT AT ISSUE.
The contest between the New York
Central and Hudson River Railroad and
its employees has been extended to a
contest between the railroad and the
whole Order of the Knights of Labor.
The issue is clearly drawn. The railroad
claims the right to discharge an employee
for causes which it may deem sufficient.
The Knights of Labor demand the privi-
lege of reviewing such discharge for the
purpose of deciding whether, in their
opinion, the action of the railroad is
justitiable, an adverse decision being
simply preliminary to demand that the
discharged employee shall be returned
to his place.
The question at ISSUE therefore, is
Shall an empl,y.r have the right to con-
troll his own business and to discharge
an employee, or shall he be powerless in
his own affairs, delegating the final de-
clSion in the matter of a discharge to n
committee practically named by the EN-
plOyee? The Central-Hudson manage
ment discharged certain men and stated
frankly that such discharges were for
causes other than the relation of the men
to the Knights of Labor. Mr.. Powderly,
representing the Knights, admits that if
this is true the discharges were just, but
demands an opportunity of reviewing the
case before committee which shall de-
eide upon the truthfulness of the rail
road managements statement. A refusal
to agree to such a review is followed by
threats that general strike will be or
dered on the Vanderbilt lines. The only
rpG11lt nf cttnh rotyinxtt ,rn,,11 hn Il
mand for the reinstatement of the dis
charged men, if in the opinion of the re-
viewing committee, which cannot fully
understand the needs of the railroad and
what is required of an efficient employee
the discharge was not iustifiable.
If the claim of Mr.. Powderly and the
Knights is admitted what becomes of the
Central-Hudson Railroad? The en-
ployees, knowing that they can be dis
charged only with the consent of the
Union to which they belong, would feel
in some degree Independent of orders,
and the management would be helpless.
Under present circumstances the road is
held responsible for the proper and safe
transit of the passengers and money
penalty is eXacted for every failure to
protect human life. If it cannot manage
its lines in its own way it cannot be re-
sponsible for any failure to live up to the
rules and regulations deemed necessary
by the State for the protection of the
public.
But the matter does not end with the
Central-Hudson or with other railroads.
If the principle supported by Mr.. Pow
.derly is to prevail it will be operative in
all classes of employment. No private
business, however small, would be safe,
and no employer would have the power
to regulate his own affairs. The mer-
chant could not discharge a dishonest
clerk until the International Order of
Clerks gave him permission, and the
farmer could not dispense with the SER
vices of a lazy laborer until the Univer-
sal Association of Farm Hands had given
him the order to go ahead.
That some regulation of the rights of
employer and employee is necessary can
not be denied, but plainly the line must
be drawn at an attempt to take from in
dividuals or from the officers of a corpor-
alton the privilege of managing their
own business, for whose proper conduct
they are strictly held responsible.
If the Knights of Labor are to have
the privilege of deciding whether any of
their number shall be discharged, the
public must hold the Knights and not
the railroad officials responsible for the
future good management of the Central
Hudson Railroad.
The question of hours of labor, the
question of the treatment of the men,
and the question of labor do not enter
into the present Central-Hudson strike.
1t is simply an attempt of the Knights to
secure the privilege of deciding upon the
competency of the discharged railroad
employees and the veracity of the rail
road officials.
1t is unfortunate that so poor a claim
should be made the pretext for throwing
hundreds and possibly thousands out of
employment, since such idleness cannot
fail to bring distress to many families
and cause much suffering among those
in no way responsible for the trouble.
Would victory for the Knights under
these circumstances be worth its cost?
The victory would be far-reaching in its
results, but would not these results
bring ultimate disaster to the cause of
labor as well as to capital and business?
These are points worth careful consider
alton.
There is legitimate field for labor or
ganizations, and they have done and can
do much for the workingmeu without
venturing upon ground which they can
not rightly claim. In every just griev-
ance they have the sympathy of the great
body of the people, and the majority re-
Joice when such wrongs are righted. A
glance at the history of labor troubles
proves this. But strike of any organi-
zation for the privilege of acting as a
court of last resort to pass upon the dis
charge of any of its members by an indi-
vidual or a corporation will fail of popu-
lar sympathy, no matter what body of
organized labor makes the move. The
strike on the Central-Hudson is ill-ad-
vised and q menace to the continued wei
fare of the workingman. The best and
most conservative friends of organized
labor, after reviewing all the facts, can
arrive at no conclusion other than this.
Troy Times.