Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1890-08-28
DEFINES HIS POSITION.

A Letter from Chief Arthur to nm Em-
ployc of the New York Third Ave-
nue. Elevated Road-SensibIe Adj
vice.
New York, Aug. 27.-P. N. Arthur,
chief of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers, has written the following letter
to an engineer on the Third Avenue Ele-
waited railroad in response to a letter on the
subject of the New York Central strike.
Arthur, which fully defines his position
toward the Central strikers and the Knights
of Labor:
r. H. Holman:
Dear Sir and Brother-Your letter of the Esd
inst with Mr.. Powderly's letter and other clip
ceived and contents carefully perused. In reply
from Mr.. Powderly. He claims to have written
| me private letter on the trouble and wants me
| to define my position. II he considers his letter
that appeared an in the n @
letters that reach me in that way;
Is ss to fGe o define the peson
the B, and L. E. in the present trouble on the
/ The policy of the Brotherhood is well known to
/ him and the public as it has been repeatedly ex-
planned from the platform and published in the
4 NEWSPAPERS he says tndb Suitictiiiic GsSO
| telegraphed him (neaning me) that would
| meet him in Cleveland and when arrived there
\ could not find him high or low. l learned that
1 the telegram had been received by him but my
| efforts to locate him were fruitless." Now the
| facts in the case near as can remember
| are these: Some four years ago / received
| a telegram from Powderly requesting me tC
meet him at the Union depot in Cleveland on the
arrival of certain train on the Lake Shore road
Owing to my absence from the Office did moi
receive the message until after the departure OF
the train and SO informed him by letter, address
ing it to him at Scranton; ! do not believe he
would have had no difficulty in finding me at my
| Office or at my house, as am always at the one
or the other when in Cleveland. He tells will
full falsehood when he says other leaders have
been unable to find me when they tried to do so
While differ with men as to the best methods
| to be employed to secure certain ends, have al
| ways been liberal enough to. concede to every
man the same rights and privileges ask for my
| self When the present trouble on the New Yorl
| Central first occurred advised the engineers t
| abstain from all participation in it and aobent
strictly to their own .n business gave the SAM
system q few years ago. My advice to the
Brotherhood of Engineers, when men employed
in other branches of railroad service have beer
| on strike, was to mind their own business anC
not do anything that did not properly belong t.
them as engineers:
Whenever the engineers have been on a strik,
we never asked any other labor organization {.
order during the Chicago Burlington and Quinc,
| strike importuned the switchmen to quit blu
they did it on their own responsibility not by tn
ing strictly a neutral position when others ar
engaged in a conflict with their employers.
Mr.. Powderly accuses members Of the B. L.
of taking the places Of striking firemen. If tina
is true the division Of which they are member
| of my authority to deal with individual members
, wonder if Mr.: Powderly had the knights e,
Tho took the pssess Of men on the
| Z. NJ ARTHUR, G. G. E,