Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-09-03
TAKING TESTIMONY
State ArbitratOrs InVesti-
 gate the Central Strike.
MR. WEBB A WILLING WITNESS.
Be Said He Hired the Pinkerton Men
 Before the Trouble Began.

NEW YORK. Sept. 0.-Ihe State Board of Arbitration is now in session in the Superior Court room, taking testimony regarding the strike on the New York Central Railway. All three members of the Board are present and severa, them were Third Vice President H. Walter Webb, Terence V. Powderly, JGmes J. Holland. k. J. Lee. John Dew lin and a number of the ex-employes of the company.
 Mir. Webb was the only witness for the company. The others were against 1t. A notable feature of the affair W as the indifference manifested by the at torneys for the corporation regarding not oross-examine a witness. Frank Loomis, Hamilton Harr.s and D. w. Sears appeared for the company and Roger 4. Pryor for the strikers.
 Mn Webb's Testimony.
 Third Vice. President Webb took the stand and in reply to counsel said the company had not had any controversy with the men. On August body of men left the employ of the road, which was now being operated without them. To General Pryor Mir. Webb said that 7S men had been discharged, F of whom were Knights of Labor. or these En-
 
 cause work was slack; Engineer Lee and employees named Mccarthy, Converse, Molloy and Brown because their work was unsatisfactory. Lee, MT. Webb said, had told MT. Toucey that if he did not get money from the road he would make trouble for it. Mir. Webb said he had declined to discuss arbitration with Mir. Powderly or Mir. Holland. As to Pinkerton's policemen MT. Webb said he had them before the strike and at the time the newspapers began to talk of it. He declined to answer, when asked, what he paid them, and ad- mitted that he employed them before asking for police protection.
 After MT. Webb left the stand Mr. Harris announced that the New York Central Company had told all they knew about the case, and that for the present, at least, they had no more testimony to present.
 The strikers Side.
 General Pryor announced that he had several witnesses. William A. Valen- tine took the stand and said he was 26, and had been employed by the Central as trainman until August 4 last, when he was discharged by written notice and without assigned reason. The note was signed by J. w. Stevens, assistant superintendent. who accused wit ness of saying to other em. ployes that if they did not join the Knights of Labor they would be sorry for it. Witness explained the nature of his conversation with the other men on the road to Stevens and the latter wen. away, after advising him to keep quiet about his connection with the Knights of Labor, and that his connection with that organization would probably get him off the road and would certainly interfere with his promotion.
 Why the Strike Was Ordered.
 Master Workman Edward J. Lee, of District Assembly 246, was called. MT. Lee said he had been an extra engineer on freight trains and was discharged on July 9 without being told what he was discharged for.
 He claimed that the strike was or dOred because the officers of the New York Central road had violated an agreement between them and the com pany providing for promotion by seniority, and because the men were discharged because they were Knights. On one occasion, after the strike was decided on, he said he told MT. Toucey, when the latter called him an agitat or, that he would not be false to his organization, and that if they would only reinstate the other discharged men he would not ask to be taken bs ok himself, upon which MT. Toucey said: ''They are as bad as you are." PowderIy's Advice to Lee. General Pryor read a.letter from MT. Powderly dated February 8, 1890, in | which the writer commended MT. Lee | and his associates for their course, and warned them against rashness or pre- cipitate action in the future. He re- Ial G1n nk,, kon A,,s1 on the Reading road and its result, and bade them avoid the same mistakes. He also reminded them that the rail road company had rights which the | employees were bound to respect, and bade them to sacredly regard the com | pany's rights while endeavoring to se- cure their own. General Pryor then read MT. Lees response dated Feb. 12, | written in the same spirit.
 POwdsrly TostIfias. General Master Workman Powderly was called to the witness stand and was asked to describe the interview he had with MT. Toucey and MT. Webb on August 19. He said that 1t was to secure arbitration that he had decided | to meet the officials of the company. 1 "They refused arbitration" said MT. | Powderly, land then we asked to have 1 the men brought in and examined in | our presence, and were refused in this also. They would not meet us on any ground whatever"
 'fYou did not imply in this interview that the company had no power to discharge employees for cause"
 Mot at all, but we did want to ascer- tain whether they had or had not been discharged becauss they were Knights of Labor. We firmly believe that they had been dismissed on this account"
 "You claim that the company had nc right to discharge them on that ac' | count {"
 ''Most assuredly not any more than they should discharge them because o1 their religious views"
 "And you would strike on such { ground as that 2"
 Certainly. We are fighting for ex istence and it was an issue that had tt be met. If the company was attacking our organization we were willing to g any length to meet the issue"