The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-08-28
WEBB'S ANSWER.

WE6B'S ANSWER.
The ce-Presldent OF tho New York Com |
tral Railway ssetes His Side Of the Case |
In . Manifest, In Which. for the First |
TIM, He Gives His Reason for his |
charging Men.
New York, Aug. 23--Master Work.
man Powderly's address to the Knights
Of Labor and the public is generally re-
garced as declaration OF war, in which |
there will be no quarter given.
Mr.. Webb said in regard to Powder
ly's proclamation: II have not read it
yot. It is addressed to the Knights Of
Labor, and as l am not one there is
no reason why I should feel COM
pelled to read it. I do not be-
lieve there Is much that is new
in Mr.. Powderly's statement 1t
is not true that the question was asked
me II thought the public had no rights
that the road was bound to consider and
that refused to answer. II such .
question had been asked l would have
replied that the public had rights
say except that we are all ready for the
threatened fight. do not believe that
the Federation will order its men out,
and il it does l do not believe all Of
Of them will obey"
State Arbitration Commissioner Dom
oyan on Friday sent letters to Messrs.
Powderly and Webb inviting both to a
conference with view to devise means
either by arbitration or such other
method as might be agred upon where
by the present and threatened strikes
may be settled. Mr.. PowderlY replied
that the executive board of tho X tights
of Labor was ready to do any honorable
thing to terminate the strike or avert
the threatened one. Mr.. Webb's reply
was another absolute refusal to arbi-
trate, and says:
II am not aware Of any difference or griev-
ance existing between the company and its EN-.
ployes, and must assume that the conference
suggested by you was designed to be between
the officers Of the company and the officials Of
the X. Of L. These officials represent not our
employees. but persons who have left our
| service and have not asked to be re-
employed but who, through these same offic. ais
of the Knights OF Labor, have asked that the
discharge by the company Ct certain persons
prior to the month OF August be submitted to
their investigation and to arbitration by some
| tribunal to be selected in some way, request
| which have felt it to be my duty to decline"
Mr.. Webb came forward Friday even
ing with prepared statement evident
~ prompted by Mr.. Powderly's mani
festo of Thursday night. Wr. Webb
starts out with the statement that mo
man has been discharged by this COM
pany because he was Knight of Labor
or member of any other organization. :"
Then for the first time since the be-
ginning of the controversy Mr.. Webb
names list of offenses, among which
are those because of which the Knights
OF Labor are said to be discharged. He
continues:
''The company has discharged men, irrespect.
| i've OF their membership in the order of the
/ Knights Of Labor for drunkenness incapacity.
breach of duty insubordination and for lack Of
| sufficient work to employ them; and it will con-
| tinuc to do SO whenever proper occasion arises.
/ 1.-The people Of this State granted to this com.
pany the franchise and made 1t obligatory upon
| 1t to render certain services to the public, and
| provided that all its duties. including the en-
/ should be performed by certain officers; and its
officers do not propose to surrender, abandon
or transfer the discharge Of these duties. or any
! part OF them TO any one except their duly ap.
pointed successors.
1T would be moral and probably criminal
| neglect OF duty for me to omit to discharge a
| switch-tower man for drunkenness, when upon
his sobriety and fidelity to duty depend the
saflty of the life and limb Of some Of the mill
| ions OF passengers transported annually by this
| company.
I'VE could temporarily supply the place Of .
| man who absented himself from work for two
days without leave and without excuse, but
| on under such conditions! What private
or public business can be carried on
subject to the dictation from the
workman that there shall be performed
only this or that amount OF work! What EN-.
ployer can tolerate insoience and insubordina-
tion, based upon the belief that the offender
will be supported therein by secret 0rganiza
tion to which he belongs, and by the agency Of
which the employers business can be damaged
| or stopped?
The foregoing gives, without setting forth
the name or place Of employment, the causes
which called for the discharge OF the fifty OF
sixty men referred to in Mr.. Powderly's
avert threatened strike I have been
called on by Mr.. Powderly and his rs
sociates to consent to the mOnstrous aO
surdity Of satisfying, by some,kind Of arbitra
tion or investigation, persons other than the
constituted authorities Of the company, that
as occupy the position with which am In
trusted feel it to be my duty to firmly de
cline."
CLEVELAND. o., Aug. as.-When Chief
Arthur, Of. the Brotherhood of Lo
comotive Engineers, was asked what
reply he wished to make to Mr.
Powderly's open letter addressed
to him through the Associated
| hA inc t1,p hot hS
would be pleased to give Mr.
Powderly the information he sought
The letter, however, must be addressed
to him officially, as he never paid any
attention to letters such as was pub
lished. The position of the engineer!
was we'll known, but Mr.. Arthur woult
be glad to emphasize it If Mr. Powderly
addressed him letter in an official way
ALBANY, Aug. 2a-Telegrams re
ceived in this city locate the cause 0
NJ. Powderly's letter to Chief Arthu
as occurring in this section. The charg'
is that the striking Knights Of Labo
firemen's places in this city were takel
by the relief force of engineers, thus Civ
ing practical aid to the road in fill
ing vacancies.s The inference draw
was that the engineers are hostile t.
the strikers 1t is safe to say that il
and about this city there are at leas
ten locomotive brotherhood men doin,
, the work Of the strikers. The Knight
of Labor men here claim that Chief Ar
thur knows nothing OF this, and that
will now be stopped.
Capture OF = Kentucky Dcsperado.
LOUISVILLE, KY, Aug. as-Captai
Gather, of the company which is prt
tecting Judge Lilly's court at Hazard
Perry County, reports that Joe DaviG
son, q leader of the French faction j
the French -Eversole feud, had bee
captured. He says Davidson is tn
} worst desperate Of all, and his captur
, has struck terror into the lawless bands
A FriGht.ul Death.
ST. Louis, Aug. 23.-E. Neidig, Will
ut work in pit at the new Merchant
bridge, was killed Friday by a 200
| ronnd Wai0ht IN lliur on ton ~ hiS h m