Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-08-28
ARTHUR'S POSITION
The Locomotive Engineer Chief
 Writes a Letter.
HE PLAYS A LONE HAND
And Advi es the Members of His Order
 to Stick to Work.

Chief Arthur Answers FOwderly's strict- ures and D"mOumeeS some of His StAte- ments as FHlsehOOds--T The Situation at
 Chicago Very Quiet Hut at Present Extremely Uncertain.
 NEW YORK, Aug. 2S.-P. M. Arthur, chief engineer of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, has written the following letter to an engineer on the Third Avenue Elevated Railro ad in response to letter on the subject of the New York Central strike. This is the first written utterance of MT. 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 23d inst, with MT. Powderly's letter and other clippings from tine New York papers enclosed, is received, and contents carefully perused.
 In reply, will say that I have not received any letter from Mir. Powderly. He claims to have written me a private letter on the trouble and wants me tC define my position.
 If he considers his letter that ap- peared in the newspapers private one, l don't-nor will 1 answer letters that reach me in that way.
 It is unnecessary for Mir. Powderly or anyone else to ask me to define the position of the Brotherhood of Loco motive Engineers in the present trouble on the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad. The policy of the Brotherh ood is we'll known to him and the public, as it has been repeatedly y explained from the public platform and published in the newspapers. He says that "some time ago l telegraphed him (meaning mel that l would meet him in Cleveland, and when 1 arrived there could not find him high or low. l learned that the telegram had been received by him but my efforts to locate him were fruitless." Now the facts in tine case, as near as can reme ember, are these; Some four years ago 1 received telegram from Powderly requesting me to 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 not 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 stopped over and looked for me. If he had he would have had no difficulty in finding me at my office or at my house, as l am all ways at the one or the other when in Cleveland. He tells q willful false hood when he says other leaders have been unable to find me when they tried to do so. Any man who tries to find me when am in Cleveland can do so with very little effort, and no mar whether loader or a private ip the ranks of labor eyer came to my office that he was not treated cour te ously.
 While 1 differ with m en as to the best methods to be employed to secure cer- tain ends, I have always been liberal enough to concede to every man the same rights and privileges I ask fol myself. When the present trouble or the New York Central first occurred advised the engineers to abstain from all participation in it and to attend strictly to their own business. I gave the same advice when the strike oc. cured on the Gould system few years ago. My advice to the Brotherhood oi Engineers when men employed in other branches of railroad service have been | on a strike was to mind their own business and not do anything that diG not properly belong to them as en- gineers.
 Can MT. Powderly say the samea
 
 have been on a strike we never asked any other labor organization to assist us.
 It is true some members of the order during the c. B. & Q. strike importuneG the switchmen to quit, but they did il on their own responsibility and not by the authority of the organization. Con sequently I hold that we are perfectly | justified in maintaining strictly a neu- tral position when others are engaged in conflict with their employers. l Mir. Powderly accuses members of thu B. L. E. of taking the places of striking firemen. If that is true the division o which they are members will deal witt them. It is not within the province O my authority to deal with individua members.
 wonder if MT. Powderly had tn, Knights expelled who took the place of our m en on the c. B. & o.!
 Yours fraternally,