The morning call., 1890-08-27
A DEADLOCK.
Southern Pacific Trainmen Get
No Answer.
The Officials of the Company Refuse to Dis
cuss Wages With Them in Their Present
State of Organization.

By mutual consent, the conference be-
tween the Trainmen's Grievance Committee
and the Southern Pacific officials, which
was to have taken place yesterday at 10
o'clock in the morning, was deferred until
. O'clock in the afternoon.
Both sides wanted further time to arrange
some of the minor details incident to a
final conference, and in secret session the
Grievance Committee, under T. S. Bodman
of Los Angeles, met at Academy fall on
Mission street shortly after 10 o'clock.
At about the same time meeting of the
officials of the Southern Pacific Company
convened in the office of President Hunting
ton, at Fourth and Townsend streets. for
discussion of the demands submitted for
their consideration by the trainmen on Fri
day last.
At this meeting General Manager A. n.
Towne presided and received the reports of
various division superin tendents, who had
been summoned from all parts OF the sys
TEN, relative 10 a schedule OF wages Tor
each division. About 80 o'clock i n the
afternoon both meetings adjourned.
THEY MEET.
The Trainmen's Grievance Committee
appeared at Fourth and Townsend streets
in body and went at once TO the large
meeting-room on the fourth floor of the
building, where few minutes later they
were joined by the officers OF the company.
Among those present at the conference
were:
General Manager A. N. Towne, Assistant
General Manager Curtis, General Superintendent
j. a. Fillmore, Assistant General SupeTintend-
ent r. H. FRAT and Division Suneriniendents A.
mento, j. H. White of WadswOrth, New, 5. W.
Knapp OF Ogden, I. J; urquhard OF Molaye, L.
E. Hewitt OF Los Angeles. j. s. Noble oil tucson,
and A +. George of Dunsmuir.
he .,,aatiru Usc hriaf though onn nf tho
most important ever held IN the big build
ing, as subsequent developments Will con-
clusvely demonstrate.
Tie men had come for an answer to their
demands, but they did not get it, and will
be compelled to come again-'perhaps.
Soon after the meeting adjourned, Mr..
Fillmore, upon being questioned as to the
result of the conference, said:
NO UNDERSTANDING REACHED.
"We did not come to any understanding
with the men: in fact, we cannot discuss
the matter with them in their present state
Of defective organization. The organized
labor of the Southern Pacific Company
divided itself into four distinct and indie
pendent organizations. as follows: The
Brotherhood of Conductors, the Order of
Railway Conductors, the Brotherhood OF
Trainmen, and the Brotherhood OF Brake
men.
I'VE have been waited on and asked to
to confer with Grievance Committee from
only one of these organizations, viz, the
Brotherhood of Trainmen. They do not.
and cannot be authorized to represent any
other than their own order. Ii we should
readjust our pay system at the request Of
this committee, what assurance have we
that such REIMBURSEMENT would be satiSfac-
tory to the thousands of employees who are
not represented at all?
Conductors on certain division may
have grievance, but they would not, and
by thu rules of their order could not, send
brakemen to voice their troubles at this
office.
.'Of all the divisions in the system repre-
sented at the meeting, only one-the Salt
Lake Division-could show anything like
an authorized delegation. The demands
from this division alone were Endorsed by
representatives from the four orders"
WITHOUT AUTHORITY.
Assistant General Manager Curtis said
that the matter of representa- on had been
fully explained to the men, and that they
saw at once the force of the argument and
were quite willing to let the matter rest I'M
til the views of employees on all the dlvls-
ions could be obtained. "The matter of
readinsting our pay system" continued MI.
Curtis, would not only entail great ex-
pense, but seriously Inconvenience us in
many ways which cannot now explain.
"When this is done we want to be sure
that it will be satisfactory TO all, and this
would not be possible unless all those who
have complaints could be heard.
1--WE say simply that the committee which
waited on us to-day does no. represent the
employees of the Southern Pacific system,
therefore we could not discuss the matter of
| wages or any other matter with them"
After the short conference at Fourth and
Townsend the Grievance Committee re-
paired at once to their hall on Mission street
and went into session. When asked for in
formation concerning the meeting, mein-
Der Of the committee said:
at will soon be known what we intend to
do. That's all +"