St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-28
TO UPSET CHANGERS.
Railroaders Will Heneefopth
Be a Factor in the Politi-
cal Arena.
Granger Legislation Against
Railroads Responsible for
This Uprising.
DonneIly and Erwin Come in
for a Roast From Several
Speakers.
A State Central Committee
Created to Advise Rail-
way Employees.


way employees. that the protection
of the corporations is protection
| to the employees of such corporations the
! different organizations Of the state are
| preparing to take an active part in the
| next political campaign. 1t IS the aim
! to elect members of the next house of
| representatives who will champion the
| cause of the railroads. They claim that
! the tendency of politicians is to enact
unjust measures, and they point to the
! defeated CuTrler bill as an example OF
perniciOus political demagOgy.
The railway employees held cOnYen-
| ton at the capitol yesterday. 1t was in
| response 10 the call issued by order of
| the annual convention of the employees
| club, and it was delegate, or repre-
senteiye gathering. Delegates were pres
| ent frOmupwardS Of sixty clubs.
The forenoon was devoted to desul-
/ tory talks in an informal way among
| the members. but at $50. John Wilson,
! OF the Minneapolis Il St. Louis road,
| called the convention to order.
John B. Copeland. a conductor on the
/ Great Northern road. was The orator of
| the day. After explaining tine purpose
| of the meeting he took mp the different
| measures passed by the legislature af
| fecting the control of railway COmpa-
MES and the power that the railway.
commission is vested with, and he pro-
| tested against the political sys-
! TEN that must necessarily have
! for its ultimate effect the injury
of the railway employees. a reduction
| in the earnings Of a road, he insisted,
| meant a like reduction in the wages
paid the tOilers in the employ of the
| road.
| NJ COnaTon,I road sa7-aroI sao-ione of
| the famous Currier bill as an iIlustra-
| ton of political trend, and he proceeded
| TO give the Farmers Alliance a hot
| roast. He spoke at length npon the diff
| ferent tariff rates,
Defining tIae Difference
especially between the terminal tariff
| and the distance tariff. The former eS-
! tabishes the rate per mile for transfer
ring freight from a terminal point or
| way station 10 a commercial center.
! The other is the rate for through ship
meDt5. as for instance, from ST. Paul or
! Minneapolis to Chicago. The rates in
| the HTSt instance must be much higher
| than in the other, because of the addi
| tiOnal expense incurred in switching
cars and in picking them up here and
| there along the road. The lOng-diS
lance tariff Is for solid train and where
! there is no way freight.
! The speaker next read the Keys
! amendment to the Currin bill, as pub
| lished IN the GLOBE April ). This
amendment gave the commissioners
| power to suspend the distance tariff if
| found to be unjust. and he quoted the
| rates per ton for shipments from various
| Minnesota points, varying from some
| two or three cents per ton per mile. If
| the companies were compelled to
make d distance tariff rate in the
| state, he argued, they would fix at two
| and half cents per ton a mile, because
that is the average rate. This would
| make decrease in some instances and
| an increase in others.
The Farmers Alliance" said he,
| earnestly. repeatedly stated in this
hail, and heard them. that a long dis
| tance tariff rate is what they wanted,
and lust what they would and must
have, no matter what interviewed"
| He declared that the railway
companies can carry freights
| Just as cheap from terminal
| points to ST. Paul and Minneapolis as
! from these cities to Chicago. 1t is an
| absurd claim. Chicago lines are trunk
| lines and the cars are shipped straight
! through in solid trains, whereas, in the
| other cases, cars are picked up here and
| there. The effect of the Currier bill
| would be-" he insisted with spirit, ITO
reduce ali the earnings of the railroads
| in Minnesota 40 per cent, ," and he pro-
| duced figures to
Prove This Fact.
The commission = he continued, ''or-
| dered the Minneapolis Eastern to switch
| ears at 81 each. when the actual cost to
the company was Sl.15. Now, the Cur
rier bill said the orders of the commits
sion must be enforced until the courts
set it aside. That might not be within
two years, and what would become of
the earnings OF the road meanwhile?
That the employees would suffer must
be the inevitable result. When the
| earnings are reduced the expenses must
be cOrreSDOndingly clipped.
At this juncture Mr. Copeland took up
the political phase Of his theme. He
asserted that
The object of the Railway Employees
club is to vote for men for members of
the legislature that they know will work
in the interests and for the protection
of the railway companies. and not allow
the Farmers Alliance to cripple the
corporations, and compel them to re-
duce the wages of the employees"
Mr.. Copeland treated DOnnellY and
Erwin with scathing sarcasm.
MIR. Donnelly,' said he, in cutting
way, sis the recognized head of the
Farmers Alliance. He is said TO be a
man of mighty brain and colossal intel
lect. May be it is so. Now. he has
been on all sides of every question that
he has ever had anything to do
with, but l should hardly think
DOnnelly is the proper man
to say what shall be done with our earn
ings. He reminds me very forcibly of a
pestiferOus weed that grows up along
the lines. 1t is big of trunk but mighty
small of root. The result is. the first
wind that blows sends this tumble weed
rolling over and over in vast quantities
hither and thither for miles and miles,
until it becomes a source of grew
Gus annoyance TO the farmers.
They pillow up breaks to stop
the spread of prairie fires, but the
tumble weed goes rolling in perfect
clouds over these breaks and carries the
fire into the inelosure, causing great
damage.
Then there is another farmer" he
pursued in his drastic style, ''whO goes
out into the state and makes political
speeches. They call him the
tall pine tree. He is a GRIM
inal lawyer. Farmerl Yes, this
laltlCi ooiu III tllS DdlEll lildb TIC
only enemy the working classes have is
the millionaire corporations. lie pointed
to the different grand structures here in
st. Paul, the Pioneer Press building. the
Globe building and others, and yelled
and Numbered that they were built with
BLOOD Money
wrung from the poor people. / always
= believe in organized capital. 1t pays
most of the wages, and employees OF
J these corporations receive better pay
than the farmers give"
! This was followed by number OF
hOmely SMILES, showing that the value
in every material that enters into con
| structiOn means value to the labor. and
every such enterprise tends to keep
! money in healthy circulation rather
/ than to lock it up. MI. Cope
, ! liant continued his arrangement OF
, Erwin's sophistries at great length
AID he was atteHtiEsiy listened &c