The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-07-18
SW|TCHMEN AND TRA|NMEN.
An Inside History of the Fight Be-
tween These Two Orgamiza-
tions of RailrOaders.
SWITCHMEN TAKE VERY HIGH GROUNDS.
They Claim the Right to Say Who and
Who shall Not BE Appointed
Iardmasters.
A Half Hundred Human Beings Gagged
in Death Trap bya
Cyclone.
SNITCHNIEN vs.. TRAIN MEN.
High Grounds Taken by the switchmen's
Aid Union in the McNerney Case.

High Grounds Taken by the Switchmen's
Aid Union in the McNerney Case.
CHICAGO, July l6.-S. L. Wilkinson.
grand master, and w. A. Sheehan grand
secretary of the Brotherhood of Railway
Trainmen, have just issued circular to
members of the organization giving the
inside history of the controversy between
it and the Switchmen's Aid union, which
eliminated in the discharge of all the
switchmen on the Northwestern road.
The circular puts the Switchmens asso-
citation in very bad light. 1t says in
substance:
ABOUT two years ago the Switchmen's
Mutual Aid association began war
of determination in the northwestern
yards and their first victims were
Lindsey and Ingalls, who were employed
by that company. They were driven out
of the yard because they belonged to the
Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen and
would not join the Switchmens associa-
ton. The matter was taken up by the
! grievance committee of the brotherhood
but after exhausting all honorable means
to secure the reinstatement of the dis
charged members the effort wss aban-
doned much to the dissatisfaction of
members who knew the circumstances.
The discharge of Frank McNerney, yard
master, at the instance of the Switch
mems association in the early part of
| Mnr,h ,,,,annI a ,p,H,,+
| these two associations. The matter was
brought before the grand council of the
federated association but with no re-
suits. At conference of this council a
representative of the Switchmen's as
sociation stated the position of the
switchmen as follows:
I'VE have branded McNerney as a
scab and he will not be allowed to work
in any yard in the city of Chicago. We
| will not allow him to be reinstated un-
| der any circumstances. We have taken
our position and all the switch engines
in the United States cannot move us.
We claim the right to cOerce every man
in the switching service in this city to
become members of the Switchmens
| Mutual Aid association. We claim the
right to drive for switching service any
member who does not pay dues to our
organization. We claim the right to say
who shall be appointed as yardmaster in
the different yards in Chicago We
claim members of the Brotherhood of
Trainmen have no right in any yard
in the country. The time is coming
| when Il man cannot work
in any yard unless he is member of
our association. The Brotherhood of
Railway Trainmen is no organization at
all. 1t cannot fight because of its mixed
membership. The Switchmen's Mutual
Aid association is most powerful organ
ization If railway employees
Failing to get any satisfaction from
the switchmen's association or from the
supreme council, the Brotherhood of
Railway Trainmen appealed TO the Chi
cago IL Northwestern, requesting the un-
conditional reinstatement of McNerney
This request was granted and the com
pany reorganized its switchmen's service
| Grand Master Wilkerson proceeds at
considerable length to give the details
of negotiations that have risen from time
to time during the controversy and con
cludes with this statement: "On the part
of the switchmen, its record black with
persecution, defiance of law and propriety
born of envy at the success of the train
men, on our part the record will estab-
lish forbearance even to humiliation. !
am willing to be judged in this matter. l
have no apology to offer"