The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-05-07
NAY BE TROUBLE AHEAD.
CENTRAL ENGINEERS DISSATIs-
FLED WITH THEI3 CONTEACT.

Chief Arthur Waiting for a Confer
ence With General Manager Cab
bett-The Engine Claim the Cen
trail Eas Not Kept Its Agreem mt
With 1hem-The Terms of the Con-
tract ana Features " hich the En-
neers Claim the Road Hes Not
Lived Up To.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi-
neers and the Central railroad are at odds
again. Cdief Arthur of the brotherhood is
in Savannah to confer with the local
brotherhood and the railroad officials in re-
gard TO the matter
The calling in of Chief Arthur is some
thing Of a surprise to the public, which was
not aware of any difference between the road
and its engineers. To a MORNING NEWS
reporter called to Savannah by complaints
from the engineers here that the Central
was not keeping the agreement which It
had made with the engineers.
THE AGREEMENT WITH THE ROAD.
The annual agreement between the road
and the engineers was made last November.
There was a radical change in their
agreement from all previous agreements
with regard to the manner OF paying
the men. Previous to the last agreement
all engineers In active service received an
average of 81 per day for their services for
each day they reported for duty. By the
last agreement the rate of pay was changed
to the mileage system. the rate being made
cents per mile to each engineer running
on passenger trains, 4 "a cents per mile to
each engineer running on way freight trains,
and 4 cents per mile to each engineer run
ming on through freights. The pay of
engineers on branch lines and pushers or
switching engines was continued at the per
diem rate Of about So per day. Further
provisions were made for allowances for
time where trains were delayed beyond
their regular schedule. The provisions of
former contracts as 10 the discharge of
engineers without sufficient cause were con-
tinued in the last contract.
THE ENGINEERS DISAPPOINTED.
1t was claimed by the road at the time
the contract was made that under the
mileage system the engineers would get
more pay than under the old per
diem rate. The complaints Of the
engineers are that the Central has not
kept to its agreement, especially In the
matter OF dlscharging men without sufii-
cient cause and in the matter OF disallow~
ance of time in case of delays, aud in other
minor matters. The railroad, they claim,
construas the contract t. suit its own pur-
Chief Arthur is waiting for Mr.. Gabbett
to return from New York to have confer
ence upon the subject. BE said yesterday
that he could not express any opinion upon
the matter, as he had heard only one
side Of the case aud did not
know what the railroad would have TO say.
IL the allegations OF the men are proven, he
said, a breach Of contract on the part of the
company will be plainly shown.
THE OUTCOME UNCERTAIN.
what will be done in case a breach OF
contract is provenp Chief Arthur was
asked, Make a new contract"
NV hat is the use of making a new con.
tract il they won't keep this one" was the
reply.
The chief would not say what would be
done.
The engineers have never been satisfied
with their last agreement with the Central.
They feel that they made bad bargain.
The mileage rate system has not panned out
as they expected, and they are not making
as much money as before, so they say
Chlet Arthur said plainly, in reply to a
question, that the contract is not as good q
one for the men as the previous one. 1T Is
binding upon them. though" he said, land
they will have to abide by It until it ex-
pres. Then they eau make different con-
tract
@~@A- ~" 6SAAcN ~ me OON IhACI.
The objection to the contract by the
engineers is that it gives the road the power
to cut down its running expenses during
the dull season without cutting
down its force. An engineer who
was present with Chief Arthur said that in
previous years the policy of the road had
been, during the business season, to pro-
mote men from the branch lines and push
ers to the main stem, aud promote firemen
to their places. In the dull season, when il
became necessary to cut down the force. the
men who had been promoted to the main
line during the last season were sent back
to the branch lines and pushers, or if firemen
han been promoted they were put
back as fremen. If 1t became
necessary to lay off men from tina
main line, certain number were suspended
for ten or fifteen days at time, each ac-
cordlng to seniority, SO that the loss Of time
did not bear heavily upon the mea, being
divided among the whole body.
The men regarded this arrangement as a
very equitable one. The engineer said that
the company has abandoned this plan and
now keeps on or let's off as many men as it
pleases.
NEW BUILDINGS GOING UP.
Thraa Moro