Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-03-24
mind of every schoolboy and schoolgirl,
and Gov. Fuller has put the matter in ad-
mirable form for this purpose.



A new and very unexpected complexion
has been put on the question Of railroad
strikes and boycotts by the action of the
United States courts with reference to
strike of engineers and firemen which has
been in progress on the Toledo, Ann Arbor
and North Michigan railroad. These en-
gineers and firemen struck for more pay
and the company resisted their demand.
The strike was not of large proportions,
only about 100 men being affected.
Since the disastrous Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy strike, the brotherhood of loco
motives has adopted the boycott rule of the
Knights of I.abor-that is, engineers on
other roads must not haul freight to or
from a road on which engineers are having
a strike. As soon as the Ann Arbor strike
developed, therefore, engineers on the
Lake Shore and other connecting roads be
gan to refuse to haul Ann ArbOr freight
This brought out an order, last Friday,
from Judge Taft of the United States cir
cult court at Detroit enioining Chief Ar
thur of the locomotive brotherhood from
continuing in force the rule requiring en-
gineers of other roads not to haul the cars
of the Ann Arbor road. Mr.. Arthur COM
piled with the order of the court. That
night several of the engineers and firemen
employed on the Lake Shore road threw
up their positions and left the service of
the road rather than haul Toledo and Ann
Aph hot
committed any overt act or that they
''struck' in the ordinary acceptance Of the
word they simply resigned their positions
as a tinality.
Then Judge Ricks of the United States
district court appeared upon the scene,
making a hurried journey from Cleveland
to Toledo by special train for that purpose.
He went at once to the Federal court build
ing and summoned before him the engi-
neers and firemen who had left the Lake
Shore road and told them that they must
show cause why they should not be attached
for contempt for refusing to obey Judge
Taft's restraining order. He told the men,
furthermore, that they were engaged in
duties of a public character, and the public
welfare would not allow them always to
choose their own time for terminating their
relations with their employers.
Your employ ers the Judge contuued) owe a
! high duty to the public which they are compelled
/ to perform under severe penalty. and they have
/ in turn a higher claim upon you and your
/ service than that due from the ordinary employe.
| This court does not assume the power to compel
/ you to continue your service TO your employers
| against your will, but il does undertake TO com
| pei you to perform your whole duty while such
relations continue, and does furtheT claim for the
purposes Of ascertanIng whether its orders have
been violated the right to determine when your
relatio to your employer legally terminated and
when your obligations to observe this order
| cease"
The strikers and their friends were
dumbfounded by this sudden change in the
situation, and the railroad officials were
hardly less taken by surprise. 1t suddenly
dawned upon the men, on the one hand
that, should this ruling hold, fatal blow has
been struck at trades unions and the high
handed methods employed by them, while
the managers were not less quick to see
that the correlative question is also raised
whether railroad company, or any othel
corporation has the right to discharge it:
men arbitrarily and without notice. Both
sides concede that the result may be tC
revolutionize the present relations between
labor and capital, especially so far as the
| roi nOnrarnaA