The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1893-12-27
A STRIKE FORBIDDEN
Singular Action of the Northern
Pacific Receivers,
AN INJUNCTION ON EMPLOYEES.

They Are Forbidden by the Court from
combining and Conspiring 80 Quit
with or without Notice the Service Of
the Road"
MILWAUKEE, Dec 21-A conflict is on
between the receivers Of the Northern Pa.
ciiic railroad and its employees, including
all the engineers, conductors fremen,
telegraphers and switchmen. The new
schedule of wages adopted by the re-
ceivers, which implies cut of to 10 per
cent. in the employees pay, was rejected
by the employees representatives at con.
ference held in st. Paul with General
Manager Kendrick, and the prospects are
that on Jan. /, when the new schedule is
TO go into effect, $500 men employed all
along the road will quit work
This outcome of the controversy was
foreseen 10y the receivers, for as early as
Dec. 10 they applied for and obtained
from Judge Jenkins of the United States
court of this city. an order authorizing
and directing them to put into operation
the new schedule of wages, and restrain
ing the employees and their unions from
combining and couspiring to quit with
or without notice the service of the road
with the object Of crippling or otherwise
embarrassing its operation, and gene
rally from interfering with the officers
and agents of the receivers or their em-
ployes in any manner by actual threats
or otherwise
This injunction was held back until
yesterday, the receivers having expected
to arrive at an amicable agreement
When they found such an agreement inn
possible they tclegraphed to their agents
and attorneys all along the line to have
the injunction served by the United States
marshals, and to make the Injunction
generally known.
The order of the court restraining the
Northern Pacific employees from Com
bining and conspiring to quit the service
of the road, is an extraordinary docu-
ment. II is the first order of its kind, it
is said, ever issued in the United States
A somewhat similar injunction was is
sued by United States court in Mchi-
gan during the strike Of the Toledo and
Ann Arbor employees but that injunction
was issued after the strike was in pro-
gress.
The grounds for the issuance of the pres
ent injunction are set forth in a long petit
tion of the receivers, which was filed Dec.
49, 1t appears from the petition that two
L
the receivers, finding the affairs of the
road in deplorable condition. ordered
reduction of from 10 to u per cent. on
salaries exceeding 81 200 That reduction
went into effect at once and was cheer
fully accepted. About a week afterwards
aug. % the receivers ordered a reduction
of per cent. on all wages running from
80 to SO and of 10 per cent. wages aver
aging from $50 to 800 per month
This order of the receivers did not 90
into effect at once They concluded to in
vestigate and revise the entire system of
wages and the different schedules of pay,
the task being imposed on the general
manager. At a meeting of the receivers
on Oct. 2S resolutions were adopted also
abrOgating the old schedules of pav di-
recting the general manager to prepare a
new schedule for the engineers. trainmen
and telegraph operators, and ordering a
reduction of the wages of the other men
as provided for Aug 25. The petition says
that in the old schedules the employees
were paid for services not performed.
In enumeratiug those who are enioined
from striking or ordering strikes the pe-
tition of the receivers mentions thenames
OF the thirty-two men who have been the
conference committee with the receivers,
and asks that they be enjoined from or
deriug a strike which the court grants.
The petitioners say that the employees
cannot carry on a strike without the pc
cuniary assistance Of the different national
organization to which they belong. They
therefore pray that these organizations,
through their chief officers. such as p NJ
Arthur, f. c. Clark, e. p Sergeant,
George Ramsey. T.. Wilkinson and others
be enjoined from ordering and sanction
ing the strike The court grants this and
these men are included in the injunction