Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-25
NO RIGHT TO BOYCOTT,

General Manager Ashley Replies to Chief
Arthur of the Locomotive Brotherhood.
General Manager H. w. Ashley Of the Toledo
Ann Arbor and Northern Michigan railroad
furnishes to the press the following reply to
Chief Arthur's statement sent out Thursday
night and published in yesterdays STAR. He
says:
'Since Mr.. Arthur has made the merits oil
Locomotive Engineers and this company OF
public interest 1t seems my duty to state the
facts from the other point of view.
'This company pays all its freight engine
men $50 per 100 miles and over time after
fourteen hours at so cents per hour. The men
are not classified. This is . higher rate than is
paid by any road in Michigan. except the Mich
igan Central. Ninety per cent Of the engine
men run freight trains. There are only seven
men engaged in passenger service. or these
two remained with the company and are still at
work. They express themselves satisfied.
The men on these runs earn from o. 200 to
81. 400 per year for service Of eight hours or
less per day, on trains Of two and three cars,
scheduled at twenty-four miles per hour. This
work il considered the most desirable on the
road.
The freight enginemen all earn between sl2o
and $40 per month. This is what Mr.. Arthur
calls the grinding process We have between
l, 100 and 1000 applications for the privilege
Of being ground at these prices, but the men,
bers OF this order, who do not want to work for
those wages, have sought, by purchase, intimi-
dalton and boycott, to deprive others Of the
right to do SO. Yet he advertises that the
brotherhood is q lsw-abiding society, organized
for the moral and social advantage Of its men,
bers.
''In this instance Mr.. Arthur ordered or
approved both strike and boycott, not only with
knowledge that both were illegal, but with
the knowledge that the United States court had
issued q mandatory injunction to his men on
connecting lines not to refuse to handle Ann
Arbor cars. Yet Mr.. Arthur advertises him
self as law-abiding citizen.
by his own confession to the court IL ap-
pears that he was the chief party to tho con-
spiracy either to force the Ann Arbor Com
pany to pay the wages and submit to the rules
he thought reasonable or to ruin the industry
Of every corporation or private person who was
dependent upon its railroad for the Transports
ton Of his goods.
~ do not understand that the desirabiiity
or legality Of organized labor Is in question.
The discussion raises the question only Of the
right OF men to labor or not as they may elect
and Of the right Of other men who do not belonS
to an organization to engage In their places
1.-The right Of men to quit the service Of the
company in any manner and At any time which
| does not endanger lives or property has always
been coucededed, but they have denied the
right Of others to perform the same service al
the rates Of pay refused by them and have
| individually and collectively destroyed prop
erty placed the business Of innocent and out
side persons in jeopardy, and made themselves
felons in the eyes Of the law in order to accom-.
| plish their purpose. Yet Mr.. Arthur continues
to advertise himself o. . law-abiding citizen. u
This afternoon General Manager Ashley
offered 81 900 reward for the apprehension OF
conviction OF the person or persons who caused
| the derailment Of . passenger train nsaz
| Owosso on Wednesday night A switch Loeb
| Was broken, the switch thrown and the danger
signal broken Oh the top OF the switch.