The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-08-29
TWICKES' TESTIMONY.
Pullman's Lieutenant Before the
Strike Commission.
THE RAILROAD COMPANIES LOSSES
Tho Greatest Loser by the Strike Was
the Alton, which Estimates Its Loss
at sss8, 3GO-Men Have No Right to
OrganIxe to Redress Grievances.

the Alton, which Estimates Its Loss
at sss8, 3GO-Men Have No Right to
Organise to Redress Grievances.
CHICAGO, Aug. 29-At yesterdays ses-
sion of the national labor commission
Chairman Wright announced that he had
requested the different railroads center
ing in Chicago to file statements of losses
saused by the recent strike. The gross
loss on the Alton was estimated S2S6, 1850;
o., b. and O., sli5,0O0; Lake Shore, s., 1854.
The loss in earnings was not given, not
having yet been compiled.
Charles f. Webb, chief clerk of Pull
man bank, told a new story of the Jennie
Curtis episode, in which it has been al
legged that Miss Curtis was compelled to
pay rent on debt owed by her father,
who died in arrears to the company. Mr..
Webb said Miss Curtis offered Of her own
accord to discharge the debt. .
Vice President Wickes, of the Pullman
company, was recalled and questioned ut
length.
Mr.. Wickes said the company lost s5i,-
900 in trying to give its men work. Dur
Ing this time the men contributed labor
worth $50, 900. He thought, perhaps, as it
has turned out, the better business policy
of the company would have been to grant
the demands of the men, but there was
principle involved which he did not think
could be ignored. II the demands had
been granted there might have been trou-
ble in future years.
The witness ascribed the Worlds fair
rs one OF the causes Of the strike. He said:
"Tho men were making very large
wages during the fair ryear, as violet them
do as much over time as they pleased, |
suppose they found it very hard, after the
prosperousitime of the exposition year, to
come down to bed rock prices"
Has the Pullman company ever in
ere lsed wages yoluntarily?'
at has in the case of some of the shop
men"
"But not as regards nny large body of
mcna"
'Nu, sir" ......5
"Don't you think 1t would be good
plan to increase the wages of the men in
prosperous years--in other words, to regu-
late the wages by the amount of business
done by the employerst"
mo; do not think that plan would
work well. 1t would have II tendency to
alp shod business methods We go into
the market for our men just we do for
our materials. 1t is all regulated by the
law of supply md demand"
MIR. Wickes thought that II the men of
Pullman had been let alone by outsiders
they would have gone back to work. He,
however, gave Vice President Howard, of
the American Railway union, credit for
having advised the Pullman employees
not to strike. No orders for eviction had
been given out yet, although the en-
ployes owe the company 100000 for back
rents ...-
"Whv were not rents reduced when
wages were cutg"
1.-The question of rents was an entirely
different one from the question of wages.
Only about one-third of our employees
lived in Pullman. We could not have re-
ducod any rents for the majority who
lived outside"
''The rents were not based on panic con
ditions, were theyf'
"They were not" ..."..-
''Then why, when the panic conditions
came, would it not have been advisable tc
charge lower rntesW
.sThere is no connection between tht
Pullman cur works and the town of Pull
man, The men don't have to live in Pull
man unless they wish. They eau move
out without prejudice on the part of th'
company"
Mr.. Wiekes said the company did,all tn,
repairing on the houses, although the ten
nnts' leases provided that they should d,
H. He would not express an opinion a
TO the justice of this system. The com
pany did not recognize men us mem bert
OF unions, but as individuals. II the!
were not able to plead their own case i
was their own misfortune.
.You don't think, then" he was asked
'that the men have any right to organic
for redress OF grieyancesf
mo, sir, II they don't want to work a
the wages we offer they have the privileg
OF going somewhere else."
Mr.. Wickes stated that few years ag
Mr. Pullmans salary was only $4,000
gear as president. He declined to stat'
Mhut It is now, or what that of the othe
general officers is None of these ha
been reduced during the strike.
Mr. Wickes said he did not believe tina
the principle of arbitration could be az
piled to man In the operation of his owl
business. A matter OF opinion was avail
able to arbitration, but not the matter Q
aman running his own business.
General Nelson A. Miles then took til
stand. He denied the story that on hi
arrival here from Washington he had a
once consulted with the general manager,
On July 2, when this conference was sal
TO have taken place, he was in Washing
ton, and he arrived here on July I. Aske
Hit was true that he had declared that h
had broken the backbone of the strike
the general said that this was not quit
exact. What he said was that he ha
broken the backbone of the opposition t
tho federal troops. The commissioner
wanted to know if the troops forced raj
road men to work at the point of the ba,
onet. General Miles snid that while tn
might have happened in some instance
he had not been aware OF it, and had i,
sued no orders to that eifcct. He said L
knew nothing about the strike.
General Superintendent Sullivan, of tt
Illinois Central, was the last inportal
witness OF the day He declared thf
many Of the striking railroad men ha
committed acts of violence, and backe
mp his assertions with tangled evidenc