The sun., 1894-08-17
TESTIMONY OF STRIKERS.
FURTHER PROCEEDINGS or THB
NATIONAL COMMISSION

usts nv the Corporsuous-Chsir-.-
Henthcote the fuii-s. situstio-
CHICAGO Aug. 18.-CIeorge w. Lovejoy, an
ex-employee of the Chicago, Rock Island and
Pacific Railroad. was the FIRST witness to-day be.
fore the National Labor Commission investigst.
ing the Pullman strike Lovejoy testified thst
the Rock Island road refused to tell him on
June whether he was discharged or not II.
was simply refused work. The road, he de-
clared, had adopted policy Of discharging all
members Of the American Railway Union He
had lost his place because he came To Chicaso
as delegate to the A. r. u. Convention. The
employees of the road at La Sale then appoints
ed a grievance committee. which called on the
officers Of the road and demanded Lovejoy's re
instatement. The officisls refused to consider
the communication and a general strike was
ordered.
This was the beginning OF the strike on the
Rock Island. Lovejoy asserted that the Rock
Island officers declared union men should
ever work for the road at La Sale again. Asked
by Commissioner Wright to give his solution Of
the strike problem. Lovejoy said he thoushs
Government ownership would solve the problem.
He believed that the employees would be better
treated by the Government than by the railway
managers. and that they would have their
grievances investigated and remedied, which
was not the case now.
How would you avoid the loss Of places thaA
might ensue from a change Of the political party
in power2"
by application Of the civil service rules"
Lovejoy was in favor of the Government
keeping hands or whenever q strike was be-
gun. He did not believe warfare would result
from such a state Of affairs. He was in favor Of
arbitration rather than strikes without IL, but
did not think the solution Of the problem lay In
arbitration.
rs It not true" asked Mr. Herman. that tho
greatest difficulty which laboring men are un-
der is the difficulty they have in getting hear
ing before the men in charge of railroads7"
Yes, sir. do believe strikes could be almost
entirely averted by arbitration II It could be
had. but the roads will not listen to the griev-
ances Of the men,"
do you believe strikes are Of any benefit
where they are lost?"
Lovejoy thought they WERE He believed the
Pullman strike and the subsequent railroad
strike were Of great benefit, though lost, because
they showed the laboring men the necessity for
organization and the futility Of trusting to old
railroad organizations.
Mr.. Herman then adopted line of questioning
tending to bring out an admission from the wit
ness that the labor unions ought to take more
stringent measures to keep their men from COM
mitting violence. Loveioy admitted that such
should be the case, and that public sympathy,
when IL was diverted from the strikers,
diverted only because Of riotng and overt acts:
Sylvester keliher, secretary OF the A. X. T.,
was next put on the stand. He was asked and for
agreed to furnish certain documentary evidence
bearing on the strike which the Commission de-
sired to examine. Keliher then enumerated tho
causes of the strike and the circumstances at
tending It,. He told at length Of the efforts Of
the A.. r.. L. and the Pullman employees to in
the efforts OF citizens to secure better wages for
the ex-empoyees OF the Pullman Company. He
Mou be to
the lines. He did not think evil consequences
would result from ,,E, such Ownership I He believed
difficulties. In such cases both parties to the
arbitration, he thought, should bind themselves
A. B. Ray OF Chicago told about the strike on
the Rock Island road and the conditions, which
management because of his alleged afriliation
kept blacklist OF men who have. been dis
tion the only solution of the strike trouble.
THOMAS mas W; Hsatheote Chairman an OF the Pull
nineteen local unions belonging to the A. r. u.
at Pullman He said that the company reduced
wages t until BIT, 4 was imposstble, , for the men 70
A. Il. Z. until they saw the necessity Of or
ganization of some sort. Considering the A. r.
States. they Joined il when affairs reached .
critical point with them, and some were getting,
sas GnS he ne Grand s
because Mr., Pull llman would allow no union men
TO work in his shops.
than any other man; IN keeping the Pullman
that his wages varied from $4s to So for two
weeks work. He declared that the Pullman
employees did not strike until they were forced
TO do so by the conditions imposed by the
company
Many were unable TO keep their families pro-
vided with food. he said. ON the wages they re-
ceived. Just before the strike some OF the men
got nine cents an hour and worked only few
hours day. Out OF this they were obliged to
pay rent, taxes, water rates, gas, and buy food.
The witness then produced piece of paper
lists. His own name headed the list. He said
I hat this was the original list, copies of which
had been sent To all the railroads
When asked IL the men In the different de-
ing 10 testify before the Commission. and why
more Of them were not present, Heathoote an
swered:
some of them have not got money enough 10
come down town. some of them have not gos
ten cents to their names"
Mr.. Heathcote considered II a curious circum-
stance that the Pullman Company could declare
II dividend aud still be losing money.
, When we left the Pullman service" SAID
the witness. 1--WE owed the company $1,000 for
rent. have seen men at work who were
so weak from lack of food that they
could scarcely go on with their work,
and l have seen men, cry at the bank
window when they received the money for
their checks after drawing 35 or 40 cents, the
rent having first been deducted. This all
they had TO keep their families on for the next
two weeks"
Heathcote's views 10 preventing strikes
were, first Government ownership Of railroads.
and, second. arbitration when II could be justly
applied.
stock Yards strike Declared OF