Birmingham age-herald., 1894-08-24
MORE WITNESSES ~ Before the National Labor Com
 mission.
es Facts and Figures as to the Inside Workings
 of DebS.

St. John of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad company appeared as & voluntary witness before the natio nal labor | committee this morning. MT. St. John testified that the Pock Island road had 12, 517 employees. lie then read series of briefs covering the strike on the Rock Island road fro m day to day. "Oar first trouble,'' said Mir. St. John, "occurred on Jure 29. At this time a meeting of few Rock Island employees and many outsiders was held on B ue Island avenue. A motion was passed to strike, all participating in it, whether railroad employees or not. This meeting was addressed by Debs, Howard and cthers, and it was the beginning of the strike on our road. No official notice was ever given to any officer of the Rock Island road that tn employees intended to strike. and no notice was ever given the road to discon- tinue hauling Pullman cars."
 Manager St. John read a list of men, giv- ing their employment, who were at the Blue Island meeting, already referred to, and who voted for a strike, though unem- ployed by any railroad. Among these men were tailors, plumbers. bar tenders and others.
 "Fully two- thirds of these men were not employees of railroads, said MT. St. John, and he cited the names of several persons present by whom he claimed he could prove his assertion. He then detailed the inc- dents of the strike, telling how several trains were stopped, how engines were repeatedly cut off and switchesthrown open by men alleged to be strikers and how men who wished 10 work were intimidated and forced to stop work whether they wished to or not. The witness declared that the local authorities at Blue Island were in sympathy with the strikers and interfefed with officers of the Rock Island railroad on several occasions. He said the police of Blue Island, on several occ lsions, arrested officers of the road, and once tried to ar- rest Marshal Arnoldlhimself.''
 "Deputy United States marshas, ' con- tin ued MT. St. John, ''as a rule rendered good service at Blue Island, but it was dis covered that twenty of the marshals were striking switchmen, sworn ln by he order of President Dsbs of the American Railway union.'
 MT. St. John gave dates, names and minute details of various alleged interfer- ences with trains by strikers. The in- stances were numerous. He scored the Chicago police force and declared they often stood idly by and permitted overt acts. He cited fires by the score and declared that in some cases those who tried to put them ont were shot at. Other men were waylaid on the street and beaten, and the road on July 8 deemed it iDexpedient 10 send out new employees, fearing they would be killed. By July IF the trouble began to abate, and by July 16 everything was quiet.
 stThe total number of men who actually struck was 522, the rest being intimi- dated, h said MT. St. John. "About 5000 men were out altogether. All men hava been re-employed again whom there were no charges against.
 'You state in your report" said Chair man Wright, "that in many cases the men engaged in these riots were strikers. How do you know this?''
 ssFrom reports made by our mployes.'
 ''Has the Rock Island road ever increased the wages on it's own volition?"
 ''I think it has.n
 "Can you call to mind any case in which this was done?''
 "I cannot. If this has been done it has related to individuals and not to the em- ployes in general '
 h regard to blacklisting MT. St. John said the Rock Island road had no blacklist beyond debarring an employe dismissed on one division of the road from working on another part of the same road. He as- serted that the Rock Island road has al- ways treated its employees with the greatest consideration, and continued: "The doors of the officials, from the president down, are always open to the humblest em- ploye.'
 When asked about the relations between the Pullman company and the Rock Island road, MT. St. John rendered the committee the contract, but asked that it be kept from the general public.
 Alter conferriug the com mittee refused to
 
 company owns a half interest in all it's Pullman cars. By the contract the Rock Island is obliged to operate Pullman cars, strike or no strike.
 Mr. St. John fixed the losses of his com pany during the strike at from SS00 ,000 to $l ,00g, ,000, including damage to property.
 ''we have many idle Pullman cars sincs the close of the Worlds fair" said the witness, '.and think this was the case on all the roads. consequent cessation of car building eusued.D D
 He then gave figures to show that the Rock Island earned but S200, 900 during the Worlds fair, and said this did not cover the cost of the additional equipment neces- sary for the Worlds fair business.
 When asked whether the Rock Island recognized the American Railway union or not, MT. St. John declared the company had never had an application from that body. As to deputy marshals, he testified tha, those selected by the Rock Island weretq be paid by the United States, but he did not think they had yet received thei~-, money for protecting Rock Island property: MT. St. John was excused until 1:30 o'clock, and Fire Marsh al Joseph L. Ken- yon, who has charge of the district from Fifty-fifth street to Pullman, took his place. He testified that 832 cars had been burned in his district during the strike.
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