Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-08-30
Gov. Aitgeld Issues Plea For Stary
ing Famiiies-S1x thousand
People In Absolute Want.

work, Dut were ullaDle 10 no SO. As
rule the men are superior class
of laborers-industrious, capable
and steady-and some of them have
worked for The Pullman company
for more than ten years. Those
who have bee given work can gel
food, but are still in such an i'm
poverished condition that they can
not help their neighbors if they
would.
The relief society is unable to get
supplies. On last Saturday it gave
TO each family two pounds of oat-
meal and two pounds of cornmeal
ana having nothing left it suspend
ed operations, leaving the people in
an absolutely helpless condition.
The county commissioners of Cook
county, as overseers of the poor,
have rendered some assistance, but
owing to the limited appropriation
they can furnish relief but for q
short time.
We cannot now stop to inquire
the cause of this distress. The good
people of this state cannot allow
women and children by the hun
dreds to perish of hunger. | there
fore call upon all humane and char
itably disposed citizens to contribute
what they can toward giving relic.
to these people.
The governor has also called OF
the commissioners of Cook county
to do all in their power in the mat
ter.
SUFFERING FOUND AT PULLMAN.
The governor also made public
the correspondence between himsel
and Geo. NJ. Pullman, begun las
Sunday. The first was a telegram
to Pullman setting forth the need.
of the men who had long worked fol
him and appealing to him to dc
something to give employment tt
them. The second was a letter t
Pullman sent yesterday after The
governors visit to the town. Ir
this he said:
learn from your manager tina
last spring there were $3.50 people
on the pay roll. Yesterday there
were ., ,220 at work, but over 600 o
these are new men, SO that only
about 900 of the old employe:
have been taken back, thus leaving
| 1000 of the old employees wht
have not been taken back. A few
hundred have left. The remainder
have applied for work, but were tolt
that they were not needed. These
are utterly destitute. The relic
committee mas exhausted its re
sources. 1t seems to me your com
pany connot afford to have me ap
peal to the charity and humanity o
the state to save the lives of you
old employees. Four-fifths of thu
people are women and children
| No matter what caused this distress
it must be met. If you will allow
me | will make this suggestion
Had you shut down your works las
fall when you say business wa!
poor, you would not have expected
to get any rent from your houses
now, while dollar is a large sun
to each of these people, all the rem
now due you is comparatively
small matter to you. II you will
cancel all rents to October it woulC
be as we'll as if you had shut down
This would enable those who are al
work TO meet their most pressing
wants.
Then if you cannot give work tc
all, work some half time, so that al
can at least get something to eat foi
their families. In this way some.
thing like a normal condition could
be established at Pullman before
winter, and you would not be out
any more than you would have been
had you shut down a year ago.
MIR. PULLMAN's COOL REPLY.
To this Pullman replied at length,
making reference to Gov. Altgeld' s
declination of Vice President
Wickes' proposition Monday, which
fact Pullman regretted. He con-
tinued:
As an indication OF the Importance
of local knowledge in making dis
ordinations, | may say to you that
| have the best reason for believing
that the husband of wife who is
published as representing her fam
lily to you yesterday in need of help
drew more than 81 800 of his saw
ings from bank on July 2 last for
the purpose, he said, of buying lots.
While it has not been represented
to the officers of this company by
any persons concerned that there is
any such extended distress at Pull
man as represented, do not doubt
that there are many cases OF need
caused by the refusal of the en-
ployes for more than two and Il
half months to earn offered wages OF
more than $500, 900; and that such
cases have been increased and made
more severe by the resistance Ct