The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-28
The Pullman BOYCOTT.

AAG 0Oy W.T.
The strike that has been inaugurated by
the American Railway Union in order to
force concessions from the Pullman Car
Company to its employees threatens to
involve many Of the most important rail
roads Of the country in serious trouble.
The headquarters Of the American Rail
way Union are in Chicago. The union is
/ stronger in the west than elsewhere,
I though there are many members Of the
I union throughout the east and south.
/ About all the railroads running out Of
| Chicago handle Pullman cars. Indeed
many of the trains are made up wholly of
| the cars of that company. To abandon
those cars would cause serious incon-
venience TO the travelling public. There
are not enough of other sleeping and
] dining cars to meet the demand Of
the passenger traffic. The Pullman
company has in operation 5000 cars,
and railroad companies operating more
than 10000 miles of railroad are under
contract to use Pullman cars. To break
these contracts would doubtless make the
railroad companies liable to the Pullman
company for heavy damages. In striking
at the Pullman company, therefore, the
American Railway Union is lessening the
ability of the railroad companies to pay
their employees their wages. While the
American Railway Union, which is made
upof nearly all classes of railway en-
ployes, is trying to damage the Pullman
company it Is iniuring its own mem
bers.
The trouble between the Pullman COM
pany and its employees began several
months ago. The hard times told on the
Pullman company and it was maxi
ing no money. 1t alleges that it
was losing money. but rather than shut
down its car works it reduced wages.
When the reduction was made a promise
was given by the company that the old
scale Of wages would be restored as soon
as there was a decided improvement in
business.
Two months ago the employees began to
get uneasy and demanded a return to the
old rates. The company declined to grant
the demand, on the ground that business
would not stand those rates. Five weeks
ago the employees struck, and since then
the Pullman shops have been idle.
The American Railway Union
recently met in convention
in Chicago, and it notified
the Pullman company that unless the
company accepted by June &c a PROPOSE
ton the union made it to arbitrate its
differences with its employees, Pullman
cars on all the railroads of the country on
which the union is strong would be boy
cotted. The Pullman company refused
to accept the proposition and the boycott
was ordered.
Our dispatches yesterday and this
morning contain the details of the effect
of the boycott. 1t is apparent that the
railroads leading out of Chicago, particu-
larly the Illinois Central, are having seri-
Gus trouble. II the members of the Ameri-
can Railway Union remain firm there is
likely to be great deal of violence, more
1t is probable, than marked the progress
of the recent strike of the coal miners.
1t is apparent that some way must be
adopted for the settlement Of differences
between great corporations and their
employees. 1t is unjust for any labor
organization to inflict injury upon a cor
poration against which it has no
grievance in order to force terms from
corporation with which it has trouble
We do not undertake to say what
merit there is in the demand of
the strikers upon the Pullman com
pany, but assuming it has great deal of
merit, it is neither right nor just that the
railroads that use Pullman cars should
be made to suffer in order that the
strikers may win their fight with
the Pullman company. The Pullman
strikers should not bring the railroads,
against which they have no complaint,
into their fight with the Pullman com
pany. 1t is evident, however, that any
organization will use it's power, if it
thinks it can do so successfully to ac-
complish its ends, regardless of the injury
that may be inflicted upon innocent
parties. There ought, therefore, TO be
some power for settling labor troubles
which both employer and employe would
be compelled to respect.
That Pierce County Fake"