The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-08-08
TO RAILROAD men.
A STIRRING ADDRESS.
The Directors OF the American Rail-
way Union Advise Members of That
Society How to Vote.

The directors of the American Railway
Union have issued the following address:
We, workingmen on the railroads of the
United States, and in connected industries
make this appeal to the voters of our COM
mon country:
Inc American Railway Union was organ
lied in the common interest of all work.
ihsfhen upon the railways of the United
states ana IN connected industries. because
Oh the partial or utter failure of the class
unions already in existence to protect rail-
road employees from the aggression and i'm
positions of their employers, the railway
corporations of the country. The crisis
ana the hard times of the previous year
which were themselves occasioned. we are
convinced, by the criminal conspiracy of
capitalists, formed also the occasion for a
pretended necessity of reducing the wages
OF workingmen everywhere throughout the
nation To protect themselves in their ex-
tremlties the railway employees formed the
American Railway Union in the hope that
by opposing a united front they might be
able to defend themselves Into this union
men working in connected industries were
influence was employed to obtain members.
and no effort was made to destroy the old
er brotherhoods The only intention was
TO bring about more perfect union in
which the will of the members should at
all times rule and to this end no strike
was ordered except upon majority vote
of the local unions themselves.
Into this union, at their own request the
employees of the Pullman Palace Car Com
pany were admitted. AS their grievances
We're the cause of the present walk out it
Is proper at this time to fully present for
tne consideration of the voters of the
lhlted states those grievances.
In the southern part of the city of Chi
cage IS situated the town of Pullman where
located large manufacturing plant
covering sleeping car, freight car street
car, car wheel, and other factories besides
foundries and rolling mills The little To
the land is in the Pullman company and
all of the buildings thereon, excepting the
plant of the Allen Paper Car Wheel Works.
belong also to the Pullman company
The Question of Rents.
The houses are rented by the company to
the men, and, while employees are not com
peiled TO live in these houses preference
IS openly given to employees who choose to
i've IN them When the crisis came there
was a large force of men, agerega ting
over 4.0Go, engaged in the service of the
Pullman Company. This number was al
most Immediately reduced until no more
than 500 men were so employed, and these
Tor the most part We're set at work at
piece work on basis which netted WAGES
far below the ordinary; at the same time
rents We're not reduced, and were CLOSELY
collected, both from the idle and the work
ing, SO long as they had money to paw
The laws of the state of Illinois do not
permit a deduction from wages by an en-
of PnIl-
man company to pay in two checks, one
being for the exact amount due the COM
pany for rent, water, gas, etc. and the
other for the remainder if any of the
wages after these deductions were made
The collector always stood at hand ready
10 receive the check for the amount due
the Pullman Company Cases have been
known where skilled mechanics have
Drawn checks ranging from l cent to 81
Tor two weeks work, after this check had
been deducted. When wages had been re-
duced in this manner to the point where
the Pullman Company able to greatly
underbd its competitors with the inevita-
pie result that wages must eventually
have been reduced throughout the nation
and when it also became apparent that the
tenants would no longer be able to paw
their rents, ana that a number of the
houses would be vacated, with the result
that rents would have to be reduced, the
Pullman Company took contracts at a fig
ure lower than was offered by it's Compel
itors, and also crowded the production and
repair of cars for its own use, so that
there were more men at work in the Pull
man shops than at any time in their his
tory.
We submit to the intelligent voters of
the United States that the following ele-
ments make up rental value. namely, the
supply of houses, the demand for same
and the purchasing power of the tenants
which can alone make that demand effec-
tual
We submit moreover, that in case of
the sudden reduction of the income of the
tenants below what was necessary to
maintain their former standard of living
rents should be correspondingly reduced,
and that the expenditures of the family
are, in their order of Importance and ne
cessity, first for food, and then for shell
ter, clothing and other necessities.
Under the regime thus introduced in
Pullman the workingmen found themselves
laboring from 10 to 16 hours a day, with
the result that at the end of the month
their receipts had not balanced the expend-
lures and they were still compelled to
ask credit of somebody. The merchants
had alredy granted during the enforced
idleness all the credit their means would
permit, many carrying their customers to
the extent of thousands of dollars.
Condition of the Workingmen
The Pullman Company did not reduce
rents to correspond to the reduced in
comes of the tenants, and at the time the
strike was inaugurated said tenants being
the employees of the Pullman COMPANY
were indebted for the one item of rent to
the extent of $4,000 Thus the working
men found themselves in worse condition
than did workingmen in times of chattel
slavery, inasmuch they did not receive
their board and clothing for their labor
but found themselves in debt to their en-
ployer after faithfully laborng for him.
We submit that such condition of af-
fairs was intolerable, and that it is not
strange that the unorganized workingmen
of Pullman should have chosen to unite
and that they have have stood faithful to
their cause until this day. They have
nothing but starvation to turn to, or the
most humiliatng slavery if they return to
work.
For nearly three months these men re-
manned idle, calling for no other assistance
from their fellows than financial aid. At
the close of that time they having at all
times held themselves ready to submit the
differences between themselves and their
employer to arbitration, they asked the
American Railway Union to come to their
assistance. The matter then fully in
vestSated by a committee selected by the
convention then in session in Chicago and
the report of their committee was sent to
all the local unions throughout the coun-
try. These local unions voted 10 refuse to
handle the Pullman Company's cars and to
retire from their positions if compelled to
do so by their employers Thus they
recognized the solidarity of labor the com
mon interests of all workingmen every
where
In 1892 oreviOuS n tho Of