St. Paul daily globe., 1894-08-17
SERIOUS ABUSES TOLD OF.
Strikers Testify That Wages
Have Been Cut to StaHva-
tion Rates.
PULLMAN MAY BE CALLEI
But It Is Doubtful If the
Commission Can Make
Him Testify.

CHICAGO. Aug. 16.-The first witness
called before the arbitration commits
mission today was William Lovejoy, an
ex-Rock Island employe at Lasalle, Ill.
Lovejoy was asked the cause of the
strike, and declared that the men went
out there because OF his unjust dis
charge.
Secretary Kelliher followed Logejoy.
and gave a detailed account of the
causes leading up to the strike. He
was closely questioned.
Secretary Kelliher, when asked as
for his views of the best method of pre-
venting strikes. said that he firmly be-
lleVed that government ownership of
railroads would solve the pro oIem.
Next to that" he continued, ~
think compulsory arbitration would
answer"
.How would you force the railroads
to abide by the arbitrators' declsion?"
asked Commissioner Wright.
"By law" promptly responded the
witness. 'Let the law be such that in
case OF trouble with it's employees the
railroad be compelled to submit the
matter to arbitration. Then 1t is
understood that if the railroads will
not accept the terms upon which
the arbitrators decided, the company
can be compelled to go out of business.
In other words, the railroads should be
compelled to abide by the decision, and
as to the employees, if they are not
suited by the decision let them leave
the employ of the company"
B. b. Ray, Of Rock Island, ILL.,, was
next called. He stated that the strike
at Rock Island was caused partially by
the Pullman strike and partially
because of the treatment he had
received at the hands of the
Rock Island railroad company.
81 had gone West to visit my relatives"
he said, land when l returned l was
told that l had been discharged. l
asked for a reason, and was told that it
was because l was member of the A.
B. U. General Superintendent Dunlap,
of the road, said that1
Would BE BiacklIstea.
and could never again get work on his or
any other road. was not member of
the A. R. U. at the time of the dis
charges. but since then l have Joined,
Ray agreed with Keiher that govern
ment ownership of railroads would
prevent strikes. He favored a law, he
said, compelling railroads to give dis
charged employees document setting
forth the reasons for their discharge.
At the conclusion of his examination a
recess was taken.
The commission had larger audi
ence today than that which met it yes.
terday. The court room was filled with
men who listened attentiyely to the
testimony.
The commission has power to sum-
mon witnesses, but has no power to
compel them to answer gu stions.
There is no doubt that George NJ. Pull
man, Vice President Wickes, General
Managers Egan and st. John and other
corporation officials will be summoned.
Whether they will t,stify or not is
another matter.
The condition Of the employees of
Pullman will be gone into by the conf
mission,
Chairman Heathcote, of the Pullman
strike committee, was on the witness
stand during the afternoon session. He
showed table Of the Pullman wages,
and claimed that wages had been cut 60
per cent in the last two years. He also
exhibited what he claimed was black
list issued by the Put man officials, re-
questing other institutions to refuse to
employ the men whose names appeared
thereon.
Miss Jennie Curtis, president of the
girls union at Pullman, testified in the
afternoon Her father had been in the
employ of the Pullman company for
fifteen years, until shortly before his
death last year. He was delinquent in
his rent TO the amount of $50. Tne eOm-
plny compelled her to
Assume the Debt
AMI sign contract t. pay 1t out OF her
wsges at the rate of So a week. Some
weeks she had so little left from her
wages that she could not pay board. In
1893 the company was paying its girls
2211 cents an hour for sewing, and the
poorest seamstr SIS earned $3.50 day.
Before the strike, the best of them had
got down to 20 or 80 cents day, while
the poorer needle woman could make
only 40 to so cents.
Theodore Rhode. representing the
painters department, followed Miss
Curtis. He had worked for the COM
pany twelve yesrs, and had,been gradu-
ally cut down until he could not make
Sl.25 day. Foremen abused the men
and the management experimental with
the. wages until piece makers could
make nothing. He had not applied for
work since the strike because the COM
tpany compelled every man to SURF 'nder
his card of membership in the Railway
unieB, and sign an agreement to have
nothing to do with any labor organiza-
ton for five years.
: r. w. .Combss, OF the freight car
shops, had been in the employ of the
company for ten years. Where men in
that department were able to earn 1925
day, piece work, they are not able to
made more than 6S cents day in
March of this year. Between 1883 and
1893 there had been no reductions,
but in November of 1898 came
cut that made q difference of IS i'm a
freight car to the man who built it, and
s6 Of this fell Oh the car carpenter. The