The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-08-22

trfcts-An Employe of the Great
Western Testihes to the Blacklist
ing Of Workmen.
CHICAGO, Aug. 16-Miss Jennie Cur
us, president of the Girls Union
at Pullman, testified in the after
noon. Her father had been in the
employ of the Pullman company for Is
years until shortly before his death last
year. He was delinquent in his rent to
the amount of $780, The company COM
PEELED her to assume the debt and sign
contract to pay it out of her wages at the
rate of 50 a week. Some weeks she had
so little left of her wages that she could
not pay board. In 1898 the company was
paying its girls 22h cents an hour for sew
ing and the poorest seamstress earned ST. 80
day. Before the strike the best of them
had got down to 70 or 50 cents a day,
while the poorer needle women could make
only 40 or so cents.
Theodore Rhode, representing the paint
ers' department, followed Miss Curtis He
had worked for the company 70 years and
had been gradually cut down until
men abused the men and the management
experimental with the materials until
piece-workers could make nothing. He had
not applied for work since the strike be-
cause the company compelled every man to
surrender his card of membership in the
railway union and sign agreement to
have nothing to do with any labor organi-
cation for five years
K. W. Combes, of the freight car shops,
had been in the employ of the company
for 10 years. Where men in that depart
ment were able to earn 1925 a day. piece
work, they were not able to make more
than 6S cents a day in March of this year
Between 1888 and 1893 there had been no re-
auctions, but in November of 1898 came a
cut that made difference of s. in a freight
car to the men who built it, and Sc of this
fell on the car carpenter. The witness said
he had $3.50 left from his February wages
after he had paid his rent and with the
$3.50 he was expected to support a wife
and two children. After hearing the evil
dence of Combes, the commission adj
journed for the day.
CHICAGO, Aug. 1.-THE strike commits
sioners investigations today developed
enthusiastic disciple of Bellamy, in the
person of Roy NJ. Goodwin, director of
the A. r. L. Goodwin, after long exam
nation regarding the recent strike, declared
that such troubles could be avoided by
tionalizing railroads and all other extern
sive corporations and industries. He de-
clared he was a "Bellamyite," and be-
lieved that the United States should be
conducted after the manner laid down by
the author of Looking Backward
Prof. E. w. Bemis, associate professor of
political economy in Chicago University,
was also witness. He advocated a
strike preventative, national and perma-
nent board of arbitra ton Prof. Bemis cited
the Massachusetts Board of Cancellation as
a evidence nj hat S11oh
organization would have, but said that a
national arbitration board should lave a
wider scope and be endowed with greater
powers than the Massachus etts board.
Prof. Bemis said he had studied the great
railroad strike and its causes, and he was
very closely questioned by the commits
sioners A number of railroad employees
We're examined, all of whom testified to
having applied for work in different parts
of the country since the strike only to
discover that they had been blacklisted
because of the part they had taken in the
boycott affair
F. r. Mills, Baltimore & Ohio engineer
of Garrett, Ind, was called and testified
that he was discharged on July /. and was
told that he not to be employed again.
Since then he sent a letter to w. G. Brin-
son, president of the Illinois Steel Com
pany, asking for employment. After few
days Mr.. Brinson replied that if the appli-
cation had been received week before
but that now he had been informed of
Mills prominence in the A. r. L., and
therefore could not employ him.
James B. Connors, switchman who had
worked on the Grand Trunk road, testified
that he had made application for work to
the L. S. Yards and Transit Company and
was refused. The official to whom he ap-
piled told him that no man who had
served on any labor committee would be
given employment.
Charles Naylor, fireman and engineer
and a member Of the A r. T., came rext
He was dismissed June 2S from the Penn
sylvania lines, and knew that he was
backlisted, because the general superin-
tendent had told a friend of the witness
that he could not get work. Mr.. Naylor
said the workingmen would have no con-
fdence in a permanent board of arbitra-
tors, whether elected or appointed He
thought board should be appointed
for each case
'.These officials get too far away from
the people, said Mr.. Naylor.
Vice-President Howard, of the A. r. u.
was recalled He desired to call the COM
missions attention to two facts-that the
United States government was now black
listing boycotting 5000 eX-employes of
the Union Pacific railroad because of their
connection with the A. r. T., and that the
railroads of the country were threa tening
to boycott the Missouri, Kansas and Texas
road unless it withdrew it's present low
rate to Washington.
I'VE think if the government can keep it's
hands off the railways ard let them settle
their differences by boycott or any way
they please, it should keep its hands off
the employees as WELL" he said
burst of applause from the audience
greeted this sentiment.
In the afternoon the principal witness
was W. H. Carwardine, pastor of the
Methodist Church at Pullman His evil
consisted chiefly If Of no
strike, which he declared would never have
occurred had the Pullman company re-
duced rents when ii reduced wages The
witness became indignant when asked if
he anarchist and denied it with
emphasis.
commission tomorrow and the first wit
ness Monday morning will be Eugene "
Debs. noticeable feature il the strike
investigation which is being conducted is
the absence of representa- tives of the rail-
roads or employees. The audience which
fill every seat in the rear of the room, but
is composed of labor representatives and
their friends
CHICAGO, Aug. 1s.-Chairman Heath
cote, of the Pullman strike committee. was
recalled by the strike commissioners TODAY
for further examination. Mr.. Heathcote
was questioned at length as to the car sea
of the strike and related instances Of
what he considered the company's tyranny.
He said that one of the workmen had been
struck in the face by another, and that
when the assaulted man attempted to pros
ecute his assailant he was told by his fore
man to drop proceedings he would be
DISCHARGED The witness said that about
900 men struck at Pullman, and that each
paid 81 to the A. r. L.
Mary Abbott Wood, one of the women
strikers, was called and said that the