Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-10-25
AFFAIRS AT PULLMAN.

As Shown by the Presidents Anpual Re.
Port-Charges at Inhumanity Answered,
and the Company's Solicitude for the
welfare of Its Employees Declared-In-
creased Wages Realized Under the Old
Scale.
CHICAGO, Oct. 19.-Unusual interest
attached to the annual meeting of the
Pullman Palace Car Co., held yester-
day, on account of the part taken by
the company in the last big railroad
strike. As expected, President Pull
man, in his report, referred to the
strike at some length, answering the
charges of inhumanity which have
been made against him from time to
time. The usual quarterly dividend
OF So share was declared, which
shows that the company was Affected
but little by the cessation of work at
the Chicago shops. AS the fiscal year
ended July 81, 1894, the report covers
the biggest part of the Worlds far
business.
All the old directors were reelected,
as follows: George NJ. Pullman. Mar
shall Field, j. J. w. Doane, Norman
Williams and o. S. A. Sprague, Chica-
go; Henry c. Hubert, New York, and
henry X. Reed, Boston.
The surplus for the year is $780,
1880. Last years surplus was 81 ,O00,-
900.
In his report Mr.. Pullman said, in
reference to the strike: There has
been no substantial change in the car
building business, and the contracts
taken by us before the strike and those
taken since the strike are being exc
cuted at prices that give no profit, and
such contracts are taken because the
shops are being kept in operation for
the repairing of the company's own
cars, and to give as much employment
as possible in the present condition of
business. I have learned in various
ways that good many persons during
the strike lost sight of its true origin,
and gained the impression that it was
influenced by the house rents at Pull
man not being lowered when wages
were reduced from the high scale of
the spring of 1898. This is not true.
THE number of men now employed
at the shops is a,64O and the scale of
wages now is the same as that existing
at the time of the strike, and rents are
promptly paid. AS to the tenants who
were not re-employed, none of them
were evicted, or unduly pressed for
their arrearageS of rent; there has
been gradual voluntary departure of
unemployed tenants constantly going
on, as they have found work elsewhere
and there are now 279 of them remain
ing.
''Of the present force at the shops
only about 800 are new employees, and
the remainder have returned to their
former work, with, believe, widely
pervading feeling that they have
learned by experience that this COM
pany was earnest in befriending them
in seeking work for them when
little was to be had, and in Civ
ing them work at wages which the
selling price of their product did not
justify, and that the genuineness of
the interest of this company in their
welfare is far more to be trusted than
the promises of the agitators who mis-
led them.
by increased attention to their
work the mechanics have, under the
same scale of piece-work prices, in
creased their average daily earnings
from So. O3 in last April to S2.16 in the
last half of September, the latest re-
port received.
THE fiscal report says 5,2s2.323 pas
sengers were carried during the year.
The difference between this years sur
plus and that of last year is explained
by the difference in travel on account
of the strike"