Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1894-07-05
TEN PAGES
WAYSlDE TALK.

WAYSlDE TALK.
We have often read of the ideal town
of Pullman, Ill.,, founded by George M.
Pullman. Here we had, until recently,
supposed employer and employe lived
and worked in peace and happiness
Everybody knows that the Pullman
cars are manufactured in this town;
that the laborers are furnished with
good homes and are subject to certain
restrictions. We fancied that if we
j were mechanic, Pullman would be
just the place for us. 1t is not strange,
perhaps, under this illusion, that we
were surprised to hear of strike there.
| 1t seems that the Pullman company
has been losing money of late, like
many other corporations, and deter
mined to cut the wages of employees
and otherwise reduce expenses. The
company offered to prove by their books
that they were forced to take this step.
Their employees did not have conf
dence in this plan and wanted to arbi-
trate. The company said there
was nothing to arbitrate; that
they must reduce wages or close.
A strike was the result, and the
daily pay roll of $7000 or 1888 man,
on the average, ceased. This was the
beginning of the present labor troubles
which are absorbing the attention of
the country.
If the strike had been confined to
Pullman it would have been of little
consequence to the outside world, which
is accustomed to such proceedings.
Inf fort,, FOL La
came into play. The Pullman strikers
called upon the American Railway
Union of Switchmen to refuse to handle
Pullman cars. The Union acceded to
their demand and war commenced. 1t
was very unjust move for the Union
to make, for the railroads lease the
Pullman cars and are forced by con-
tract to pay for them whether they use
them or not. The loss in boycotting
them does not fall upon the makers,
but upon the railroads. Thus the fight
is really transferred from the Pullman
company and their employees, whose
trouble it was, to the railroads and their
employees, whose own relations up to
this time were friendly. 1t seems par
ticularly unwise that $4,000 men salts
factorily employed should quit work
because asked to do SO by 5000 men who
did not think they were properly paid;
especially when they were employed
by different corporations on entirely
different work. This is the second
chapter and finds all the principal roads
of the west and northwest moving
trains with greatest difficulty. Passen-
freight destroyed and there is general
decentralization in all shipping interests.
The General Managers association
takes firm stand, and although their
roads are losing hundreds of thousands
of dollars day, propose to run their
own affairs in their own way. The
president of the American Railway
Union now declares boycott on all the
roads represented by the Managers as
sociation, and calls upon engineers,
firemen and brakemen to join the
strike. There are 20 railroads involved
and the struggle for mastery will be
hard one. 1t would seem to us that
the victory must be with the railroads,
for certainly there never has been any
reasonable ground for strike. The
sympathy of the public is with the
managers and it is confidently expected
that they will win. There are idle
men enough to take the places of the
strikers provided they could work with
out fear of bodily harm. Militia has
been called into service again, and very
| likely the government. troops will be if
the United States mail trains are
stopped from making regular schedule
runs.
! All this from the Pullman strike,
which amounts to nothing in compar-
ison with the great struggle which it
has brought about. There will be more
| than the usual amount of suffering con-
nected with these labor troubles, but
we hope that the State and United
States authorities will act promptly
and vigorously in keeping order, and
in moving the mail trains. If these
trains run and carry Pullman sleepers,
the collapse of the strike will soon
come.
Admiral Farragut's old flagship, the
Hartford, is to be put into commission
again. This is good news and will be
hailed with delight by all true Ameri-
can citizens. Since the loss of the Kear-
sarge the Hartford is the only one of the
famous wooden frigates of the navy
which under the law may be retained
for use regardless of the cost of repairs.
She is to have new boilers and modern
armament and will probably be assigned
to duty in the South and Central Paci-
fic ocean when retitted. The naval APP
preparation bill contains the necessary
items for repairs which will be COM
menced at Mare Island Cal, where the
| Hartford now is as soon as the presl-
dent approves it. We hope no such
disaster is in store for the Hartford as =
befel the Kearsage; long life to the re-
juvinated old frigate.
1t seems after all that Boss Croker
| Just took a run across the Atlantic in
the interest of Tammauy; not to escape
the Luxow investigating committee. At
least latest reports say so. He felt that
he must place his hand in Whitney's,
Cleveland's eX-secretary of the navy.
And what for? Only to induce him to
become the Democratic candidate for
governor of New York or, if he would
not smile at that whispering, to get his