The record-union., 1894-08-22
AN APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC TO RE-
LIEVE THE DISTRESS
Governor Altgeld Writes President
Pullman Requesting That He Put
More Men to Work, But is
Answered That Employment Has
Been Given to All for Whom There
is at Present Need-The Strike
Investigation.
sneciaito the RrcoRp-uNrov.

zens of Pullman. He was told that z, ,4j6
families had been helped. II dc not
know Just what method shall take with
these men, said the Governor, "but
something must be done. / nave written
to George NJ. Pullman.
''I can do little myself" said the Gov
ernor to-day, land if anything consider
able were to be done, the money would
have to come out OF the Governments
financial reservoirs. | might convene
the Legislature for the purpose of making
an appropriation, or might appeal to the
people of the State. L think we have
gone to the bottom of things now and
can proceed intelligently, and it remains
to be seen whatscan be DONE"
The Governor tonight issued the fol-
lowing proclamation:
$50 the people of the State Of Illinois,
and especially those Of the city Of Chicago:
There is great distress growing out of
the want of food in and around the town
of Pullman. More than a thousand FAM
lilies, or in the neighborbood of 5000 peo-
pie, are desttute-nearly four-tifths of
whom are women and children. The men
have endeavored to get work, but were
unable to do SO.
''As a rule the men are superior class
of laborers, industrious, capable and
steady, and some of them have worked
for the Pullman Company for more than
ten years Those who have been given
work can get food. but are still in such
an impoverished condition that they cam
not help their neighbors, il they would.
The Relief Society is unable to get moro
supplies. On last Saturday they gave to
each family two pounds Of oatmeal and
two pounds of cornmeal, and having MOTH
ing left have suspended operations, leav-
ing the people in ar absolutely helpless
condition. The County Commissioners
of Cook County as the overseer Of the
poor, have rendered some assistance, but
owing to the limited appropriation they
can furnish relief but for short time.
1--WE cannot now stop to inquire into the
cause of this distress. The good people of
this State cannot allow women and chill
dren by the hundreds to perish from
hunger. /, therstore. call upon all hu-
name and charitatly-disposed citizens to
contribute what they can toward giving
relief 10 these people,"
The Governor has also called on the
Commissioners of Cook County to do all
in their power in the matter.
After making 8 personal visitto Pull
man, Governor Altgeld to-day addressed
a personal letter to Mr.. Pullman, saying:
II examined the conditions at Pull
man yesterday, and visited even the
kitchens and bedrooms of many of the
people. | learn from your manager that
last spring there were 3,260 people on the
payrolls. Yesterday there were 200 at
work, but ever 600 of these are new men,
so that only about l.600 of the old en-
ployes have been taken back, thus leav-
ing 1000 of old employees who have not
been taken back. few hundred have
left. The remainder have applied for
work, but were told that they were not
needed. These are destitute. The Relief
Committee has exhausted its resources.
It seems TO me your company cannot
afford to have men appeal to me for
charity and the humanity of the State to
save the lives of your old employees.
Fopr-tifths OF the people are women and
children. No matter what caused this
distress, it must be metz
He then proposed that the rent of all
unemployed be remitted until Octo-
ber lst.
Mr.. Pullman replied at length He
said: while it has not been represented
to the officers of this company by any
persons concerned that there was any
such extended distress at Pullman as
was reported for the first time by the ex-
traordTnary methods published in the
kilograms 60 you in your official capac-
ity, l do not doubt that there are many
cases caused by the refusal of the en-
ployes for more than two and a half
months to earn offered wages to more
than 100000. and that such cases have
been increased and made more severe by
the resistance of more than $50 of our en-
ployes in refusal to apply for their old
places after the strike was practically
over, and as they were invited on July
18th to resume their work until by the
gradual coming of new men during the
-l.NlD -,io
filled and the full force engaged for all
work on hand. The suggestion that the
work should be divided so that a suf1i-
cient number OF our present employees
should be put on half time in order to
give at least half time for all was tried
last winter. The result has been that the
gross earnings Of individual employees
were so small as to give an erroneous
impression with reference to the suffi-
cheney of the rate of wages. The policy
of the company is now to employ only as
many men as it is possible to furnish
work on full time.o
To this the Governor replied substan-
TALLY as follows: 81 see your company
refuses to do anything toward relieving
the situation at Pullman. 1t is not my
business to fix the moral responsibility
in this case. There are nearly 6,000 peo-
pie suffering for the want OF food. They
were your employees. | also assumed
that as the State had been to large ex-
pense to protect your property, you
would not want to have the public
shoulder the burden of relieving distress
in your town. AS you refused to do any
thing to relieve the suffering in this case,
| am compelled to appeal to the public to
do So"
INvEs TIGATING THE STRIKE.
CHICAGO, Aug. ola. J. Carroll, editor
of the Eight HoH1. Herald, was the first
witness before the Strike Commissioners
to-day. lie told of the efforts of the Civic
Federation to settle the Pullman strike.
He was informed by the Pullman officials
that they had nothing TO arbitrate. He
believed that compulsory arbitration ap-
piled to quasi-public industries would be
beneficial. and read letter from a friend
in New Zealand showing the beneficial
results of Government ownership of rail-
roads and telegraphs
Malcolm Mcdowell, newspaper re-
porter, told OF tho overturning OF the cars
at Pullman. He said there were no rail-
road strikers in the mob.
Rev. l.. NJ. Wickham. pastor of the
Swedish Methodist Church at Pullman,
was emphatic in his denunciation of the
methods OF the Pullman Company.
When business gets slack,u he said,
.the company's employees living outside
of Pullman are ordered to move into the
company's houses on peril of losing their
position. Men who have attempted to
buy homes ON the installment plan are