The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1894-07-12

A'N" S"y WoAO pho ohcboru TdilFOhu
men ignorant Of the power of this
organization OF railway employees,
but there are few II any Of them that
have paid any attention to ite growth
or who know It's history.
The new union is the creation Of
Eugene v. Debs, It's president. Debs
is young man, who some years ago
was a locomotive fireman. He lives
at Terre Haute, and is the president
Of publishing house in Chicago,
which prints labor literature. He is
also editor OF the Nremen's Maga-
zine, the efficient organ Of the Rail-
way Firemen's Brotherhood, and
editor Of the RdiI,ody Times, the
organ OF the new union. He has
been prominent in railway labor
matters only about FIVE or six years.
He has advocated closer relations
between the men employed in the
different branches Of railroad SER
vice. He contended that the broth
erhood organizations in which
engineers, firemen, trainmen, con-
ductors and others were separately
banded together, did not work
together for the common interests
of laboring men, but that each
worked only for it's own selfish
interests or that one was played off
against another. Debs found last
year his opportunity to make new
and general union. 1t will be re-
membered that for months before
the opening Of the Columbian Expo
sition there was talk of a general
railroad strike which should paralyze
the traffic of the whole country
during the existence of the fair.
This was not the result OF any
specific complaints on the part of
the employees, but of general dissat-
isfaction in the west with the condi-
tions of their employment. Powderly
it will be remembered, let the whole
scheme leak out in the course of the
last strike on the New York Central,
in 1890, and that publicity was the
death OF the scheme, although labor
men have been inclined to attribute
its collapse to the refusal by Chief
Arthur Of the Locomotive Engineers
to give such project his support.
His action, however, aggravated
soreness which was manifest as long
as three years ago, when the Broth
erhood Of Locomotive Engineers held
q convention at Denver. Many OF
the delegates left that convention
because they had not been able to
get the Brotherhood to adopt more
aggressive methods.
Deb's lieutenant is @. w. Howard,
chief Of the Brotherhood of Railway
Conductors Howard is vice -presi-
dent of the new union. Debs and
Howard began the organization OF
the American Railway Union a year
ago. They found the western rail-
road men all stirred up and ready
for an aggressive policy. The Amer
lean Federation of Labor held con-
vention in the fall, and set Of
resolutions favoring national owner
ship of railroads and telegraphs and
other socialistic doctrines, had been
submitted to it. These had been
referred to the action OF its local
unions to be reported upon at the
next convention. Debs embodied
some Of these things in his declara-
ton Of principles. Just before the
beginning of this year he formed the
American Railway Union, and on
January 1, he issued the first number
of the Rail,oay Times from 421 Ash
land Block, Chicago.
Grave errors, he said, had been
made in the previous organization of
railroad employees. There were
more than 800,000 employees, and
but 10000 were represented by the
brotherhoods. "The Rail,Oay Tines"
he said twill seek, under the guidance
Of the American Railway Union, to
adjust differences between en-
ployers and employed by means
other than the strike, boycott, and
kindred dovices."
The new union consists of gen.
eral union with local branches.
Every man who is in the employ Of
q railroad, or who has ever been in
such employ, is eligible to member
ship.
The local union may be made up
of members Of mixed classes of
employees or all OF some one branch
Of labor. The general purposes of
the union, ss declared in its consti-
tuition, are the protection Of members
In all matters relating to wages and
rights; the securing of a right to
employees to be heard in court in
proceedings for the settlement of
labor troubles, and the securing
by political action of legislation for
safety applicants for trains; for
regulating hours of labor, for regular
payment Of wages and for other
purposes.
The union has 100000 members.
The constitution provides a quick
way Of bringing about action on
labor troubles. II the local union