Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-02
Resolutions in Regard to the Strike
in Both Houses.
AqHOROUGH INVESTIGATION ASKEDPOR
The Policy of the Post Office De.
partment in the Premises.
MAY CHECK THE CONFLICT


ington, d. c.
I'VE. the railway employees of Duluth,
earnestly request You to support Senator
Kyle's mail train resolution now before
Congress Please answer.
I'd. ID. McINNIS. President eU9 ARC."
He replied by wire with the following en-
phatic declaration:
Il have received your telegram. will
not support Senator Kyle's resolution. Il is
against your own real welfare. IL Is also
4 blow at the security, peace and rights of
millions of people who never harmed you or
Your associates. My duty to the Constitu-
| tion and the laws forbids me to sustain q
resolution to legalize lawlessness. The
same duty rests upon yourself and your as
sociates. The power TO regulate commerce
among the several states is vested by the
Constitution in Congress. Your associates
have usurped that power by force at Ham
| mond and other places and have Destroyed
commerce between the states In those par
ticular Instances. You are rapidly APP
preaching the overt act OF levying war
| against the United States. and you Will
| find the definition Of that act in the Consti-
| tuition. / trust that wiser thoughts viii re-
gain control You might as well ask me 20
| vote TO dissolve this government"
The Senate Resolution OF Inquiry.
Senator Call of Florida introduced today
| the following resolution: Resolved, That q
committee of five Senators shall be ap-
pointed by the President of the Senate. who
shall inquire and report to the Senate the
| causes of the existing strike OF railroad
employees and the justice of the demands
OF the workingrnen. and report by bill or
| otherwise such legislation as may secure
| Justice TO the workingmen and be reason
| able and fair TO their employers. and
! cure the transportation of the mails, freight
/ and passengers without Interruption. ano
that such committee be authorized TO SIT
with a committee Of the House appointed
! for this purpose and may report TO their re-
I spectiye houses the result OF their Joint
action.
The great strike is likely to be brought
| to the attention of the House of Repre-
sentatives. Several resolutions and bills
| bearing on the situation are under con-
| sideration, and these may take the form OF
Joint resolution for a special committee
| of investigation. kilograms are pouring In
on Congressmen from local labor leaders
urging them to support Senator Kyies
resolution, or to take other action support
| ing the labor view Of the contest
Like the Kyle Resolution.
Representative Boen Of Minnesota u 30
pairing bill which is on the lines Of the
Kyle resolution. but extends cit 90 a %
make a general law defining mail trains
and their use. 1t provides that all railrosd
20 government regulations. When trafac
| is interrupted on any public postal route.
the mail trains shall consist OF one engine,
one caboose and one or two mall cars. Pas
| senger coaches and Pullman cars shall not
be attached to such mail trains pending
the interruption of traffic. Mall cars are
| permitted to be attached to express trains
| when uaffic is uninterrupted. IL is also
provided that while mail trains are restrict
ed to engine. caboose and mail cars. they
shall be run on schedule time at a compen-
sation TO be fixed by the Postmaster 0eo-
| eral
as chairman OF the labor committee. II re-
l garded by laboring men as one OF their
chief spokesmen In Congress- had a talk to-
day with Assistant Postmaster General
Jones and other officials OF the Post once
! Department. From them he learned that
the precedent established by Attorney Gen.
| erai oiney IN the Northern Pacific strike
will be adhered to in the present troubles
/ Position of the Post once Departmeat
No legal obstacles will be made against
men stopping work who are engaged on tho
mail trains, II they desire. because the on
! cials consider such action q personal mat
| ter The post ONCE officials said that they
| intend 10 maintain a neutral position SO far
as the parties to the Strike are concerned,
and to take no action IN support either OF
/ the corporations or the labor organizations.
Amy action which Attorney General Olney
may take regarding obstruction TO the mailo
will be taken at the instance Of Postmaster
General Bissell Apart from that the At
torney General may be called upon TO sup
/ port the DEGREES of United States courta.
which govern railroads by virtue OF recefv.
erships decreed by them.
Ii was learned by NJ. Mccain that no
complaints mad been received by the
postal officials that mail cars are
being used as cover 10 haul Pull
mans, and so far as he has been
| able TO learn no such scheme is being re-
| sorted to by the railroads. Consequently he
| thinks that Senator kyle's resolution 10 un-
called for at this time. being directed st .
state OF affairs which does not exist To
assume that the authority OF an executive
officer will be improperly exerted. he says
seems to be an unwarrantabie affront to tha
department
MIR. Grains Resolution.
Representative Grain OF Texas viii in
troduce a resolution for an Investigation cf
the Pullman strike. Mr.. Grain was q mem
ber OF the Curtin congressional COMMITTEES
in 1856. with Gov. Curtin of Pennsylvania
at its head. which Investigated the great
strike OF that year. and succeeded In franz
Ing a settlement acceptable TO both sides.
The resolution is as follows:
whereas a disturbed condition in the
relation between labor and the Pullman
Palace Car Compeny and certain railroad
corporations carrying on interstate COM
merce is reported TO exist In several OF the
states, mehacing and obstructinx inter-
state transportation OF freight and pas-
sengers and the United States mails In
volving to a greater or less extent the
commerce and business of the country and
the general welfare of the people and
hence becoming a matter OF national con-
Germ; therefore be IL
Resolved, That the committee on inter-
state and foreign commerce be hereby
authorized and directed to Investigate the
cause and extent of the disturbed condi-
tions existing In such states or In any OF
the states. Said committee shall hold
power TO visit the places where such condi-
tions exist, send for persons and papers 20
examine witnesses under OATH and may
employ stenographer, and shall report the
result of its Investigations TO the House
with such recommendations as II may
deem proper to make"
Mr.. Grain said of the resolution: Tech
nically II might be said that Congress had
no power 10 arbitrate. But in these great
the whole country. Congress is the only
possible power which can act Moreover,
the moral effect Of congressional investi-
cation is sufficient to check the conflict
and possibly stop it, There natural
Willingness Of both sides TO defer to What
a body representing Congress may suggest.
The strike Of 1875 was costing the knights
of Labor S5.0bJ day, vet the settlement
which the Curtin committee proposed. AID
which ] bad the honor 10 write. was ac-
ceptcd by Master Workman Powderly on
the one hand and the railroads on the otheet