The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-26


was called again today by the strike
commission. In reply to a question he
stated that he did not favor compulsory
arbitration in the settlement of labor
troubles. He did not believe such a
method would prove universally salts
factory. Mr.. Debs said that before the
strike there had been trouble among
the telegraphers, and that the state
ment that there We're not more than 200
American Railway union men on the
Rock Island read, witness said, was alb
Surd.
American Federation of Labor, was the
next witness. He prefaced his testi-
mony with an outline of the aims and
principles of the federation and figures
showing. the membership.
Gompers reviewed the proceedings of
the conference. President Cleveland.
he said, paid not the slightest attention
to the message asking for his aid in
the settlement of the strike.
Gompers told of the conference of the
heads of labor organizations in Chicago.
He said that after long elaboration the
delegates decided to request President
Cleveland to attempt to settle the
strike.
1--WE thought" said Gompers, that
if Mr.. Gladstone could do so much good
service in the English coal strike, such
an attempt would not be beneath the
dignity of the president of the United
States. Accordingly, telegram was
sent to Mr.. Cleveland asking his aid.
To that message he did not deign to
reply. In fact, he took not the slight
est notice of it.
Mr.. Debs was then called upon and
gave a history of the boycott, the Pull
man trouble and the railroad strike.
We considered the matter carefully and
finally decided that we could not order
a general strike, that it would be a
usurpation of power, and would for
many reasons be unwise. The, delegates
expressed their sympathy with the
movement and soon afterwards we adj
journed.
Mr. Gompers then read from the sec
retary's report detailed statement Of
the proceedings of the conference.
Mr.. Gompers said that it would have
been impossible for the Chicago confer
ence to have declared a general sympa-
thetic strike.
He was asked for his opinion as to
the methods for preventing strikes.
81 do not condemn strikes as heartily
as do some men," he said. II believe
that so long as present conditions exist
they are necessary, and l believe that
all strikes do good in calling attention
to the fact that laboring men will not
be driven further down into poverty.
I think the action of strikers in para
lying the railroads Of the country was
justifiable.'
The. witness was rather frankly I'M
complimentary regarding the strike
commission.
81 think this thing is rather late in
the day." he said. '"This examination
by the commissioners is rather in the
nature Of an inquest on dead body. l
don't anticipate great good from the
present investigations
The witness had something he wanted
to say about the injunctions issued by
the court He held these injunctions
were not rightly based on the inter-
state commerce law; that that law was
not intended to apply to labor organfza-
tons He said the injunctions were
based upon court-made law, upon de-
cisions given in the absence of law.
When Mr.. Gompers finished the COM
mission adjourned until Monday.
An error crept into last nights re-
port of the proceedings before the COM
mission investigating the Pullman
strike. The statement was made that
Mr.. st. John, general manager of the
Rock Island, testified that list of
names had been prepared for the Cen
eral Managers association containing
the names of most active strikers. Mr..
st. John made no such statement but
testified that neither the Rock Island
nor the General Managers association
had ever kept a blacklist or that they
had such at the present time.