The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-28

nearly three hours this afternoon.
Vice-President Wickes occupied two
hours, and Will appear again.
At the outset of his testimony, Mr..
Pullman made a careful preliminary
statement of his position toward the
commission, and defined the motives
which had moved the company to
establish its manufacturing plant and
homes for workingmen as it had.
He dwelt at great length on the mo-
tives which actuated the company in
building homes for the workmen at
Pullman, declaring that the town had
been made so that the best class Of
mechanics would prefer to live there
rather than any other place.
In reply to questions by Chairman
Wright, Mr.. Pullman told of the con-
tracts for work undertaken by the COM
pany at a loss in order that the men
might be kept at work. He said:
81 found we wire being underbid by
other companies, even where we had
figured the work down to cost. under
took to make the Pullman company's
bids in order to secure the work for
our men. My recollection is that the
first order of that kind was for fifty
five cars on the Long Island railroad.
Under my instructions the cost Of ma
terial and labor VIZ figured on the
basis of a reduction =. wages. Then I
had the matter under consideration here
in New York for about two weeks and
finally put in a bid for something be-
tween $500 and $500 a car below actual
cost. 1 made up my mind that the COM
pany would contribute that much
rather than have the men Idle. Up to
the time of the strike we had lost more
than $4,000 in pursuing this policy. |
explained this personally to the men
when they were having their conference
with Mr.. Wickes Mr.. Heathcote said
they wanted the wages of 1893. / said it
would be a most unfortunate thing for
all of us if the wages Of 1893 were re-
stored, because there is not more than
six weeks work in the shop now and we
would be unable to get more on a basis
of the wages Of 1892"
Books Were Not Shown.
Here Mr. Herman asked: Were the
books shown to the menu
mo, they were not, because the men
did not apply to see them and the
strike came on Friday"
There were other grievances, were
there not?"
There were but Mr. Wickes and Mr..
Brown had promised the men to take
them UP and remedy them wherever
there was just cause for complaint"
ington brought out the fact that the
company's original capital stock of
S1.000.000 in 1867 had increased to $685.
000.0e9; that the company had paid div
idenos of u per cent during the first
two years of it's organization; 912 per
cent during the next two years, and
per cent annually since, and at the
same time had accumulated a surplus
amounting to $25,00c,000.
Referring to the stock Of the COM
pany, Mr.. Pullman said it represented
actual cash paid by the stockholders,
as the capital was needed and the cap
ital stock was increased for the legiti-
mate business of the company There
was no water in it and none of it rep
resented dividends.
Now. Mr.. Pullman" said Commits
sioner Worthington, taking the whole
year through, has the Pullman COM
pany made or lost money!"
1T has made money was the an
swer.
Paid Regular Dividends.
You have paid your regular divi-
dends?"
Eyes, sir; per cent
THAT is something like S2,S0000 you
have paid out in dividends for the
year,"
Yes. but that includes the latter
part Of the Worlds fair season which
was exceptional
Let me ask you, Mr.. Pullman,
whether you do not think a company
that pays dividends of S2,S00,00O could
not afford to share the losses of its en-
ployees who have worked for it so
long?"
1.-THE manufacturing business is sep
arate from the business of the Sleep
ing car company. / see no reason why
/ should take the profits of 4,200 stock
holders in the Pullman Sleeping Car
company and pay men higher rate
of wages than was paid in other parts
of the country for the same work, or
than was paid by other companies for
the same work"
HAS the Pullman company, during
the years of its prosperity, ever adj
Nanced the wages of its employees vol
untarily?"
II do not know as to that 1t has al
ways sought to pay fair wages"
His Objections to Arbitration.
What do you see that is objection
able in submitting difference like
this to arbitration?
There are some matters that are
proper subjects for arbitration, but L
cannot arbitrate on a question where
know the facts to be thus and so.
The question as to whether our shops
xiaould continue to run at loss is
..Aing that could not be arbitrated.''
"Why was il impossibleg'
Because it violates the principle
that a man has the right to manage
his own business"
Suppose the arbitrator were to say
10 YOU: We see you are losing, but
these men have been with you a long
while: you can afford to share their
losses; we think that you should at
least pay living wages what would
you saw to that?"
my point at the time was to work
with the men and secure the disburse-
r1ent of the large sums involved in the
contracts and lose money for the COM
many If the men would agree to bear
their share in a reduction of 20 to 25
per cent. in the wages"
Jsldge Worthington wanted to know
wherein it was wrong to take the
money of the stockholders and pay
higher wages when the management
was ready TO take contracts at loss,
or take the stockholders money to keep
the plant going.
Mr.. Pullman said the. execution of the
contracts at loss was better than for
the plants to be in idleness.
.sLoved Himself the Best,
$50" interrupted Mr.. Herman, you
had that in view as well as the en-
ployment of the men, You did not
want to stop the plant because you
knew that would be a loss to stock
holders and you did not want to scatter
your men because you knew DIT would
be difficult TO get "a force together