Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-08-17
POWER OF THE LAW
Should Be Invoked to
Compel Arbitration.
EX-EMPl0YES AT PULLMAN
Show How Wages Have Been Greatly
Scaled in the Past Few Years.


missioners' investigation yesterday Score
rstary Kelliher, whom asked for his Views
as to the best method for preventing
strikes, said that he firmly believed
government ownership of railroads would
continued, II think compulsory arbitra-
ton would answer"
"How would you force the railroads To
abide by the arbitrators decisionS" asked
Commissioner Wright.
'By law" promptly responded the wit
ness. Let the law be such that In case Of
trouble with its employees the railroad be
compelled TO submit the matter 10 arbitra-
ton. Then let IL be understood that If the
railroads will not accept the terms upon
which arbitrators decide, the companies
can be compelled to go out of business. In
other words, the railroads should be COM
pelled TO abide by the decision, and as TO
the employees, II they are not suited by the
the decision, let them leave the employ Of
the company"
b. B. Ray Of Rock Island, Ills, stated
that the strike at Rock Island was caused
partially by the Pullman strike and
partially on account Of the treatment he
had received at the hands of the Rock
Island Railroad company. IT had gone
west TO visit my relatives" he said, "and
when returned 1 was told by the Rock
Island officials that had been discharged.
asked for reason and WAS told that 1t
was because was a member OF the Amer
lean Railway union. General Superin-
tendent Dunlap of that railroad said that
i was blacklisted and
Could Never Again Get Work
on his or any other railroad. was not
member of the American Railway union
at the time, but since then have joined
that union"
Ray agreed with Kelliher that govern
ment ownership Of railroads would pre-
vent strikes. He favored a law, he said,
compelling railroads TO give discharged
employees a document setting forth the
reasons for their discharge
Among those present at the days hear
ing were G.. w. Moon who desires 20 pre-
sent to the commission a plan for prevent
ing labor troubles, and a number of Ameri-
can Railway union men.
The commission has the power 20 sum-
mon witnesses, but cannot compel them
20 answer the questions There Is no
doubt that George NJ. Pullman, Vice
President Wickes, General Managers Egnn,
st. John and other corporation officers
will be called. Whether they will testify
or not is quite another matter.
The condition of life of the employees at
Pullman will be gone into at length by
the commission. The statements by all
the witnesses heard thus far that the
wages paid by Pullman were not sufficient
to keep the men from starvation, and that
this was the excuse of the boycott, makes
it necessary for the commission TO invcsti-
gate this phase of the case.
r = n NJ
strike commission was on the witness
stand during the afternoon session He
showed table of the Pullman company's
wages, and claimed that wages had been
cut 80 per cent In the last two years Mr.
Heathcote also exhibited what he claimed
was a blacklist issued by the Pullman Off
cials requesting other corporations to re-
fuse to employ the men whose names ap-
peared thereon.
Wages Lowered at Pullman.
Miss Jennie Curtis, president of the
Girls union at Pullman, testified that her
father had been I'm the employ of the
Pullman company for 10 years, until
shortly before his death last year He was
delinquent in his rent to the amount of 500;
the company compelled her to assume the
debt and sign "a contract to pay it out of
her wages at the rate OF % a week. Some
weeks she had so little left from her wages
that she could not pay board. In 1893 the
company was paying its girls 22H cents an
hour for sewing, and the poorest seam.
stress earned 1.50 day. Before the strike
the strike the best of them had got down
to 20 or 80 cents IA day, while the poor
needle women could make only 40 or 90
cents.
Theodore Rhode, representing the paint
ers' department, had worked for the com
pany IL years and had been gradually cut
down until he could not make $l.25 a day.
The foreman abused the men and tho
management experimental with the ma
terials until piece-workers could make
nothing.
Il. W. Combs Of the freight car shops
had been In the employ OF the company
for 10 years. Where men in that depart
ment were able TO earn 81 60 day piece
work. they were not able to make moro
than rs cents a day In March of this year
Between lsos and 1891 there had been no
reductions, but in November, 1893, came
cut that made adherence Of tS in freight
car 10 the men who built it, and % of this
fell on the car carpenters. The witness
said that he had $3.50 left from his Feb
ruary wages after he had paid his rent,
and with the $3.50 he was expected to sup
| port wife and two children.