The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-17
THEY FAVORED REPATRIATION.
Railroad Men Give Testimony Before the
 Labor Commission.

| ithiirohd Men Give Tcsuinony Hrforo tho l Labor Commission.
 Chicago, Aug. le.-George W. Love- Joy. an ex-employe of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad. was ebn ok ctlDeU Pacifptd cmfetaod commission this morning. Mir. Love- Joy testified that the Rock Island road refused to tell him on June whether he was discharged or not. He was simply refused work. The road. he de- clared. had adopted policy of throw ing out of work all members of the American Railway union. Mir. Lovejoy said he had lost his position because he came to Chicago as delegate to the A. k. U. convention. The employees of the road at LaSalle then appointed a grievance comittee. which called on of- ficers of the road and demanded Love- Joys reinstatement. The officials re- fused to consider the communication, and a general strike was ordered. This was the beginning of the strike on the Rock Island. MT. Lovejoy as- serted that the Rock Island officers de- clared no union men should ever work on the road at LaSalle again.
 Asked by Commissioner Wright his solution of the strike problem. MT. Lovejoy said he thought government ownership would solve the problem. He believed that the empolyes would be better treated by the government than by the railroad managers, and that they would have their grievances Investigated and remedied. which is not | the case now.
 How would you fill the loss of places that might ensue by the change of po- litical party power?"
 | By application of the civil service rules"
 The witness was in favor of the governments keeping hands off, as he expressed 1t, whenever a strike was on. He did not believe warfare would result from such a state of affairs. "Is it not true," asked Mr. Kiernan, that the greatest difficulties which la boring men are under is the difficulty they have in getting hearing before the men in charge of the railroads?" Yes, sir; strikes could be almost en- tirely averted by arbitration, if it could be had, but officials of the road will not listen to the grievances of the men,"
 Do you believe strikes are of any benefit where they are lost?"
 MT. Lovejoy thought they were. He | believed the Pullman strike and the subsequent railroad strike were of great benefit, though lost, because, as he as- serted, they showed the laboring men the necessity for organization, and the futllity of trusting to old railroad or ganizations
 MT. Kiernan then adopted a. line of questioning tending bring out an admission from the witness that "tl1e labor unions should take more strin- gent measures to keep their men from committing violence. MT. Lovsjoy ad- mitted that such should be the case and that public sympathy, when it was di- verted from the strikers, was diverted only because of rioting and overt acts. sylvester Keliher, secretary of the A. R. U., was next put on the stand. He was asked and agreed to furnish certain documentary evidence bearing on the strlke, which the commission desired to examine. MT. keliher then enumer- ated the causes of the strike and the circumstances attending it. He told at length of the fruitless efforts of the A. k. U. and the Pullman employees to in duce the Pullman company to arbitrate and Of the efforts of citizens and part of the press to secure better wages for the employees of the Pullman company.
 MT. Keliher thought the best way to prevent strikes on railroads would be to nave the government own and con- trol the various lines. He did not think evil consequences would result from such ownership. In case the govern ment ownership of all railroads should not prove feasible he believed compul- sory arbitration the next best way to settle difficulties. In such cases both parties to the arbitration, he thought, should bind themselves to submit to the decree of the arbitrators.
 Judge Worthington's line of question: ing on this point seemed to indicate that he favors compelling employers to sub- init to a competent board of arbitra- tion in labor difficulties.
 The witness was not quite clear as to how a decree against employers in a matter of arbitration could be enforced but believed it could be done as easily as men could be enjoined from strik ing by the courts. ~
 B. B. Ray of Chicago told about the strike on the Rock Island road and the conditions which existed at Rock Isl- and. He declared he was peremptorily discharged by the Rock Island manage ment because of his alleged aff1liation with the A. R. U., although he was not member of that organization, He stated that the road kept black list of men who have been discharged by vari- ous roads. MT. Ray thought arbitration the only solution of the strike trouble.
 Connecticut Manufactories,