Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-06

play or for picnic purposes, bat are under orders of Che president. They Go not pro- rose 10 allow themselves to be beseged or 10 stand too much nonsense.p The gener- al at once assumed command of the troops.
 CARD FROM DEBs.
 HE PLACES THE SITUATION AND ITS CAUSE
 BEFORE THE PUBLIC.
 CHICAGO, July 5.-Eugene V. Debs, president of the American Railway union, has issued long statement iu justification of the great strike, of which he is the cen tral figure. The article is addresse to the public, and reads as follows:
 The Pullman employees, who struck on May last, did so entirely of their own &C., cord. The officers of the American Rail- way union used all their influences to pac- fly the employees, and advised them repeatedly not to strike, but to bear pa tiently their grievances until a peaceable settlement could be effected. To the truth of this statement, the employees themselves will bear me up. But the grievances of these employees, men and women, had be- come so aggravated, so galling, that their patience deserted and they abandoned their employment rather than submit longer to conditions against which their very soul rebelled.
 The Pullman company, be it understood, owns the town of Pullman, owns the houses, the homes of the employees, control the light and water and other necessaries of life, and wages are so adjusted to the living expenses that in a large majority of cases the employees are barely able to sup port their families. At the time they struck the employees were in arrears to the Pullman company $70, ,000 for rent alone. Wages had been repeatedly reduced, but the rent and other expenses remained the same.
 The employees from the beginning have been willing to arbtrate their differences with the company, but the company arro- gantly declares that there is nothing to arbitrate. If this be true, why not allow board of fair and impartial arbitrators to determine the fact?
 Committee after committee waited upon the officals-waited upon the Pullman company, but all of them were repelled. Finally on June 12 the delegates of the American Railway union, representing 425 local unions of railway employees, located on the principal lines of American railways, discussed the Pullman trouble at Chicago, and as a last resort the delegates deter mined that unless the Pullman company could agree to do justice to their employees within five days the members of the order would decline to haul Pullman cars. This action, be it remembered, was not taken up until the strike had been on six weeks. Up to this point trouble was confined to the Pullman company and it's employees. ..
 How then did the strike extend to the railways? Let the answer be given in &C., cordance with the facts. The day before 7 the order of the delegates declining to haul Pullman cars went into effect the General Managers association, representing the passed a series of resolutions de- claring in substance that they would uphold the Pullman company in it's fight npou the employees, that they would haul Pullman cars, and that they would stand the ground in crushing out the American Railway union. It will be thus seen that the railway companies vir- tually joined forces with the Pullman com pany, went into partn ership with them, so to speak, to reduce and defeat their half starved employees. In this way the trouble was extended from system to system, until the crisis has been reached. The business of the country is demoralized to en extent that defes exaggeration.
 To say that the situation is alarming is entirely within the bounds of prudent statement. Every good citizen must view the outlook with grave concern. Some thing should, something must be done. The American people are peace-loving people. They want neither anarchy nor revolution. They have faith in their in- stitutions. They believe in law and order, they believe in good government, but they believe in fair play. What can be done to dspel the apprehension that now prevails and restore peace and confidence? The American Railway union. by whose au- thority and in whose behalf this state ment is made, stands ready-has from the beginning stood ready-to do anything in
  this trouble.
 This, briefly stated, is the position the organization occupies. It simply insists that the Pullman company shall meet it's employees and do them justice. We guar antee that the latter will accept any reasnn- able proposition. Let them agree as far as they can and when they fail to agree let the points in dispute be submitted to arbi- tration. The question of the recognition of the American Railway union or any other organization is waved. Let the spirit of concilation, mutual concession and com promise govern both sides, and there will be no trouble in reaching settlement that will be satisfactory to all concerned. This done, let the railway companies agree to restore sll their employees to their situa- lions without prejudice and the trouble will be ended.
 have now clearly, briefly as possible stated the position of the American Railway union, it was at the beginning of the trou- ble, as it is now, we have been deliberately and maliciously misrepresented, but we have borne it all with unwaverng faith that ihe truth will finally and powerfully prevail. We firmly believe our cause is just, aud while we hold that belief we will not recede. It has been asked, what sense is there in sympathetic strikes? Let the corporations answer. When one is assailed all go to the rescue. They stand together, they supply each other with men, money and equip ment. Labor, unifying it's forces, simply l follows their example. If the proceeding is vicious and indefensible let them first 1 abolish it. In this contest labor will stand | by labor. Other organizations will 1 not be called out, but they will l go out and the spectacle of Mir. l Pullman, famed by che breezes 0 l the Atlantic while his employees are starv- | ing, is not calculated to prevent their fei- | low wage workers from going to their res- | cue by the only means at their command. Let me repeat, that we stand ready to do | our part toward avoiding the impending | crisis. The statement closed with these words: |