The morning call., 1894-10-10
THE FATAL. LIST.
How a Railroad Man Was
Prosecuted
FOR GOING ON A STRIKE.
BlaCkliSted Even in Old Mexico
by the Monopolies.
LONG TRIP IN SEARCH OF WORK.
FOR GOING ON A STRIKE.
LONG TRIP IN SEARCH OF WORK.
But the Boycott Was Perfect and
Could Not Be Escaped-The
Victim in Town.

@. c. Chambers, who is now stopping at
the Brooklyn Hotel in this city, has made
an astonishing discovery. He has found
that the terrible blacklist. the weapon
of punishment of the railroad monop-
olists, has stretched its long roll
from st. Paul to Kansas City, from New
York to Sau Francisco, and from New
Orleans to the City of Mexico.
MIR. Chambers is a gent leman who is
jokingly known among his friends as
the man pursued by-a- blackball." His
story of his experiences in trying 10 escape
the unholy ''bad mark" that the railroads
have set opposite his name is one that
cannot help but be read with interest by
railroad men especially and the public in
general.
Chambers was night foreman IN the
Baltimore and Ohio shops at South
Chicago at the time of the great strike.
He had a good position, stood we'll with
the A. K. U. and was faithful and
efficient emp!oye of the corporation that
hired him.
Grumbling and words of open discomfort
were heard from Pullman. Wages had
been lowered to starvation point. Men
in the shops were working their hearts
out for few dollars per week. Money was
scarce and credit at the stores owned by
| Mr.. Pullman was cut down so that food
could not be obtained ana starvation
stared the workingmen in the face.
Then came the strike. 1t spread to the
east, to the west. 1t reached the Balu-
more and Ohio Chicago shops, and the
A. r. q. men employed there held con-
| sultation as 10 whether it would be the
| proper thing to walk out.
Chambers was one of the men who was
in very peculiar position in the matter.
! he did not like TO go out, nor did he like
to go back on his oath to the organization.
| He finally decided to act with the maj Or-
! ity. The majority went on a strike.
When the strike was over Chambers
! tried 10 get back to his old position, but
could not; he found that he had been
blacklisted. However. he secured a pass
from the general superintendent Of m olive
| power of the r. |. and Pacific Line and
wents to Denver, At Denver he found
that the blacklist was ahead of him, so he
moved on to Pueblo. Pueblo was not "a
good place for railroad strikers either. so
he moved on to La Junta.
Here he was promised work. He
talked to the foreman of the Atchson.
Topeka and Santa Fe, who was at first in
clined to listen to him, but when he men,
toned his name the foreman looked at a
book he had in his office, mum bled some
thing about blacklist" and said, 81 can
do nothing for YOU"
From La Junta trip was made to
Ration. Here the master mechanic prom
iSed to give the wOIk-Seeker employment
and told him to send to Chicago for his
creden tals. Before these papers came it
was officially given out that he was on the
black list, so lie had to move out of town to
Albuquerque.
At Albuquerque it was the same old
story. In sheer despair the prosecuted
man fed toward the Mexican border think
ing that if he reached the domain of old
Mexico he might escape his hOuDd-like
, pursGerS. A place three miles this side
of Chihuahua he got off and applied for
work at anything on the Mexican Central
He was told to wait few days until a dis
patch could be sent to the City of Mexico.
When that dispatch was answered it read
, | that the fatal blacklist had been posted
, even in that out-of-the-way part of the
world. I'VE can do nothing for you, sir, u
he was told, you are or the blacklist"
! From Mexico Mr.. Chambers came tC
California. He struck Los Angeles first
but it was no use for him to try to secure
help-he was listed there, also. Then he
went to Bakersfield. Fresno and number
, of other towns. In every one of them the
fatal list was kept, and in San Francisco
he was told there was no work for union
man.
Chambers is now convinced that he must
: give up railroading and learn another
trade.