Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-07-12
EASY FOR MR.. PULLMAN.
He Enjoys life Among the Thousand Islands.

He Enjoys life Among the Thousand Islands.
WEST END, LONG BRANCH, n. j.,
July 8.-Mr. Pullman left here early
Saturday morning for "Castle Rest
his cottage in the Thousan Islands of
the st. Lawrence, and his return is un-
certain. He may come back tomorrow
and perhaps not until the end of the
week. There are no signs of any COM
mittee of Chicago merchants who, the
eastern papers announce, expected to
meet him here today with John Hayes,
the secretary of the Knights of Labor,
for a conference about the strike.
There are very few Chicago people at
the hotels along the beach, and l find
no one who would likely come on such
an errand. Mr.. j. w, Doane was in
New York yesterday and had talk
with Mr.. Pullman.
Mr.. Pullman would have no OBJ
lection to meeting Mr.. Hayes at any
time in an informal manner to discuss
the strike or any other subject, but he
would not confer formally with any
committee representing the labor or
CARNATIONS. He takes the ground that
the strike has passed beyond his juris-
diction and that he has ceased to be
an important figure in the troubles.
Nor do Mr. Pullman's friends here be-
lieve he would consent to an arbitra-
ton, because from his point of view
there is nothing TO arbitrate. A por-
ton of his men struck for higher
wages. He opened his books to a COM
mittee representing his employees and
claims to have shown them that he
was taking contracts at loss in
order to keep his shops open and pay
them wages during tie financial de-
preston. lie says he believes that lie
convinced all but one member of this
committee that it was unreasonable
to expect the company to increase
wages just now, because it was jmpos
sible to DO SO. Then the officers of II
labor organization outside the town of
Pullman directed his men to quit work.
They dropped their tools and left the
shops, and since then no work has been
done. Mr.. Pullman's associates here
say that he can see nothing in his stu
alton that admits of arbitration. The
only question at issue, they claim, are
whether an outside labor organization
shall have the management of the Pull
man shops, and whether the wages of
the workmen shall be increased while
the company is losing money on almost
every contract it has ON its books.
They say that the company assumes
the right to determine both of these
questions without reference to outside
opinion or influence.
There are a number of prominent
railroad men down here to spend Sun
day. Among them the opinion seems
to prevail that the Pullman trouble
was premeditated excuse for test
of strength between organized labor
and capital and if it had not occurred
some other local grievance would have
been utilized for the same purpose.
The recent coal strike failed for want
of cohesion among the labor leaders,
due to lack of confidence in Mcbride,
and it was resolved to adopt the next
opportunity to force the managers of
railways and other combinations of
capital to recognition of the rights of
organized labor and the principle of
arbitration in the settlement of differ
ences between employers and employ
ed. A prominent official of one of the
great trunk lines tells me that the lines
were all laid last summer; that the
struggle would have come during the
Worlds Fair but for the financial pan
ic, and that the labor leaders have re-