Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1894-09-06
THE LABOR COMMISSION,
Concluding TIE stimonies Submitted
Anent the Strike.

Anent the Strike.
Railroads Count the Cost-Vice President
Wickes' Testimony Gen. Miles Part
In the 1air--Mayor Hopkins
] 10 Heard.
LOSSES TO THE ROADS
CHICAGO Aug When the labor commits
| sion assembled for Tuesdays session sew
egal railroad officials who had been sum-
| moned to furnish statements OF the losses
caused to various roads by the strike were
heard. Summarized their statements show
| that the aggregate loss Of the Chicago & Alton
| r DAD was s2s6,360; the Lake Shore, damage to
cars, 1914; the Chicago & Eastern Illinois.
Sl237 06; the Burlington, 600; the st. Paul,
$3.50 O26; the Northwestern, 1852, $780, 81: Chica-
go & Erie. $144,788.T. The same statement
showed total loss OF wages to employees Of
1886 1858
Then Mr. wickes took the stand. Questioned
by Chairman Wright. he said that the cost
| to the company OF building the cars
under contract at the time of the strike
was about $1,4O0,O00 The labor would
| cost about s2400O0 The contracts were
taken on basis Of reduction Of 20
labor would cost about $4,000. On this basis
Mr.. Wright said that, according to the testi-
| mony of Mr.. Wickes, the company had contrib
uted 900 for the purpose of securing these
contracts and keeping the people employed
and the wage earners 100000.
The wages OF wOrkmen had been raised,
Mr.. Wickes said, time and again where
there had been no request from the men. The
company's officers were always :eady to pay
| every man for his skill; but, toO they were
[ entitled to just profits occurring from
| the use Of improved machinery. Witness
| {,oo
| the past twenty-six years. He thought the
present principle Of operation had worked adj
| mirably until last May. In the works of the
! Pullman company at Wilmington and at St.
| Louis there haG never been any trouble Of
any kind. He thought that If there had
| would not have gone on strike. The company
was preparing an Investigation and q state
ment of it's actual condition to set before the
men when the strike was called. That state
ment would have been identical with the one
given in evidence before the commission.
| The subject OF arbitration and the Pullman
| companys refusal to arbitrate with its for
mer employees was taken up by Commissioner
Herman. The witness thought that the ques-
tion of wages could not be submitted to arbi-
tration. An employer knew what he could
afford to pay for the work needed and
that was fixed amount It could vary only
as profits to the manufacturer change The
!
unions except in one instance. The objection
to the American Railway union was that the
company would not treat with its men through
any union. 1t would treat with them Individual
| ly only.
Gen. Nelson A. Miles took the stand when
the commission met after luncheon. In an
| Swer to questions he said his occupation
was major general OF the United States
| army. He denied fatty the story that on his
arrival here from Washington he had at once
consulted with the general managers. On
July 2, when this conference was said to
| have taken place, he was in Washington,
and he arrived here on July 4. Asked if
it was true that he had declared he had
broken the backbone of the strike the gen.
| eral said this was not quite exact What
he said was that he had broken the back
bone of the opposition to the federal troops.
The commissioners wanted to know if the
| troops forced railroad men to work at the
point OF the bayonet. Gen. Miles said that
! While this might have happened in some in
stances, he had not been aware OF it and had
| issued no orders to that effect. He said he
| knew nothing about the strike. That the
| troops were ordered here by the president to
| see that the DEGREES of the United States
| courts were enforced, and beyond carrying out
| such instructions he had nothing to do with
| the strike
More Testimony Taken.
CHICAGO, Aug. 31-Chairman Wright has
! announced that all the witnesses on both sides
who had been suggested to the commission
had been examined. and there remained no
| more evidence to be heard, except what testi-
| mOny may be added in rebuttal which either
| side may care to offer. The testimony given
! on Wednesday was brief and comparatively
| unimportant.
! The first witness was Town Agent Hoorn-
| beck, OF Pullman, who was questioned by Mr..
| Herman. He said that he had charge OF the
| houses and real estate in the model town. The
witness said that he signed the leases OF the
houses for the company, and produced a form
Of the case
The agent said that in the matter OF repairs
the company paid all the bills. The repairs on
the houses last year amounted to $4,000 The
repairs were not charged to the tenants. He
could not say why the lease provided for the
| charging of repairs to the tenants. He only
knew that the company did not charge the ten
ant with repairs.
The Rock Island road furnished about thirty
| witnesses from Blue Island to show the char
acter of the strike meeting at the village on
that road. There were tailors, painters, car
penters, storekeepers'and railroad men. but
most of them knew nothing and were dismissed.
| Their testimony showed that of about 400 men
who attended the meeting less than one-third
were railroad men.
Each testified that Vice Presid emit Howard,
of the American Railway union, had used most
violent language in the speech he made at the
Blue Island meeting, suggesting violence and
calling Mr.. Pullman and the railroad man
ayers hard and vile names. These witnesses
said that Howard caused the strike on the
Rock Island-Debs helped only incidentally to
bring it on.
H. R. Saunders was recalled after the others
had testified. He said that in his speech Mr..
Howard had said that Pullman ought to be
| hanged, and that he, Howard, would like to
help hang him. Howard had also said the men
who would take the places of those on strike
should be killed with a coupling pin.
Testimony of Mayor Hopkins.
CHICAGO, Aug. 31.-After hearing the testi-
| mony of Mayor Hopkins Thursday afternoon
Chairman Wright announced that the work of
the labor commission in Chicago was at an
end.
Mayor Hopkins being called testified that
Mr.. Wright, counsel for the Rock Island road,
claimed on July that mobs were interfering
with the operation OF trains. At that time the
main line was clear to Thirty-seventh street,
but at that place about $500 persons, mostly
women and children, had congregated. A car
had been overturned north of Thirty-seventh
street, and the wrecking crew was working
on it. He continued: f
THAT same evening learned that the First
regiment was going into camp at Springfield. I
wired the governor that they ought to be kept
mere, aS Gnoy mlRnG De- ueeOeQ WlCn1n twenty
four hours. At my suggestion he had them re-
port at their armory for duty instead OF
going to Springfield. About 1920 o'clock
that night I learned that the Diamond
special on the Illinois Central was
stalled at Kensington and had the police clear
the way for it. Friday morning, July 6, in
formation came that crowds were gathering
on the Rock Island tracks, and after consu1ta-
ton decided to call on the governor for five
regiments of state militia, which he ordered
to report to me Immediately.
II believe the police did their full duty all
through the strike. have been assured by q
number of railroad of1cials that the protection
Of the police was all they needed. General
Superintendent Sullivan Of the Illinois Cen
trail, President Thomas, of the Western In
diana, and Superintendent Ashby, OF the Union
Stock Yards g. Transit company, have all con-
graduated the city authorities on the conduct
OF the police and the management OF the dis
turbances. &
SIN all the evidence produced before the
commission, so far as could discover I have
seen no instance where a charge has been made
against the city police that thew have failed to