People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-07-20
STATEMENT BY PULLMAN.
The Palace Car Magnate Tells His side
of the Great Strike.


of the Great Strike.
New YORK. June lG.-"There is
hardly anything new to be said as to
the position of the Pullman company"
said George NJ. Pullman last evening,
'but | have so many indications OF
the facility with which my express
sions and those authorized By me
have been distorted and thus mislead-
ing to the public, and of an entire for
getting of my earnest efforts to
prevent the strike, that perhaps
it is well that l should
again make a public assurance
that the deplorable events of the last
few weeks have not been caused
by the Pullman company taking an
obstinate stand in a debatable matter,
and refusing to listen to reason. The
leaders of the disorder have not hest
tated to harass the public by all
means in their power, because, as
they say, the Pullman company would
not submit to arbitration, and now
that disorder seems to be quelled they
are reinforced in their clamor for ar
bitration by some prominent news
papers, but so far as know, by very
few, if any, business men in the
country.
What is the demand concealed
under the innocently sounding word,
arbitration? A little more than
year ago the shops at Pullman were
in prosperous condition; work was
plenty, wages high and the condition
of the employees was indicated by the
fact that the local savings bank had
of savings deposits nearly 500, 900, of
which nearly all was the property of
the employees. Our pay rolls for that
year show an average earning of over
5000 per annum for every man, woman
or youth on the roll. Then
came the great panic and depression
of last summer Many customers
stopped negotiations and cancelled
orders, and our working force had to
be reducee from nearly 1000 to 1000,
in November, 1893 The great bust
ness depression existing throughout
the country had naturally resulted in
a wage depression, and the only hope
of getting orders was by bidding for
work at prices as low or lower than
could be made by other shops, and
this, Of course, neceSsitated a reduc-
ton in the wages of the employees at
Pullman.
In the early part of Nav a COM
mittee of the employees demanded a
restoration of the wages of year
ago. explained to this committee
infinitely and laboriously the facts,
showing that the company was al
ready paying them more than it was
receiving for their contract work, and
| offered them, for complete assur-
ance and to end all question, an in
spection of our books and contracts
in hand. This, and the beginning at
once at Pullman of a promised care
full investigation of n number of shop
complaints, seemed to end all trouble,
but day later, under the excite.
ment of their recruiting into the A. Il.
L. organization, the wCrlImen closed
the shops by abandoning their work,
thus themselves doing what | was
strenuously trying to prevent being
done by the depression of the car
building business, and the employees
who quit their work have deprived
themselves and their comrades of
earning more than 100000 up to this
time. The demand made before quit
ting work was that the wages should
be restored to the scale of last year,
or in effect that the actual outgoing
money losses then being daily in
CURED by the company in car build
ing should be increased to an amount
equal to about one-fourth of the
wages of the employees.
1t must be clear to every business
man and to every thinking workman
that no prudent employer could sub
NIT to arbitration the question as to
whether he should commit such a
piece of business folly.
Removing the original and funda-
mental question one stage does not
help the matter; the question would
still remain: Can | as business
man. knowing the truth of the facts
which | have stated, bind myself that
l will in any contingency open and
operate the Pullman car shops at
whatever loss, if it should happen to
be the opinion of some third party
that should do so? The answer
seems to be plain.
"The public should not permit the
real question which has been before
it to be obscured. That question was
as to the possibility of the creation
and duration of a dictatorship, which
could make all the industries of the
United States and the daily comfort
of the millions dependent upon them
hostages for the granting of any fan
tastic within of such dictator. ANY
submission to him would have been a
long step in that direction, and, in
the interest of every law abiding
citizen of the United States was not