St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-08-22
STRIKERS need AID,
Altgeld Issues a Proclama-
ton Calling for Contri-
buttons.
5000 PEOPLE STARVING.
The Governor Shows the Des-
titution to Be Something
Appalling.
is PULLMAN HEARTLESS !?
A Cool Refusal to the Request
That Ex-Employes Be
Given Work.

sand families, or in the neigoborhood OF
six thousand people. are utterly GeStl-
tute-nearly four-fifths of them are
women aud children. The men have
endeav0red to get work, but were un-
able t0 do so. As a rule the men are
superior class of laboring people,
industrious, capable and steady, and
some of them have worked for the
Pullman company for more than ten
years. Those who have got work can
get food. but are still i'll such an impOv-
erished condition that they cannot help
their neighbors if they would. The re-
lief society is unable TO get more sup
plies. On last Saturday 1t gave to each
family two pounds OF oatmeal and two
pounds of cornmeal, and having nothing
left 1t suspended operations, leaving
the people In an absolutely helpless
condition. The county commissioners
of Cook county, as OverSeers OF the
poor, have rendered some assistance,
bnt owing to the limited appropriation
they can furnish relief but for short
time.
We cannot now stop to inquire the
of this state cannot allow women and
children by the hundred to perish of
hunger. 1, therefore, call upon all
humane and charitably disposed citi-
Zens to contribute what they can toward
giving relief to these people.
The governor has also called on the
commissioners of Cook county to do all
in their power in the matter.
AItgeld TO Pullman.
The correspondence between Gov.
Altgeld and Mir. Pullman began last
Sunday, when, i'll response to number
of appeals made to him by Pullman
strikers Tor assistance. Gov. Altgeld
sent lengthy telegram to Mr.. Pull
man calling his attention to the sjtua-
ton as SET forth in the appeal, and say
ing of the strikers:
tit is claimed they struck because
after years of toll their loaves were
so reduced that their children went
hungry. Acceding that they were
wrong and foolish, they had yet served
you long and we'll, and you must feel
some interest in them. They do hot
stand on the same footing with you. so
that much must be overlooked. The
state Of Illinois has not the least desire
to NEEDLE in the affairs of your com.
pany, but it cannot allow whole COM
munity within its borders to perish of
hunger. The local overSeerS Of the
poor have been appealed to. but
there is limit to what they can
do. l cannot help them very
much at present, so unless relief comes
from some other source, shall either
have to call all extra session of the leg
islature to make special appropriation.
or else issue an appeal 10 the humane
people of the state to give bread to your
receut employees. 1t seems to me that
you would prefer 10 relieve the situation
yourself, and especially as it has just
cost the state upwards of $50. 600 to pro-
tect your property. and as both the state
and The public business have suffered
enormous loss ana expense on account
of disturbances that grew out of the
trouble between your company and its
Workmen."
After making personal visit to Pull
man, Gov. Altgeld today addressed a
letter to MIR. Pullman, saying:
IL examined the conditions at Pull
man yesterday, visited even the kitch-
ems and bedrooms of many of the peo-
pie. learn from your manager that
last spring there were $3.50 people on
the pay roll; yesterday there were 2,220
at work, but over 600 of these are new
men, so that only about LOGO of the old
employees have been taken back, thus
leaving over LOCO of the old employees
who have not been taken back. A rev
hundred have left The remainder have
applied for work, but were told that
they were not needed. These are
Utterly Destitute
SIT seems to me your company cannot
afford to have me appeal to the charity
and humanity OF the state TO save the
lives OF your old employees. FOur-tifths
of those people are women and children.
No matter what caused this distress, it
must be met. If you will allow me,
will make this suggestion. If you had
shut down your works last fall, when
you say business was poorer. you would
not have expected to get any rent from
your tenants; now, while dollar is a
large sum to each OF these people, all
the rent now due you is COM
paratively small matter to you.
Ii you will cancel all rent to
Oct. you would be as we'll off as if you
had shut down. This would enable
those who are at work to meet their
most pressing wants. Then. if you can
not give work to all, work some half
time, so that all can at least get some
thing to eat for their families. This
will give immediate relief to the whole
situation; and then, by degrees, assist
as many to go elsewhere as desire to do
work. In this way something like a !
normal condition could be re-establiShed |
at Pullman before winter, and you |
would not be out any more than you |
would have been had you shut down a |
year ago."
=. NIr. Pullman Replied
at length. making reference to Gov. |
Altgeld's declinatlon OF the escort of |
Vice President Wickes yesterday, which
fact Pullman regretted. Mr.. Pullman
then continues:
. ''As an indication of the Importance
of the aid of local knowledge in making
determinations, may say to
you that have the best reason for be-
lieving that the husband of a wife who
is published as representing her family
to you yesterday as I'D need
OF help drew more than $1,000
of his savings from bank
on July 2 last for the purpose, as he
said. of buying lots. While it has
not been represented to the officers
of the company by any persons
that there was any such ex-
tended distress at Pullman as was rep
resented for the first time by the ex-
gram to you in your official capacity, /
do not doubt that there are many
cases of need caused by the refusal of
the employees for more than two
and one-half months to earn
wages of more than S500,0O0; and
that such cases have been Increased and
made more severe by the persistence OF
more than $50 OF our EN- DloyeS. of whom
about $50 live in Pullman, In refusing to
apply for their old places alter the
strike was practically over and after
they weAe publicly invited on July Is
to resume their work, until by the
gradual coming In of new men during
the whole month their places have
been filled, and the full force
engaged for ali work in hand. !
AS TO these who are not at work, the