The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-11-15
PULLMAN STRIKE REPOR
GENERAL MANAGERS, AsSO.
CITATION CONDEMNED,
Pullman Company Held Up to the
Light and Employees Made to Bear
Their Share of the Burden-An
/ Able Document.

signed by the federal labor commissioner.
Carroll d. Wright, and his fellow investi
gators, John ID. Herman of New York,
and Nicholas B. Worthington of Illinois,
is addressed to President Cleveland and
abounds in passages which will attract
wide attention, particularly the motion
referring to the now famous general man.
6agers organization that encompassed the
memorable defeat of the American Rail
4 way union.
\ The report says the capitalization of the
"A railroads directly represented in the
General Managers association was
! los. .552,617 The number of employees
las 221 ,097. The commission continues:
Wins voluntarily unincorporated asso-
ciation was formed in 1885, In it's con-
stitution the object of the association is
stated to be ''the consideration of prob
ms of management arising from the
y. .,eration of railroads terminating and
tcentering in Chicago. 1t further pro-
vides that all funds needed shall be raised
by assessment, divided equally among the
members. There are no limitations as to
b consideration of problems or funds, eX
4cept the will of the managers and the re-
sceivers of the railroad corporations.
81 Until June, 1894, the associations pos
N sibilities as Il strike fighter and wage ar
"A bitter lay rather dormant. Its roads fixed
( II Chicago scale for switchmen, covering
all lines at Chicago. The association
concluded that they were paid enough If
anything, too much. The roads so in
formed the men. The Switchmens $
& Mutual Aid association of America wait
+ ed on Mr.. John las chairman, acquiescing.
y He, as chairman of the General Man
ayers association concluded his reply as
& follows:
q 'The association approves the course
a taken by your body and desires to deal
q fairly with all employees and believes that
( our switchmen are receiving due con-
siderGtion.'
This seems to show that employees
y upon association roads are treated as
under subsection to the General Managers
association. This was the first time
n when men upon each line were brought
sharply face to face wit h the fact that
questions as to wages, rules, etc, was
supported by "A combined roads. This
association likewise prepared for its
4 use elaborate schedules of the
Il wages paid upon the entire lines
of its "a members. The proposed object
\ of these schedules was not to let
each road know what other roads paid,
Z Finding that the men upon some lines
.\Prged increase to correspond with the
j, tSges paid elsewhere, a committee of
The association prepared and presented a
SLllniform schedule for all membership
lf0ads. 1t was deemed wise not to act
, SuAon the report 1t was distributed to
memebers in November, 1893. This dis
tribution alone enabled the report to be
used with efficiency as an equalizer. AS
a result during 1893, it being then well
understood that, as to wages, etc., IT
&c flNn ~ ITnr
4 to secure men enough through its agen-
z cies to take the place of all strikers, re-
4 ductions were made here and there on
the different roads, the tendency and eff
feet apparently being to equalize the pay
on the different roads. 1t is admitted
that the action of the association has
great weight with outside lines and this
\ tends to establish one uniform scale
" throughout the country. The further
single step of admitting lines not running
to Chicago would certainly have the eff
feet of combining all railroads on wage
contentious against all employees there
on.
'"The commission question whether any
legal authority, statutory or otherwise
can be found to justify some of the feat
ureS of the association which have
come to light in this investigation. If
we regard its practical workings rath-
or than professions as express
ed in its constitution, the General Mama
gers association has no more StandlnS
in law than the old trunk line pool 1t
cannot incorporate because railroad char
ters do not authorize the roads to form cor
porations or associations; to fix rates for
services ana wages, and next to force thelr
acceptance. nor to battle with strikers. Its
usurpation of power is not legal. Ii such
an association is necessary from DuSl-
ness or an economic standpoint the rlght
70 maintain it must come from its charter
In theory corporations are limited TO the
powers granted either directly or by clear
inference We do not think the power mas
.been granted in either way i'll tins case
III "'Fhe association is an Illustration OF the
snersistnnt and shrewdly devised plan of
1a6rborations to overreach their limitations
and to usurp indirectly powers and rights
not contemplated IL their charters, ana
not obtainable from the people or their
legislatures
"An extension of this association as
above suggested and the proposed legaliza-
tion of ''pooling" would result in an aggre-
cation of mower and capital dangerous to
the people and their liberties, as well as
TO employees and their rights. The ques,,
tion then would arise as to when shali
control, the government or the railroads.
and the end would inevitably be govern
that ownership, together with all that
il implies the government mus,
restrain corporations within the law and
permit them from forming unlawful ana
dangerous corporations. So long as the
railroads are thus permitted to comDine
to fix wages for their joint protection IL
would be rank injustice to deny the rlGhl
of all labor upon railroads 10 ullite toI
similar purposes. 1t should pe Ia notru
that until the railroads set the example
- general union of railroad employees
was never attempted. The unions nau
NOT gone beyond enlisting the men upon
eonly fraternal systems i'll separate 'ruuG 'G
determinations. These neutralHe Hll'i
rheck each other to some extent anu and
have no such scope or capacity 1or sooIi
mr. evil MS is possible under the uniyers9i
combination inaugurated by the railroads.
and followed by the railway ulonS;
The refusal of the General ManagetSL
association to recognize and deal WIN
Such n combination of labor as the AhleI
icsn Railway unien seems arrogant anu
,hsurd when we consider its standing pc
"fre tbe law, its assumptions ana ius
ma mast and obviously contemplated iu-
ture action: c.p co>tpANY
Taking up the subject of the Pullman
eaTbis is a corporation orga1aiIz9eda aod ~
tss7 the capitA of which was 81 i,VVV,