Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-07-14
WHY HE WOULD NOT
Reasons Given by Pullman
For Not Arbitrating.
SAYS IT WAS NOT BUSINESS
Shops Operated at a Loss
to the Company.
The President OF the Sleeping Car
Monopoly Tells the Pubic why
His Employees struciS--charges
the a. r.. U. Win 1t.


New York. July 1s-"Ther , ardly
anything new to be 50 g. %, 'he
Pullman company" sa WW
Pullman this evening. "bt. w n.
many indications OF tile fach ~
my expressions and those aut, ~ y
by mo have been distorted and
misleading to the public and of a.
entire forgetting 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 debat-
able matter and refused TO listen to
reason. The leaders OF disorder have
not hesitated 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
bltration by some prominent newspa-
pers, but so far as l know they are
very few Of any business men in the
country What is the demand conceal
ed under the innocently sounding word
arbitration?
"a little more than year ago the
shops at Pullman We're in a prosper
out condition; work was plenty, wages
We're high and the condition of abe
employees was indicated by the fact
that the local savings banks had saw
ings deposited OF nearly 100000. of
~ .
the employees. Our pay rolls for that
year show an average earning OF over
5000 per annun for every person, man,
woman or youth on the rolls. Then
came the great panic and depression
Of last summer. Many customers
stopped negotiations and cancelled or
ders and our working force had 70 be
diminished from nearly G0O0 to 1000
in November, 1898. The great business
depression existing throughout the
country had naturally resulted in
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 n reduction
in the wnges of the employees at Pull
man. This was arranged satisfactor-
lily. as / supposed, and In close COM
petitions, disregarding all account of
capital and machinery, 1 secured
enough work to gradually increase our
force to 1900. the number on the pay
roll last April. Nine weeks ago the car
shops at Pullman were working with
car building contracts ON hand enough
TO keep them going for about sixty
DAYS and when all business forecasts
leading to the belief that no consider
able new orders could be had, the most
important of the work in hand had
been taken by me in competitions at
which were less than the actual cost
TO the company OF delivering without
any recompense of the use OF the cap
ital and plant. This work was taken
TO keep the large force of men employ
ed and to postpone and with the nope
of avoiding the numberless embarrass-
ments TO all classes of people Mt Pun
man and its vicinity or the closing
down of the works, to prevent when
Inc company considered ii wise pol
lev TO operate the shops temporarily at
an actunl loss. ,
.,Tf therefore It Is not admitted thaI
rents of any landlord are 10 DC hNsu
by arbitration and that mos oi urg
attaining towns of kensnEton anu
poseland should also be so fixed u can
hardly be asked that the Pullman
cnmnany should abandon the ordinary
rules which govern persons IN mat
relation AS to charges for water. the
company until lately had contract
with the village OF Hyde Park, under
which It paid four cents per thousand
pallons and pumped the water itself.
'rhe gross amount paid the village per
month for the water consumed by the
tenants was almost exactly the gross
sum Maid by the tenant therefor. Since
the Inclusion OF Hyde Park ana Full
man within the city Of Chicago the
company pays the city about seven
cents per thousand gallons and not
having Increased the charge 10 the
tenants are paying for the water con-
sutned by them about $500 per month
more than Is charged TO them. The
company has made repeated efforts to
disassociate itself from the supplying
Of water TO tenants. but the city OF
Chicago has as yet failed to apply
the ordinary frontage rates TO the
houses and shops in Pullman, although
II is done in the adjacent towns.
"strenuous efforts have also been
made 10 create prejudice against the
pullman company by charges that it's
etocl, is heayily watered. The Pullman
comnany was organized twenty-seven
,years ago. with capital OF one nit
i,on of which two-thirds represented
the appraised value of It's cars. then
held by three owners, ana one-third
represented the appraised Vaiue Of US
franchise and existing contracts, me
- mas grown, until its sleeping
esr Service covers i25.oo9 miles Of rall-
road or about three-fourths OF INC
etI,,.v system OF the country and |
49, Increase OF service has neces-
st,a,od Increase Of It's capital stock /
s s.or, time to time until 1t is now thirty
- milton. Every share OF this in
slA =. ,,as been offered TO stockholders 4
~ ,'s soid 10 them or to others In the I
IN course OF business, at not !
les than par in epsh, 70 that inr eveIy
share OF increase outstanding the ,r Soin
pa's ,,sr 4 900 stockholders Of the com
-, ~ whom more than one-half