Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-11-14

sumo SSu4 ~ isslohSA91 eA@A SoooN W
those gentlemen.
IL says 10 part:
2The personal opinions as conveyed in
the report Of the Federal Strike Com
mission are invested with uuwonted in
teress TO the public at large from the
fact Of the Official dignity with which
they have been clothed All good ct-
1eus must Of necessity be Interested In
the commissions official conclusion, and
IL appears to be the part Of good citizen
ship 10 call attention TO, and, il possible,
correct any oversights or misstatements
OF facts in;o which the commissioners
have fl. en-.
The report saws:
"It should be noted that until the
railroads set the example, a general
union OF railway employees was never
ATTEMPTED. The union had not then
gone beyond eulist.ng the men upon
different systems in separate trade or,
RanizltiOns."
Thls statement is wholly false The
report itself says in another place:
The order " the X. OF L., with an
estimated membership of from 10000
90 Us, 600, has always advocated the
soIdltary OF labor"
The history OF railway labor organi-
cations OF the last twenty years is
largely made upof what the report says
was never attempted. Again aud again
have efforts deen made 10 consolidate,
federate or absorb various
EXISTING ORDERS INTO ONE.
Again and again in strikes have the
d fferent classes ef labor on the same
road and the same classes OF labor on
the different rQsQs stood together.
Again aBT Again has the allied lO6or
of several \compauies been called
on TO enfbrce the demand of
one class Of labor against one company.
Tle igEOraRc9 OF tLi, fact, aud OF the
further fact That it was the repeated
experience OF 10 which st length drove
the railways Reluctantly 90 unite also
10 Self-defence, is % anyone az all
familiar with the history of labor, al
most iucOmpreE Eeusible. The misstate-
ment Is made tRe more gross by the inn
pOrtance whlChthe commission seems
to attach 20 It's assertion.
The report, speaking OF the Pullman
haSe of the trouWe, says:
= .''Hue cut In wages during this period
averaged about % per cent
This is not true. The amount OF the
reduction was placed 10 evidence before
the commission iu hreat detail aud
with eXactitude.
The average reductiJn in wages Tor
journey and mechanics was % $40 per
cent. aud the average reduction for
ull other shops employees was II II per
cent. The average reduction for all
shop employees was 10 pen cent.
On page 36 the report says:
"ThIcughOut the strike che strife was
simply over handling Pullman cars, the
men being ready 10 do tLeirdu-y other
wise.
TUISIS NOT ONLY UE fRUE,
but is A radical and gross m{srepresen-
tation OF the entire circumstances Of
the strike. Itis only necessary 20 point
OUT that the strike extended, among
other roads, 20 tbs Michigan Central
Lake shore and Michigan Sou Nern and
Wabash companies, Ou which tnO Pull
man cars we're i0 operation. The
statement quoted shows an am8z ng and
almost iuc1mprehensible Dlsuuder
standing Of the essential eIeuenJs of
tue strike.
Further on the report says in refer
epce 70 the Pullman tenants:
"As the bank is rent collector, it
presses for the rent and IS aided 10 col
lecting il by a KNOWLEDGE 0u thu part of
the tenanJsthat by arrears be lusy lose
his jOO. "
on what was this "kuowledge"
based? During an the years there has
never been case where any 3mpi0ye
"IosJ his job" for nou-paymeut q rental;
add the employees bad know ledge OF
that. How IS the statement quoted re-
conciIiable with the very neXt state
meut:
AT the time OF the strike SO, OOO Of
unpaid rent had accumulated and the
debtors stiu were in possession OF their
ioDs. The commission Omits also 20
state the fact clearly placed ia evidence
that al the time of the strike less than
one-third OF the shop employees we're
tenants OF the company, and the QueS-
tion of rentals could therefore have
nothing to DO with the terms Of employ
ment of
TwO-TWBDS OF THEM.
Further ou, the report SAYS:
'.lt is In evidence and uncoujradicted
that no violence or destruction OF prop
srty by strikers or Sympathfz-rs took
place az Pullman, and that until July 3
no extraordinary protection was had
from the police or military against even
anticipated disorder
IL was not until July 4 that the ser.
vice OF the military was called for even
10 Chicago itself And the commission
Omits TO mention the "eXuaordinary1
protectiOb of the POI guards Of the Pull
man company VINO were iu service
before the end OF June, auu who
(the danger OF anticipated disorder
being so great, were increased
% 25Oin the first week of July Moreover
there lCGS violSnGe AZ Pullnan-pbysi-
cal assaults updn persons Woo attempt
ed 70 return 10 work. When the mill
tary we're put inN the field they we're
used at Pullman Nongar than anywhere
else. Nowhere VI The police have
more difficulty tb\ ~ ASting from
Vi0leuAe those y b resumed
work N Pullm of thes
faets we're a 2afQu