Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-11-20
The Chicago Strike.

The United States Government COM
mission report on the great strike in con-
nection with the Pullman trouble has
been made public. The report, which is
signed by Federal Labor Commissioner
Carroll D. Wright, John D. Herman of
New York and Nicholas R. Worthington
of Chicago, is addressed to President
Cleveland. Itabounds in passages which
will attract attention, particularly the
portion referring to the now famous
General Managers Association, the Or
ganization of the railroad officials.
The report says that the capital invest
ed in the union of the roads directly rep
resented in the General Managers Asso-
citation was $2,19O,552,617. The number
of employees was %, 2,7SO. The commits
sion explains that the Association was
incorporated in 1886 and was supposed
to act in the interest of railroads termi-
mating in Chicago and until June, 1894,
the Associations possibilities as strike
fighter and wage arbitrator lay rather
dormant Its roads then fixed up Chi
cago scale for switchmen, governing all
the lines at Chicago. The Association
claimed that the wages paid the men
were ample. This led to long contro-
versy between the men and the Mana
gers Association. The Association was
used as equalizer. During 1893 it be-
came the policy of the General Managers
Association to assist each road in times
of difficulty with Mr.. Pullman over the
matter of wages. According to the COM
mission, it is admitted that these acts of
the Association had great weight with
outside lines and thus helped to estab-
lish uniform scale of wages throughout
the country. The Association is cited
as an illustration of the persistent and
shrewdly devised plan of corporations to
overreach their limitations and to usurp,
indirectly, powers and rights not con-
templated in their charters. An extern
sion of this Association and the proposed
legal sanction of pooling with such an
aggregation of power and capital would
be dangerous to the people. The ques-
ton would arise: Who shall control and
the end will be government ownership.
Unless ready for chat, the government
must restrain corporations within the
law and prevent them from forming un-
lawful and dangerous combinations. At
least so long as railroads are thus per-
mitted to combine to fix wages, it would
be rank injustice to deny the right of all
labor to unite.
1.-The report then enters into the sub
ject of the Pullman Palace Car company,
and the town of Pullman. The Paternal-
ism of the company as it operates
through the place is commented upon
rather unfavorably. When ths depres-
sion of 1893 came, according to the COM
mission, it was thought to have been
mutual concessions. Economically con-
sidered that Pullman agreement could
not afford to shut down the plant be-
cause of loss due to rust and the possible
invasion of the Reld by competitors.
Those in authority preferred
the reduction of wages, insisting
at the same time upon = main
tenance of rents. Consequently some
men received for work done in two weeks
only cents after their rents were paid.
The reductions in 1893 were made by the
managers and the men knew nothing of
the changes until a fat had been issued
by those in authority. Reduction was