The morning times., 1895-07-15
TYRANNY TOWARD LABOR
Cable Line Gripmsn Go Nine
Hours Between Meals.
SUPT. SAILER'S STRUCTURES
He Threatens TO Demolish a Times
Reporter w whoAskedU Uncomfortab bic
Questions nsConcerningthe he Treatment
of the Men Under Him-W hat He
Would Do If He CouId-Complaints

''Our men only work nine orten hours each
day and think that any man can go that
long without eating" said superintendent
G. c. sailer, of the Washington & George
town Railroad Company, to a Times
reporter yesterday.
These words were in answer to ques
ton as to whether the men were given time
for dinner, based npon complaint to The
Times. AT the first iDtimation of the
nature of the reporters errand, MIR Sailer
boiled over, and between periods of pro-
family managed to find sufficient voice to
ask:
why in the devil don't people mind
their own busness?"
Up and down the room of his house,
No 1923 N street northwest, Mr. Saier
pranced, brandishing his arms, while his
tightly cDnched fingers boded ill to the
object of his wrath This is the way the
employees had predicted that the digni-
fled superintendent would behave, and they
say that he is just as impetuous and
childish in his dealings with those under
him
Upon being told that the poor fellows
under him were perhaps being imposed upon
Mr.. Sailer said that this was an affair be-
tween himself and the men, and if the men
did not like it, they could leave aud their
places would be promptly filled.
WHAT HE WOULD DO.
The AnacOstia strike was the next sub
ject broached, and hardly had it been men
toned before the excited man arose and
began:
Whose fault is it that the Anacostia cars
are not now running? 1t is because the
men won't let them. I tell you right now
that they would let me ~
The superintendent proceeded TO deliver
a wild harangue upon the goodness Of the
company and the base ingratitude of the
employees who only 80 uine hours without
a meal In the course of this he several
times made threatening gestures toward the
reporter, and once stated that If he were
to say get out" the party to whom he
spoke would go IN a manner more fOrcible
than elegant
This pcroration was delivered while Mr.
Sailer stood with b is finger held waruingly
in The Times man : face.
young man" he cried, "if you write
me up / viii give you trouble / VIII take
il to law and If satisfaction is not OBJ
tanned by this means will take the matter
10 my own hands Now that is pretty
strong language, but l mean every word
of it,"
With the promise of a good thrashlng
poured into his ears the reporter was coOlly
shown the door
The conductors and gripmen are loud
in their complaints about the way they
are being treated and all who were inter
viewed yesterday confirmed the report
that they We're not allowed time in which
10 get their dinners. They are not per
mitted to give up their places and the con-
duCtor must not take hold OF the grip.
Formerly the conductor could run the car
while the drivers ate, but this las been
stopped because OF the inability OF some
of the -gatherers to manage the grips.
No time allowance, however, has been
given the gripmen for meals Now the
gnpmcn must either bite at a sandwich
while on the run or else 90 without food
for nine or ten long hours.
BREAD IN his MOUTH
1t is not unusual TO see n gripman with
piece OF bread held between his teeth
while be is stopping the car for pas
senEeTs. This is very trying on men
whose work combines both manual and
mental labor in addition to worry, anxiety,
and responsibility. Yet they dare not
complain.
Discharge means that they VIII be un-
able TO get a position on any of the
other railway companies OF the District.
If a man is row dismissed for any real or
fanced cause from one OF the roads, il
means that his career at railroading in Wash
ington is ended and that ne had better
look around for other employment or leave
the city.
Up to a short while ago the gripmcn on the
Georgetown branch managed to get time
to eat their dinners by relieving one another
at Rock Creek Here the men who were
off duty or were just about 10 go on would
board the car and handle the grip up to
the end of the route, thus affording their
fellow-gripmen an opportunity to eat.
The men have been allowed so long to
ride free of charge from Rock Creek up
to the Georgetown terminus that the custom
has grown to be regarded as a right and
only those men living on the other side OF
the waterway were given the checks usually
allowed the gripmen and conductors il
order to come and go from work.
DUNLAP ORDERED IT.
President Dunlap a short time ago saw
Gripman Sanders jump on train 224 at
An order was forthwith issued suspend
| ing Sanders for two weeks and Conductor
! Clark, on whose car this had occurred,
| was put off for one week. 1t is said that
Mr.. Dunlap now tells the men that no one
must be allowed to ride even so much as
| square for nothing except himself. The
| employees regard this as a great hardship
| because it deprives them Of the only op-
portunity that they have of eating during
| the entire time they work.
The indignities are not experienced by
| their employees alone, and the officials
| refuse any explanation of their actions TO
both their employees and citizens. Re-
1 =, 4, q L ri, -t,t