The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-03-20
Especial to The Herald

Seattle, Wash, March 19.-The stimuli
taneouS appearance in this city OF
E. V. Debs, president of the American
Railway union, and John NJ Egan,
president of the General MANAGERS as
ISOLATION, which conducted the great
railroad strike, has resulted in their
becoming involved in a wordy war.
While Debs spoke quite kindly Of Egan
in an interview on Monday, Egan said
of Debs:
Its unnecessary for me to discuss
Mr.. Debs in the newspapers. He has
already been discussed and the people
know him pretty we'll 1 pity the poor
devils who go and spend 80 cents to
hear him. The only advice they will
get is to organize and strike again.
and the last great tie-up. for which
Mr.. DebS was responsible, plainly
shows what a success he made of it,
The American Railway union will
never flourish again, and the only men
who nowadays talk of having another
strike are these who figured in the last
one, lost their positions, and are now
anxious that another shall occur in
order that they will be able to secure
the positions of those who would be
foolish enough to go out. There are
hundreds of such men in the country
today; men,. some of whom have been
in the railroad business from ten to
twenty years, and who were competent
in every way.
Was Debs' work.
'@They had worked along and received
very good wages until Mr. Debs organ
lied his union, told them that they
were slaves, and that if they would
only strike the companies would be
compelled to raise wages. They took
his advice and the result they we'll
know. They will never be able to get
back their old positions and they must
suffer. Many of them will go hungry,
but not so Mr. Debs. L think, if you
make a little inquiry, you will find
that Mr.. DebS never went to bed hun
cry. He has drawn a nice big salary,
and is now travelling about the country
at the expense of the working men.
The A. r. U. may get up /5Od men,
bership once again, but you will find
that many of the new members are
those who figured in the last strike
and who now want to encourage others
to go out in order TO make some new
berths in which they may hope to
drop.
MIR. Debs, / suppose, appeared on the
platform tonight dressed as well and
probably a great deal better than
many of the members of the General
Managers association. and he lives just
as well as any of them. 1 don't care
to discuss the matter, except to say
that Mr.. Debs never won strike and
1 don't believe he ever will"
Debs' Ire Aroused.
After reading this interview. Dcbs
addressed a mass meeting this morning
at which he said:
sfOTr~ Roam iS a6IShnnnSf L =
ruffian. He could not hold a posi-
ton as fiagman on any road running
out of Chicago, and he knows that
know why. He has been connected
with many railroads, and he has rob
bed every road and every corporation
that he has ever had anything to do
with. He is a corrupt, low. dishonest
man, and cannot conceive of any man
having sufficient manhood to push
aside brides and remain true to his
convictions. He does not like me be-
cause he could not corrupt me, and
has no use for any man he cannot
corrupt could have been in financial
clover today if 1 had cared to kecome
a traitor to the interests of the abor-
ing men and the American Railway
union; l could have a life pass over all
the railroads in this country.
II have sufficient manhood to say
what l think of a man to his face,
and that is more than Mr.. Ian can
say. He would not tell me to my face
what he had to say in that interview
which was published in the paper this
morning. He will never meet me in
private or in public and discuss who
are the conspirators, for he knows who
they are and what would be the re-
suit.
Egan Is a Coward.
''That man is a coward, and I only
wish I was where l could tell him so,
and 1 venture to say he would not deny
it. Why, four hundred yoke of oxen
could not pull him on the same plat
form with me. / have friends enough
to raise 81 600 cash for any charitable
organization in the land, and L want
here to make a public challenge.
will agree to give 81, 900 to any charit-
able organization in the land if he
will meet me on the public platform
and discuss the history and causes OF
the late strike, both to speak from
the record. The record will tell, and no
one knows it better than Mr.. Egan-
1t was at the instnace of the General
Managers association that the trial
came to such sudden termination in
Chicago a few days ago. They don't
want it tried; they don't want the
truth to be known and the trial was
continued until May 1, and when that
date comes around they will want il
continued again, and so on, until the
whole mater is dropped. But we. the ac-
cused. are endeavoring to compel the
accusers to try us, and if guilty we
want to be punished and II lnnocsnI
we want the world to know it.