The morning times., 1896-07-05

| A new phase has been put on the trouble
between the Metropolitan Railway and ills
discharged employees by the action or the
company, taken at a special meeting OF
the board OF directors, held yesterday
afternoon. II is worth noting in passing
that when The Times made inquiry al
the office of the company in Georgetown
yesterday morning il there was anything
new iii the situation the reply was that
there was not, although 1t must have beer
| known that special meeting OF the di
I rectors was TO be held some time during
The day.
The statement given out by the directors
is official. and is conveyed to the public
| over the signature of Mr.. william j.
! Wilson, secretary OF the board CT d.
| rectors.
Summarized, the statement is that the
men were not discharged by reason Oh
| their being members OF the Knights oi
| Labor. but because Il majority OF the men
have for the past eighteen months been
| constantly agtating and exciting discon-
| tent against the company, and particu-
larry since the adjournment of Congress.
| meetingof the Street Rail wal Assembly
| viii I've held tonight ~ 8, in The Times Build
| ing. at which an Official reply will be
| SURPRISE TO THE MEN.
The meeting OF the directors and their
action We're a surprise to the men, inas-
| much as the last communication to them
was to the effect that they could make
| any statement they chose in writing to the
| beard II now apiiears to them that the
| hoard forestal!ed any defense, either in
| writing or otherwise, by holding meet
| ing of which no notice We given, and at
| which the men Were condemned without
hearing, and on charges the authors OF
! which are not given and are exclusively
| based on "infonna ton and belief
Master Workman La wrenceand MIR. Frank
Dent, the chairman OF the executive board
! of the Street Railway Assembly, We're not,
however, willing 10 let the statement OF
| the board go uncostradicted for "A moment
| longer than was possible. They gave out
| a statement which says substantially:
"On the night Eefore the men were dis
| missed the directors held a meeting and
decided to get rid Of the men who have hcea
discharged. and ten days have therefore
elapsed EefoTe the beard makes any state
| mt. this teirg the first accusation from
them that has appeared against us in
de finite form.
While this is rot an official answer,
we think it should he given out at once so
that our regulations may rot suffer from
lEe atU3CkS !Naue on tHCIn Ill the SlhttIiieht
without the slightest ground for justifiIa-
ton.
1T has always teen the boast Of the
present management Of the Metropolitan
Railroad Company that they uever convict
a man of a charge before they give him
chance TO defend himself. Thirteen men.
including ourselves. have teen tried and
convicted without any hearing whatever.
although they have solicited an opportu-
nifty to disprove any charges made against
them.
I'VE pronounce the charges formulated
in the statement OF the board OF directors
as false in every particular. and shall hold
the company responsible sEouhl the publi-
alton of such matter result 10 our d:sad-
vantage rs workingmen and as honest
citizens.
We note that it took tie company ten
days to wake up to the fact that it had
a duty to the public by publishing a state
nent. although such statement OF any
other was denied on request OF the incn
most interested.
We think that the public will now
clearly understand from the statement of
the directors that the men were discharged
on the sole ground that they were Knights
cf Labor. Only recently Nj Coleman of
the company stated that within six months
no member of the knights of Labor would
be working for the Company. and within
the last nine OF ten months union men have
been discriniiuated against in every pos
sihle way. The company argues that they
have men in their employment who are
Knights of Labor and who have not hecn
dismissed. Itis nevertheless the fact that
they dismissed twelve OF thirteen men who
were at the head OF affairs in the Strc.%
Rail way Assembly. belong ing to th'
Knigh hts OF Labor, aud it is evident that this
TO to break up the assembly. The company
knows that it is likely that the other men
may not have the courage to maintain the
assembly.
..if the directors do not know who are
members Of the X. OF L. and who net,
President Phillips and General Manager
Coleman do know them. and il is known
reasonably that the dismissal was by
reason of the representations OF Mcssrs.
Phillips and Coleman.
... DENY THE CHARGE.
.'The statement OF the directors that we
have agitated and excited discomfort Is
without warrant in fact. About u month
ago the assembly wrote a letter to the
hoard of directors, asking Tor an audience,
in order that harmony might be promoted,
because we had reason to believe that
our organization and its acts had been
misrcpresented to these directors. This
letter was from the whote body OF street
railway men in the assembly. and proves
that up to month ago we
We're doing everything possible to bring
the men and the officials into harmonious
relations. for the benefit of both men and
officials.
.'Some of the men who have been de
nounced as agitators have worked for
the company from four to sixteen years
harmoniOusly before Mr.. Phillips assumed
the mann cement of the road, matters hav-
ing progressed smoothly under Mr.. Pear
son and Mr.. Stevenson, former managers.
we sIbn,it tnat when Our assembly was
first organized. or delegates to the Fedora
;ion If Labor ask ed that the latoring people
~, ronize the Metropolitan road and after
hat 1t is a fact that Mr.. Phillips told
Mr. Dent, who is now discharged, that
the receipts of the roa q had been increased
$50 on the Ninth street line and tEankCd
III. Dent for .lsis Interest in the read.
LAS late as last August President Phillips
told Gessrs. Dent. Rose, and Casey, who
waited on him, that the street railway
.nion was benefit to him. The hoard
states that things have become better
en- the read since the dismissal of these
men,. On the contrary. the very large |
N jority OF the men retained are in close !
sympathy with the discharged. As to |
CIR terrorizing' the other employees. that |
statement is too absurd to re oontradicted. |
Although hr. Phillips has stated that !
he did not know the members of the |
street railway assembly. re has managed |
=" sele't III" officers and other leaders |
lite oil