The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-12

WaSe-WOrker advanced IN education.
Merit, and not favoritism, should be
the order. The great aim Of organiza-
ton was to place the men in a posi-
ton to receive the blessings. Much good
could be accomplished by organization,
but the greatest foes to labor Organi-
cations were jealousy and self1shness.
Men must be organized to protect and
defend themselves, and it was essential
to get together and educate themselves.
The golden rule should apply as well to
capital as to labor. The men who held
the interstate commerce of the land
in their hands were entitled to some
recognition.
P. M. Arthur, grand chief Of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers,
was the last speaker. He commenced
his address by saying he knew Of no
better place for railroad men to gather
than in the house of God. Facts, he
said, were stubborn things and figures
did not lie. Remembering what oc-
Cured in this section three years ago
when he was asked to be present and
address the meeting, he had accepted
and announced that he would speak on
the Mission of the Brotherhood Of Lo-
connective Engineers"
Thirty-four years ago there was a
large field for missionary work among
railroad men and the field was still
open, although not quite so large. His
mission was to promote the interests
and welfare Of the order which he rep
resented. The order had been started
to make provision for the widows and
orphans and protect their labor. In
the past few years men had joined the
order with q wrong idea Inc only
object was the uplifting or the men
following this dangerous and responsl-
bic occupation. He had nothing put
words of enlargement for men banQ-
ing together to elevate their MANHOOD.
The order he represented had been Sc
Verely criticised, but he challenged any
man to put his finger on one act Wh1ch
had injured the laboring man the Wofld
over. Many men did not agree with
the policy of the order, but as to TINS
he asked the same consideration in
their opinion as they gave to others.
The organizations were just What the
individual members made them. The
motto Of the order was truth, sobrlety,
justice and morality. While not all
the members had practiced this, the
order should not be condemned for in
dividuals any more than all the
churches should be condemned on &C
count of a backslider.
AS an order, the Wrong-dOer never had
been, nor never would be countenanced.
In one year 172 members had been eX-
PEELED for intoXication. This spoke for
itself. Had the order in early days
~
railroads it was entitled to, it would
have helped the service. At that time
it was believed that it's only object was
to dictate to the railway companies
how to run the roads and what man
to employ and not to employ. There
was not one word the speaker said, in
the constitution or bylaws, which
touched this matter. The speaker said
he had no sympathy for a man who had
no aspirations or ambition. He cared
not what q mans employment was.
If he was a hOdcarrier, he was the peer
of any other man, if he was honest.
He had no patience with men who
went about berating capital and CAPT.
talists. All talk by walking delegates
about capital and labor was humbug
and a delusion. Every man was the
architect of his own fortune. If he
chose to plod along in the rut and was
cOntented, this was no reason all should
follow him. He had always advised
economy, and if the railroad men of
this country had taken his advice,
thousands of them would be better
and happier than they are today. They
had CALLED him an ariStocrat, and said
he was trying to establish an aristOc-
racy of labor. There were two classes
of aristOcracy, manhood and money.
Men to be men should shun liquor and
gambling. Thousands Of men have
been made wealthy and lived on the
earnings of railroad men. The order
had been responsible for marked
| change in the lives of It's members
all over the country, and this was one
Izof the claims advanced by it. The mat
ter of wages was an afterthought. The
/ speaker detailed the first interview the
committee from the order had with Mr..
Vanderbilt when better pay was de-
manded. After an explanation the de-
mand was granted. The claim was
made on merit and services rendered.
He had met other railroad managers
who were so narrow and selfish that
they claimed labor was commodity
and should be bought like produce in
the cheapest market possible. There
/ would never have been a strike of the
order, the speaker said, had the rail
road manag gers met and treated the
! order with fairness. The order had
been instrumental in raising the wages
of the members so per cent higher than
| they were before the organization, and
/ had paid Sc, 600 600 to the needy There
was nothing in the talk about railway
| labor organizations having outlived
their usefulness. 1t was this kind of
talk made by croakers and grumblers.
He advised the men to tell the truth,
and if a mistake had been made, admit
it. If a member of the order had a
just grievance, the brotherhood would
protect him, and the $4,000 members
would see that it was their business to
| have it settled and settled right.
The speaker was at the close of his
remarks presented with a bouquet of
flowers by Miss Margaret Maloney the
daughter of a local member of the or
der The benedictiOn by Rev. L. c..
Powers closed the meeting.