The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-10-28
NO STRIKE.
RumOred Trouble on the Santa
Fe on Account
Of Recent Discharges of Con
ductOrs, Denied.
NO TALK OF STRIKE.
Among Members of the o. r. G.
on the Santa Fe.
Discharged Men it is Said ViO-
lated Their Contracts.

''The men were discharged on their
own admission, and there will be alb
solutely no trouble over the matter"
This is what Mr.. Avery Turner, as
sistant general superintendent of the
Santa Fe, said today when asked If
there was a possibility of a strike being
declared by the Order of Railway Con-
ductors because of the discharge of the
ten Santa Fe passenger conductors
within the past week.
Because of the large number of con-
ductors discharged practically at the
same time and for the same offense,
the matter has aroused much attention
among members of the o. R. c. on the
Santa F'e lines and on other lines as
well, but the first talk of a strike be-
ing declared as a result OF the dis
charges was sprung by ex-Labor Com
missioner w. C. Bird in Kansas City
yesterday. In this connection Mr..
Bird is quoted as saying:
The railroad men with whom have
talked are very much wrought up over
the Santa Fe matter and are VigOr-
Ously pushing the matter. They assert
the Santa Fe will not be able to vindi-
cate its position"
Mr. Bird would do much better
working at a dollar a day in a cheap
boarding house said Mr.. Tanner to-
day, than talking about a strike on the
Santa F'e. Railroad men are not fools,
ty of a strike.
THE men were called in and admitted
that they had committed the OffenSes
as charged, and were DISCHARGED be-
cause they had violated their contract
with the company. 1 hardly think the
matter will even go so far as to be ta-
ken up by the grievance committee. OF
course the committee may consider the
matter and plead for clemency for some
of the men, but farther than that moth
ing will be done. 1t will do no good for
f11ea love 70 IL
thing in this matter. because the men
will not be reinStated."
The general grievance committee of
the Order of Railway Conductors on the
Santa Fe road proper will meet in this
city next week, but the call of the meet
ing was issued before the trouble be-
tween the Santa Fe company and the
passenger conductors came up. The
original purpose of the meeting was the
election of a chairman to fill the vacan-
cy caused by the death three weeks ago
of Conductor George w. Thornburg of
Denver.
While it is probable that some refer
ence viii be made to the cases of the
discharged conductors at the meeting,
or possibly some of the discharged men
Will attempt to have something done,
it is the general impression among the
Santa Fe conductors on this division
that nothing will be done by the COM
mittee- All agree that if the men ad-
mitted the Offenses with which they
were charged, nothing would possibly
be attempted by the committee.
While the officials of the company say
that they do nos desire to make any
statement that would injure the reputa-
t1OnS of the discharged men, they say
simply that the men were retaining
cash fares, and for such actions were
discharged.
This talk of a strike being declared
by the o. r. c. is all nonsense said
Conductor Finnecane of California linn
tied train No. at the Santa Fe depot
this morning. I don't think the mat
q q HA T-ia
ance committee, for the committee
would have no ground for doing any
thing if the men violated their contract
with the company. While all the train
men are talking about the matter, I
have not heard the possibility of
strike suggested"
IF the grievance committee found
that the company had taken undue
advantage of any of the men," said
Conductor Woodward of Argentine at
the Santa Fe hospital today, ''the griev-
ance committee would undoubtedly take
the matter up, but even in that event
the matter would be adjusted without
further trouble. The company has new
er vet refused to deal justly with the
conductors, and the best of feelings ex-
lists between the company and the men.
The O. R. G. is an order which does
not believe in strikes, and it would have
to be a very serious matter that would
force such a result. I don't think
there is the slightest possibility of a
strike resulting from the discharge of
the ten conductors"
Conductor w. w. Proctor of this city
and Conductor Granger of Arkansas
City also stated that they had heard no
talk of a strike being declared by the
o. r. C., and ridicu1ed the idea of such
a possibility.
In an interview Mr.. Bird went so far
as to state that the matter had been
taken up by the federated railway en-
plOyeS organization Thls IS denied by
representatives of the railway orders
in this citV.