The labor world., 1899-05-06

rem to debasc, dissatsfy and render the
condition Of the employees unbearable.
Time went Oh, and many men were dis
charged 0: LETT the service before they had
quite lost all self respect, until today
very few Of the we'll paid, competent men
thai six ye. "s ago were proud to, call
that humali' r;an F. S. Wardwell, gener-
al manager ;,:e left in the employ of the
company The reading public will remem-
ber how last summer the employees rose
in rebellion against this man Warren 5
obnoxious or. ers and applied to the court
for projections. which, greatly to the dis
c1mfiture Of nis tool of Lowry and Gil
Hartley. Wa: granted them by an upright
judge hat dared TO turn a powerful cor
por,ition dow:t. 7; is apparent that War
rens whole purpose has been to antagon-
ize the employees, of whom not one has a
kind word 0: spark of respect for him,
and to totally disregard the most mod
crate accommodations for the travelling
public. Instead of appreciating a COM
petent man and being desirous of retain
ing him for the welfare of the company
and The safety of the public, no sooner
had an employe reached the third and
highest grade Of wages than he hunted
for pretext to discharge him.
Eve all KIN, ~ that to make an employe
feel that his position is secure so long
as he conducts himself properly will cause
him 10 take an interest in his work, and
to become valuable to the man or COM
pany employing him.
THE climax was not reached, however,
until early in the present year. Warren
caused men to be brought to Duluth from
all parts of the country, boarding them at
West end hotels until such time as his
plans We're ripe, and at one fell sWoop
discharged a batch Of the oldest employees
in the company's service. Warren could
give no reason for the discharge of these
men, other t'11n that they were men
prominent in labor circles, and therefore
to him undes.ab Other dismlssals fol-
olwed in rapid succession, until today few
Of the older men are left. The employees
brought action against the company in
the court for reinstatement and were
defeated. Many Of the men have entered
into other employment, few have left
the city. and others are seeking employ
ment, and the matter was in allegiance
so far as the employees were concerned,
when the company discovered last Friday
morning that some of their feed wires
had been cut and to cover up what we
firmly believe 10 be one of Warren's dirty
acts to curry public sympathy, he sWore
ou, warrants f:r nine of the most prom"
inent of the compaAys employees, charg-
ing them WI; having committed lthe
crime. These men were taken from their
homes on tn. Sabbath, and not only
lodged in all without the opportunity for
securing bail, bus were further subjected,
through the ccnnivance of the chief Of
police, to the treatment accorded to the
lowest order OF criminals, viz, nc sweat
box system. During this process the men
arrested were subjected to the closest
questioning by Warren. Mendenhall and
Others Al future time we shall ques-
ton by whose authority such 1aWless
proceeding was allowed. In view of the
above facts. the balance of the men oper-
a;ing cars for the company decided TO
lay down their work this morning, feeling
that they could TO longer endure this
man Warren and his laWless brutalizing
methods. and retain for themselves the
respect due honest men. Feeling that we
1ave already encroached too long on your
indulgence fellow citizens. we will close
this appeal for your moral support in our
struggle against un-American tyranny
and oppression with a brief statement Of
our demands:
First: We demand that the Duluth
Street Railway company fully recognize
our right to organize for our mutual well
fare and protec1ion..
Second: That all of the discharged
employees. for whose discharge no just
cause can Be given. be reinstated.
"rhirl: That all grievances that may
IN ;he future arise be settled by board
Of arbitration. Yours, very respectfully,
COMMITTEE STREET RAILWAY EN-
PLOYES.'
Mendenhal1 and llart1ey's pretended
fear that Duluth may be injured by
organized labor is Il cloak under which
they expect to stick their dishonorl-
bic heads while they carry out Il
scheme that is Il disgrace to decent
men and would cause an Indian to-
bacco 81 gu to blush.
Does it benefit Duluth to import Il
lot Of "bums,' 'thugs.' and ''cut-
throa1s---out Of the slums of St. Louis
---to operate the street cars of this
city:
Does it benefit the city for the man-
aycncnt Of the street railway TO pay
a horde of IoW-lvtd detectives of the
Darlington stripe---to trump up
charges against honest worllingmen
Of this city:
Does if benefit Duluth to force II lot
oY workinymen, who own their homes
here. good citizens with their fami-
lies, into itcneSs and compel them
to go 10 other cities for employment.
while their places are filled with loaf
crs. roWdirS and cut-throats from
o, her cities.'
Does it benefit Duluth to advertise
to the world that This is a "unioll rid
lrn city, and that capital should give
it Il wide berth?
Does il brurti, tine women and chill