The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-03
CENTRAL APPRENTICES OUT.
uENT BECAUSE THEY WOULD NOT
WORK WITH A NEGRO.

apnealed From Master Mechanic
Nhitsett to General superintend-
ent Kline, Who Told Them He
Gould Not Grant Their Request.
lie said That They Had violated
Their Contracts in RebeIIfng
Against the Master Mechanic, and
That They Could Get Their Time.
The Boys story of the Affair.
The seventeen apprentice boys employed
an the machine shops of the Central of
Georgia Railway We're discharged yester-
5av because they objected to having a ne
gro work in the same shop with them.
The negro was put 10 work on one of the
aoring machines in the shop with the APP
nr.pttces Thursday morning. The boys did
not like this, but they said nothing until
Yesterday when they appealed to the gen.
fral foreman, who referred them to Master
Mechanic Mhitsett. He in turn referred
t,+nl 10 General Superinte ndent Kline, who
,,d the boys that they could not be al
lowed 10 dictate the policy of the shop or
even 10 make suggestion as TO how it
should be conducted.
As they had rebelled against proper au-
TuOFIlN ana III ~ AOities 4ANab hACAStN0 NAASAA
contracts with the company, the superin-
t.ndent told the boys they could consider
themselves discharged, and that they
could get their time.
TWO of the boys were deputized by the
others 10 call at the Morning News Office
and make a statement of their side of the
matter They said that the negro, of
whose presence they complained, was put
II work by the new master mechanic,
Lo tp ndEi.
zion from the shops at Columbus about
three weeks ago. The first work given
the negro was leading brasses. This
work was formerly done by white man.
but as the negro was in a room to himself
apart from the boys they made no COM
plant Thursday morning the negro was
taken into the shop where the apprentices
work and put on one of the boring ma
chimes This is a machine, they said
on which each one of the apprentices is
required to work a certain number of
months in order to complete his shop
training. The machine is right alongside
The others at which the apprentices were
working and they did not like this APP
pearance of being placed on equality with
the negro.
Yesterday morning they called in a body
on the master mechanic, 40 whom they
had been referred by the general fore
man, and stated their grievance. They
received little satisfaction from the mas
Ter mechanic, they said and accordingly
carried their complaint to Superintendent
Kline. The latter, they said did not give
them chance to make complete state
meut, but told them that he did not pro-
pose to nave them dictate how the shop
should be conducted and that in rebeIing
against proper authority they had viola
ted their contracts with the company and
could get their time at once.
Under the agreement which the COM
pany makes with the apprentices 10 per
cent. Of their pay is withheld each month
10 be paid them when the term of APP
premiership is completed They boys
said that they did not know whether they
would be allowed this amount or not
supL Kline left the city in the after
noon. II was learned, however, that his
version Of the matter is different from
that given by the boys in some particu-
lars. 1t was stated that Mr.. Kline al
lowed them 10 state their grievance and
then tod them that ne could not grant
their request The boys thereupon de-
clared that they would quit work before
they would work in the shop with a ne
gro. The superintendent told them that il
was their privilege to do So but that in
reoelllng against proper authority they
had violated their contracts and were ac-
cordingly discharged. They would not,
under any circumstances be allowed to
dictate the policy of the shop or to even
suggest anything concerning its discip-
line.
The action of the boys was the talk of
the day among the Central Railroad peo-
pie. The Central has for some time pur-
sued policy of receiving a certain num-
Der of apprentices in the machine shops
and giving them the advantage of a me
chanica training. The system has worked
wei heretofore, and Supt. Kline was very
dsagreeably surprised at the break which
occurred yesterday.