Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-26

1 himself. Being in a difficult position,
with the superintendent on one hand
| ordering him to proceed, while the
threat OF the strikers was still in his
ears, he refused to move his engine I'M
til he made certain of the position in
which he was placed. For this purpose
conference Of the switchmen's COM
nittee and Engineer John Speer, who is
hood, was held. Scheduling was given
to understand that the responsibility
for the action would lie entirely with
himself, as the engineers were not as
Eyet interested, and until such time as
formal action should he taken by them
he must do as he thought best. The
engineer, realizing he was under in
Istructions from Superintendent Davis,
brought his engine onto the main line
and backed up to the train. Here an
other difficulty arose, as there was no
one to signal him to couple onto the
cars and no one to couple UP the air and
get the train ready for the crew to take
it out of town.
Stock Delayed, Merchandise Tied Up.
Not only are the yards full and tied
up with cars, but as a result the local
freight Office is practically at stand
still. No freight has been forwarded
from the local platform since Wednes-
day morning, and as a result the freight
house and platform are congested with
merchandise of every kind. Agent
Porter, when seen this morning, said,
1--WE have no cars, either to load or to
unload, and as a result I have notified
all shippers who have inquired that 1t
would be useless to receive their goods
for shipment until something is done
to relieve the situation. There being
no switchmen to do the work. we can
get no cars to the platform, neither can
we set loaded or empty cars on the
side track, for the shippers to unload
and load. Four cars of stock, two of
hogs, and two of cattle, that arrived
in this city Thursday afternoon, des-
tined for Chicago. are still here, they
having been unloaded in the stock
yards and are being cared for by the
railroad company. Without switch
men to set them onto the Northwestern
there is nothing else to be done.
Will Affect Coal Situation.
Should the strike be of considerable
duration, there is every reason to be-
lieve that the coal situation viii be af-
fected to a considerable extent There
has been but little coal arrived during
the past two or three days. and should
the strike continue, there will doubt
less be scarcity, as the Iowa Central
carries into this city fully fifty per
cent of the soft coal consumed.
What Yards Can Accommodate.
The Central yards can accommodate,
at best. only about $50 cars. There are
about that number already here. II
others are consigned to this point the
trains themselves viii either have to
stand at the outer edges of the yard
limits. indefinitely, or crowd in what
have to be set out, till the yards are
completely blocked. Then it will not
be possible even for passenger trains to
get in and out of the city.
Imported Men Refuse to Work.
A number of brakemen, from Oska-
ioosa. We're brought to the city Wednes-
day afternoon, Thursday afternoon and
evening, to take the places of the strik-
ers, but when they arrived, and learned
the situation, they absolutely refused
to turn a hand.
What the Switchnen Want.
The cause of the strike, as stated in
these columns Wednesday,, ia an in
crease of cents per hour, which would
give the day men 25, foremen 81, and
the night crews 81. and foremen 30.
This, the switchmen claim, is the old
standard. and is even then cents UNI
der the new standard. The also claim
that every road in the country is in
creasing from 15 to 20 per cent on their
own accord, consequently they do not
think they are at all radical in their
demands.