The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1903-09-29
THE CALIFORNIA NORTHWEST
ERN STRIKE.

Railway has been accompanied by so many acts
of violence, not only destructive of the COM
panys property but dangerous the travelling public
who the line, that the officers of the company
entitled to have their position in the affair ul-
derstood to the end that blame for lawlessness may
rest where it belongs.
An employee of the company had been recon-
mended for promotion by the officer under whom he
was working. That officer, however, upon discover
ing that he belonged to union withdrew his rec
concentration The aggreved employe, instead OF
making the regular appeal to the officers OF the road
carried it to the union which responded with de-
n1ands in his behalf The president OF the road, upon
the matter coming to his attention. restated the
known policy of the company, to the effect that it
forbade discrimination between union and non-union
labor The officer who had Disseminated against the
union laborer by withdrawing the recommendation
upon which his promotion depended cepsured
ordered to hereafter strictly observe the rule Of
the company, which enforces equality of right and
forbids any discrimination against union labor
The empoye concerned having failed to take his
appeal to the officers, who, under the known rule
would have at once righted him and given him the
coveted promotion, but having instead attempted to
accomplish his purpose by threat to which, in &C
cordance with its announced policy, the company
discharged The strike followed and was met by the
road by filling its quota OF employees in the vacancies
voluntarily made by the strikers.
Here, then was case in which the employer
sought to do justice to union labor by maintaining its
equality of right, and fastened make its purpose
known, that its union employees might be assured
of their safety and the security of their rights This
however, was not sufficient for those who dominate
the policy and action of the union and they refused
to meet the company in the same spirit Since the
resulting strike was on the property of the company
has been damaged the telegraph wires have been cut
its trains and their passengers have thereby been
endangered, and the third party, the public has been
in many ways put to inconvenience and in ways
to loss.
The employer has kept within his lawful rights and
has gone further to show spirit of justice and con-
citation. In response to this position the striking
employees have relied on their power to coerce the
employer by and private injury, unlawful and
felonious. The third party, the public, cannot be
Indifferent to this state of things 1t see that
to yield to an organization which resorts to awless
acts to enforce its demand for discrimination in its
favor is not only to admit that the law is powerless
to protect personal and property rights, but that
those rights are held subject to the permission of
men who put themselves and their purposes above
the law To surrender to such policy is to abdicate
government and put the power to repeal the law in
the hands of who operate by felony.
To cut railroad wires means the wrecking Of
trains, and that is capital crime under the laws of
California punishable by death. If such a felony
go not only unpublished. but be made the Of
compelling an employer to take into his employ
those who are willing to commit it, and have COM
mitted it. then all protection of the law is obsoleted
Every employer who surrenders under such circum-
stances does so not for himself alone but for every
other employer, and every employer becomes
the victim OF force and subject to demand that he
discharge or hire at the will of others, under penalty
of death to himself destruction of his property
1t is we'll that the full meaning of this situation be
understood. This is OF no less importance to the
labor OF the country than to those who employ it.
The general manager of the road which is suf-
fering from such conduct OF its strikers has stated
the case clearly in circular to its ex-empoyes in
these terms owe ask no ironbound contract from
our employees and do not consider it necessary to
give one. If our relations cannot be maintained by
mutual confidence they cannot be maintained at ALL"
The counter statement to this, made in the acts of
the strikers, is: eve base our relations on our
power to njure your property wreck your trains and
kill your passengers"
Next year the Sovereign Lodge of Odd Fellows