The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1903-05-22
STRIKE VIEW
Presented By MesSrS. Wilkins
And Lee.
AS TO THE RATE OF WAGES.
What Are Termed Misundersrandnes Threatened
by the Conductors and Trainmen'S Officers
West POinnt Resolutions.

JACKSON, Tenn, May Is
| Especial ITO the public: At
| tention has been called to the fact
that the position of the employees
Of the Mobile & Ohio Railway,
now on strike, is not rightly
understood. This misunderstood.
ing has perhaps been added to by
statement published in the press
that purported to set forth the
attitude OF the company toward It's
men, and the Interference drawn
therefrom that the campany had
been yearly increasing the rate of
wages Of their men. While we
fully understand that it is capa-
bic of such Interpretation by one
unacquainted with the facts, and
possibly was given out for that
specific perpOse, il is our desire
to correct any such impression
The facts are that the Mobile &
Ohio Railway Company have in
creased the wages of their men
during the past twelve years, cor
ducturS 20 cents and breakmeu 10
cents per tri p. Mr.. Clarke evil
! IDENTIFY refuses to see the difference
between rate of pay and earnings,
but this is not surprising 20 us,
for he did so while we were in
conference with him. The pay of
Conductors between jackson and
Cairo is now So. 60 per trip and
brakemen 50. 40 per trip. The
same rates apply between jackson
and Okolona These rates have
been in effect since May, 1900; !;
! for eight years prior to 1900 these
rates were 20 cents and 10 cents
less respectively; the length Of
run between Cairo and jackson
has been increased nine miles for
this slight increase. Approx
mateIy the other divisions are in
line with the above.
The statement, made by Mr..
Clarke, in which he makes com
parative statement of earnings for
the past several years, shows
earnings and not rate of wage.
The men making 800 in 1899,
! 800 in 1900, $1l0 in 1901 and
S125 III 1902 only means that it
was necessary for the company
to hire more labor and more
hours, and they had to purchase
it from those who had it to sell,
and these men have sold more la
/
| Dor and more hours to the COM
pany but at the same rate in 1902
as in 1899. Should any of our
readers have 500 tons of hay for
sale, and should they in 1899 sell
100 tons for S. per ton and re-
ceive therefore $500, and 1902 sell
the other 400 tons and receive
therefore 80, 90, maintain that the
price Of hay had increased! No;
they had more to sell and sold it
but at the same rate as the first
! 100 tons Was sold fer. This illus
trates the condition here as regards
rate of wage, and shows that for
whatever increase there was in the
yearly or monthly earnings of
the men, that more labor was CIV
en- therefor.
| Another thing we would like the
public to know is that notwith.
ling what Mr.. Clarke says he was
notified May 5 that unless he or his
Representatives met, the COM
mittee at his office in St Louis,
Mo-, on May s or notified us by
letter or wire Of his acceptance of
our proposed terms Of settlement,
the men would leave the service in
body. We did not tell him
what hour tney would leave, as
it was not necessary. The men
did not leave the service until
May 8. Mr.. Clarke has also sought
to appeal to the sympathy Of the
men and the public by setting
forth that he was engaged upor
a shrrowful mission, the renter
ment Of the remains of his parents
and that we took advantage of this
and called strike while he was
away. We desire to state that WI
had full knowledge of his mission
We tried to make date to NEE
him in Mobile on the 2ad Of Nav