Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1903-05-07
FHE MEN and
| THE RAILROAD
CALM REVIEW OF THE coNTEN.
|TIoN OF THE EMPLOYEES WITH
THE GREAT NORTHERN.

From Grand Forks Daily Herald,
Wednesday morning, April 10Th, 1903,
litorial column.l
The Matter Of Strikes.
a To strike or not to strike seems to
Z the question to be decided by the
reat Northern trainmen. 1t is con-
eded that this is the matter on which
vote is now being taken all over the
kstem. and the result will be awaited
ith not a little interest throughout
be Northwest.
"a The particular matter Of disagree
!, bent at this time is the compensation
be paid trainmen for work on dou-
s. ie-header trains. After a long con-
erence, in which all the subjects in
kpntroversy were thoroughly gone
5yer. agreement was reached on every
koint except this, and on this both the
Eommittees representing the employees
md the general manager of the road
smained firm. The conference was
therefore broken of, and the men are
low NOllIS Ou "hSluCl Will dC-
*ept the situation as it now is or not.
NJ General Manager Ward has issued
II pamphlet in which the proceedings
d the conference are reported, and
he summary of the contents of that
pamphlet, so far as they apply to the
uestion at issue, is given in another
tolumn. Still more briefly stated, the
\ controversy resolves itself into this
# The trainmen claim that the COM
y any, by running trains with two en-
81 lines and only one train crew. is i'm
bosing work on the single train crew
hat would ordinarily be performed
sby two, with propOrtienate increase
ID responsibility. The idea seems to
BE that any train too heavy for one
|Bngine is too heavy for one train
REV. They demand, therefore, either
hat the practice of double-heading
HAIL be discontinued or that the train
&rews employed on this work shall re-
keive double pay.
81 The company claims that there is
Practically no double-heading done on
.4he road except on the mountain di-
Eisions, where an additional engine is
bometimes employed to help heavy
trains over the steep grades, and that
4he company is expanding large sums
De money to avoid even this. Mr.. Ward
&Gmits that the men have right to
Soice in che decision of questions af
Meeting their comfort, wages and con-
81 itiens of work, but denies that any
pf these elements enter into the ques-
n ion Of double-heading on the Great
Northern road. He says tHat the
<company cannot permit the employees
e dictate as to the makeup of trains.
s that is solely an administrative
matter.
AS in all questions of this kind.
$here is a third party which is in.
tensely interested in the question. the
general public. The public is inter
Fsted primarily in the regular running
pf trains, that business may be car
led on with the least possible delay
bnd inconvenience. For that reason
he public is always injured by a
$trike. At the same time the public
Is interested in the fair compensation
pf all who serve It, whether as owners
% railroads or as employees thereon.
strike Is an act Of war. War is
Sometimes iustifiable. There are times
when 1t is the only means left for the
prevention of abuse or the accom-
Plishment Of reforms. But for war to
Pc jnstifable there must be an ade-
nuate cause. 1t would be inexcus-
able for nations to appeal to force for
the settlement of a trivial question.
Similarly the precipitation of strike
without sufficient cause would not be
Viewed patiently by the great ship
Ding and travelling public which must
suffer the inconvenience and eventu-
hlly pay the bills. In the present
case there does not appear to be any
thing OF real value to either of the
parties involved In the controversy.
does not appear that the question is
pr sufficient importance to warrant re-
port to extreme measures.