The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-08
Bremen and TrainmeO on Wa
 bash Preparing Answer
IS NOT 4 CASE OF WAGES
John Hopkins, Conductor, Explains That the Employees Are Complain ing That the old Schedule Was
 Volated-Ramsey Replies.

St. Louis, March 7.-Counsel for the firemen and trainmen of the Wabash rail- road spent today in preparing the answer to the writ of injunction secured by Pres ident Ramsey. This answer probably will not be finished before Tuesday,
 President Ramsey said tonight that pending the final decision of the court on the injunction, he was willing to meet the men regarding matters connected with the issue between the company and its employees, regardless of the injunction. If the injunction Is dissolved and a strike is ordered, there will be nothing left to do but to fill all places made vacant by strik- CTS, says President Ramsay.
 John Hopkins, chairman of the general committee, Order of Railway Conductors has made written statement detailing the grievance held by the Wabash em- ployes. He says that the real grievance Is not a case of wages, but is a viola ton of the old schedule.
 His statement follows:
 Not a Case of Wages.
 "The real grievance is not a case of wages. A violation of the old schedule is one of the causes of complaint. This is done by the company putting on pre- ferred runs with regular crews that get a monthly salary. This cuts the pay for brakemen from ? cents to about 1h cent a mile, conductors from cents to cents, while engineers and firemen re- ceive the same. After the company had these runs well established the man. agers commenced to pile on the abuses so fast that one could hardly believe the orders posted on the bulletin boards. The first of these were crews on De- troit and Chicago runs after running 270 miles were made to switch out the mer- chandise and take it down town without additional pay. The next was 101 miles each day added to the St. Louis mer- chandise run, making 1t 202 miles in the round trip additional with an increase of about 8 per month. This additional alone would make brakeman $60. 50 per month.
 But this Is the straw that broke the camers back. Not satisfied with all this for nothing, they put on two engines and make them handle a dead freight train outside of the high class, and now they wonder what we are kicking about. After we work like slaves all winter in all kinds of weather without rest, often for sixty hours at stretch, we are told we have nothing to complain of.
 Can Eat Fried snowbaIls.
 "In the spring when navigation opens up and business drops off, these prefer red crews, with the big engines and ouble-headers can handle about half of the business and the rest of us can eat fried snowballs or wait until nice, cold stormy weather comes around again. with it's sleet and Ice on the running boards on top of the cars
 ''The Adams injunction even takes away -fsrl,f tr rttif flaa ant ma ta4F and if made permanent they can hold men as bonded slaves. Now, I, for one, an Order of Railroad Conductors man, and one who voted against the strike, believe in upholding the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen and Brotherhood of Loeomo- tive Bremen to the last ditch.
 JOHN HOPKINS, Chairman Central Committee, O. R. C."
 The statement of Chairman Hopkins was shown to President Ramsey tonight He said:
 'I do not wish to discuss the matter other than to say that alleged grievances mentioned by Chairman Hopkins or brought by the committees in their meet ings with Wabash officials are imprac. ticable The trouble with Mir Hopkins is that he is not on preferred rum DO sition they are all after. These runs are part meat and high-class freight trains which make passenger train time''