The sun., 1903-08-14


pleasant he has smile that warns a
whole room; when he does not want to
bc pleasant, he is as hard and as cold
and AZ sharp as steel chisel.
Well, ROBINSON gathered the motor
men and conductors in hall back OF the
Three-Mile saloon late Sunday evening
and reasoned with them for three hours.
No outsiders were allowed in that meet
ing. As to what ROBINSON said, we are
obliged to take hearsay evidence. but IL
seems to have been q speech very dii-
ferent from the speeches usually maze
under such circumstances ROBINSON
urged them to accept Mr.. FULLER y
terms, but with the modification that the
men be reinstated on their good be-
havior, instead Of subject to investga-
ton. But first, last and all the time
he urged Organization IA n healthful
restraint upon the company and its ex-
ecutive officers.
"The union must control the road "
said one of his hearers, but ROBINSON
answered him: my friend, the union
never can control the road. The COM
pany controls the road The company
owns it. AlI the members Of the union
have any right 10 do, so far as the road
is concerned, is to agree on the terms on
which they will work for the company
or quit if they don't get them
That isn't the way that labor organ
izers heretofore have talked to crowd
of men who wanted to strike. ROBINSON
counselled against violence. He advised
the men who had quit work to go back
and wait to hear from the committees
negotiations with Mr. FULLER. In the
end, ROBINSON won his point. The COM
mittee went back riding on the lately
scorned cars, this time) and to Mr.. Full
LER in a concliatory frame Of mind.
ROBINSON organization is effectively
started; when it is completely organ
lied, perhaps strike engineered by him
will not be so abortive as was that Of
Sunday last
As to the police, As soon as the first
intimation Of strike reached Deputy
Commissioner of Police PIPER, he sent
men to the car barns and the gathering
places of the men TO prevent disorder.
Reserves were held in readiness in all
parts of Queens borough. When a
conductor vas pulled from his car late
in the afternoon, Capt PIrER heard of it
almost Immediately. From Manhattan
and The Bronx, policemen picked from
the reserve squads for their physique
and fighting qualities began to pour over
into Queens, armed with locust clubs and
revolvers. At 10 o'clock at night visi-
tor to Long Island City might easily have
thought that the annual police parade
was organizing. Mounted men and men
on foot patroIled every foot of the big
railway system The results were inn
mediate Motormen and conductors be-
gan reporting at Long Island City and
Woodside to the men in charge, saying:
"If these cops stay on here tomorrow,
I'll stay on my car. Guess there's no
danger Of being hurt with all them over
here"
Men walked out of the Three Mile
House and went to the Woodside barns
and begged to he taken back into the
company's employment, which they had
left but few hours before.
"We quit because we thought we would
get hurt, they said We amt afraid
of being hurt now
The men who heard RoRINsoNS "no
violence talk sneered Mt it, Labor
leaders always talk mo violence But
these same men, when they saw Commits
sioner PIPERs mo violence argument,
stopped sneering and meekly asked to
be allowed to go TO work again.
The strike died out. Seventv-hve men
cannot control 500 against their will
without using violence or the threats of
violence. Capt. PIPER made violence
impossible right at the start, at the very
first murmur OF trouble.
HERMAN ROBINSON saved the New
York and Queens County Railway Com
pany some temporary inconvenience and
annoyance; incidentally he probably did
himself shrewd service Manager
FULLER kept his temper and his good
sense Capt PIPER not only saved the
city from the possibility of disgrace,
but he taught very valuable lesson to
those who shall come after him.