Bismarck daily tribune., 1903-05-01
IMPENDING STRIKE ON
THE GREAT E0RTHER.I
A QUESTION OF MANAGEMENT
ANo NOT OF WAGES IS
INVOLVED.
DEMANDS OF THE EmPL0ytS
THEY SEEK TO DICTATE POL.
lCY OF THE NORTHWESTS
GREAT ROAD.

To the Editor of the St. Paul News:
In the multitude of grievances
which have caused strikes in this
country and the multitude Of strikes
which have followed real or imaginary
grievances. it would be natural to sup
pose that the gamut of causes for Ia
Dor troubles had been exhausted II
is therefore surprising to find that in
the pending controversy between the
Great Northern and its employees,
new grievance has been discovered.
Last December the conductors and
trainmen asked for an advance of 20
per cent in their wages General Man.
ager Ward replied that they were will.
ing to make an advance, but that their
demand was too high and asked them
to modify it, This they refused to do.
and the matter dropped until March
10. when 1t was again renewed in
modified form The increased pay
then asked for was Is per cent for
freight men and II per cent for pas
Senger men. This request was i'm
mediately granted by Manager Ward
and he further proposed to make it
effective March l. That would seem
ingly be sufficient to make everything
satisfactory. but there was still an
other demand behind this. which was
that when the topography Of the coun-
try required two engines to draw
train. the crew should have double pay
and that
The Company Could Not Run Trains
of more than thirty cars with two en-
gines. unless this double payment was
allowed. Mr.. Ward took the ground
that the road was not what would be
termed q dOuble-header road. as 1t
had expended large sums in its con-
struction In reducing its grades. 1t had
also purchased large and expensive
motive power, so that there was very
little double-heading on the line and
it would not be fair to the general EN-.
ployeS to pay double price to some
for the same class of work and single
price to others; for instance, the aver
age conductor receives $3.50 per day,
but under this demand, conductors
who happen to have hilly run would
be entitled to 81 per day for no more
service than their comrades received
$3.50 for. He also argued that the
road was giving the public the benefit
of its economical administration for
which vast sums of money have beer
expended and that if the employees
could participate in the management
of the road on this point they could
go further and forbid the use of large
engines or say that but one engine
should be used for a train. or that
cars of a certain size and weight
should be used. or that trains should
not run beyond a specified rate of
speed-in other words, it would take
the management of the property
From the Owners
and transfer it to the employees. In
order. however, that there might be
no seeming quibble on this point to
delay the advance in pay going into
effect, Mr.. Ward proposed that the
committee representing the men join
him in circular setting forth that all
differences had been adjusted, except
ing this one Of the double-header prop
osition, and thus allow the advance
in pay 20 go into effect at once. This
the local committee refused to do, but
instead turned the matter over to the
grand officers of their order, namely:
a. 3. GarretsOn. assistant grand chief
OF the Order Railroad Conductors. and
W. I. Newman, vice grand master OF
the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
On the oath of April these officers
held protracted interview with Mr..
Ward. Mr.. Ward continued his argu-
ment that no other road in the United
States had spent so much money to
lower grades SO as to make 1t possible
to haul big trains, saying: "The only
true economy in railroad operations is
in making that unit of a train the
biggest thing we can make it; and you
come in now with the principle that
attacks our right to take advantage
of the conditions we have created, by
buying large power and spending
money to lower grades"
Mr.. Garretson took the ground very
promptly that there was no consist
ency in the position they took con-
cerning the single and the double
header. He said in so many words
that they wished to
Compel the Road to Employ More Men
and that the object of their demand
for double pay was no double-headers
, Mr.. Ward said he admitted the right
OF the men to come in and determine
what rate of wages they were willing
to work for or to discuss any condi.
tion that affects the safety of their
lives and limbs. exposure to the wealth
er and all Of those things that affect
their personal comfort and welfare
e but he could not consent to their TAX
t ing the management of the road away
, from it's owners. The result OF the
lengthy conference. however, was
without avail and Messrs. Garretson
e and Newman asked Mr. Ward for
I transportation to enable them to go
over the system and poll the men as
to whether they would order a strike
I or not. Mr.. Ward gave them the trans
portation and the vote is in process OF
being taken. A feature of ordering a
strike is that it requires two-thirds
vote Of all the union men employed
e ! on the system. As a matter OF fact
: probably not more than one-half OF the
employees OF the Great Northern sys
G tenn are union men. so that two-thirds
of the other half or comparatively
small percentage Of all the employees
can order strike. bringing cisaste,
to the employes themselves and in