The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-03-04
STRIKE PREVENTED
BY ORDER OF
COURT
Unusual and Unexpected OBJ
stacle Confronts Employees
Of the Wabash in Their
Differences With President
Ramsey as to Wage Con-
ditions.

ST. LOUIS, NO. March 3.-An in
| junction granted by Judge Adams, of
the United States district court, pre-
vented the elimination today of the
| threatened strike of LOO firemen and
| trainmen of the Wabash for higher
wages. AS the result of the poll dur
ing the past week among the employees
| over the question of striking in case
| President Ramsey ultimately refused
to grant demanded wage concessions
| on the Wabash east of the Mississippi
river, the engineers and conductors re-
fused to participate in a strike. but the
tremen and trainmen favored 1t en-
phatically. Their committees yester-
day notified President Ramsey that he
would be given until today at noon to
grant their demands. If by that time
he still refused a strike would be I'M
| mediately called.
This afternoon President Ramsey re-
quested little more time and the two
committees granted him until o'clock
to make final reply. Before the allotted
time had expired President Ramsey
had secured a restraining order from
the court and it had been served on all
the officials of all the orders and mem
bers Of the grievance committees. The
injunction was a most sweeping instru-
ment and effectually blocked any strike
proceedings. In part it reads:
1--WE, therefore, do strictly command
you, until the further order of the
court, absolutely to desist and refrain
from in any way or manner ordering,
coercing, persuading, inducing or other
xtric.
employees of the said Wabash Railway
company to strike or quit the service
of said company"
Ramsey Explains.
After considering the demands sub
mitted to him by the committees rep
resenting the trainmen and firemen
this evening, President Ramsey, of tho
Wabash road, made reply in a letter
of considerable length. Regarding the
firemen's demands he said:
1--WE now pay higher rates for firing
our engines than nearly all other
roads. In this connection 1 would re-
mind you that your own demands Of
Nov. 16 last were for $40 per 100
miles on heavy engines and I gave you
$3.50 in our Dec 1 schedule, posted
Dec. 8, and on Dec. 10 you raised to
$3.50. The classification of engines will
stand on $3.50 and $3.50 rate until we
find other lines paying more for en-
gines of same weight. The demand IS
declined.
you now demand 90 per cent in
crease for all firemen on the Buffalo
division in Canada. This is an abso-
lutely new demand and was not voted
on by the employees I can consider
no advance on the Buffalo division, ex-
cept in comparison with rates paid by
lines in that territory. We now pay
the same as the Grand Trunk railway.
whose tracks we run our trains over.
The demand is declined, subject to the
comparisons above mentioned"
Mr.. Ramsey said the 12eaperleen de-
mand Increase for trainfneII[ afid Is
per cent for firemen would not be con-
ceded east of the Mississippi until
competitive roads made advances above
present Wabash rates
Strike Prevented.
Regarding the demand for double
pay for double headers or their abol-
ishment, Mr.. Ramsey said: u
1t is not our policy to run double
headers except in cases Of emergency.
L must decline to say anything more in
this case, except that we will discon-
I!nue uoupIe-neadlng as much as pos
sible."
The letter states: I'm my office, Jan.
IL, Messrs. Hanrahan and Lee admit
ted that the rates of pay, duties and
remuneration of the Wabash comnany
were as fair, and, in many cases, fair
er to the men than any other road on
similar points. When they are not as
fair as those of our competitive lines
we will correct them"
After sending this reply to the COM
m1ttees, Mr.. Ramsey waited in his Of
flee until $50 o'clock, a half hour after
the time specified for the strike to be
tnaugurated, in case of his unfavorable
declslon' and, not receiving any fur
Their notification, he said:
Il am going home to rest, after a
hard days work 1 do not believe there
Will be any strike. There are about 900
men of the conductors and engineers
VINO are opposed to a strike. About
LOO 1iremen and trainmen favor a
strike. With an engineer in his cab
and a conductor at his post of duty,
the train will be run, because it is
not hard to secure a man for firing or
brakinS. Consequently you see that,
with our engineers and conductors
working, our trains will move, even
if there should be a strike"
Courts Order Respected.
The following statement was tonight
given out by Z. II. Morrisey, grand
master of the Brotherhood of Railway
Trainmen:
The firemen and trainmen employ
ed on the Wabash system, by a deci-
sive vote, authorized the committee
representing the men and the officers
of their organization to declare a
strike if the working scale which they
had presented to the mana cement was
not granted. This course was decided
upon only after every honorable
method to induce the company to give
them deserved consideration had fail
ed.
ITO prevent the men from CARRYING
out their determination to refer their
position in a proper and legal way,
the company applied to and was grant
ed an Injunction by Judge Adams, of
the United States court for: the Eastern
district of Missouri, restraining the or
CARNATIONS, their officers, the commit
tee and all concerned from directly or
| indirectly sanctioning the procedure
agreed upon by the employees them
| selves. To this command, as w-abid-
ing citizens and organization, we bow
| in submission. We will respect it. be-
| cause we recognize that until dissolved
| 1t is the law.