The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-11

is III. but it is my candid opinion that
Mr.. Buckalew is disappointed in the
! progress of the strike on the Santa
Fe and that he has given it up"
Reports show that the organization
/ is not in good condition financially,
and the continuation of the many
strikes cannot help but be disastrous
to the union.
There are at present about sixty
| strikes of machinists throughout the
country some caused by attempts of
/ employers to return to the ten-hOur
| day, others ordered to resist reduc-
/ tons in wages. and quite number
declared on account of refusal OF
members of the craft to sign fndivid-
uaI contracts which require that they
sever their connection with any labor
organ zation that Will join in a SYM
pathetic strike.
At the Milwaukee convention an
amendment was made to the consti-
tuition that no member of the 1nterna-
tional Association of Machinists shall
operate more THAI one machine or
accept work by piece. premium, merit,
task or contract system, and that in
all shops where such systems are in
operation they were to be discon-
tinued July 1, 1904.
The general executive board, reaiis.-
ing the enormous expense that would
be entailed by an attempt to enforce
this law. concluded to lay the whole
question before the whole member
ship, and a referendum vote is now
being taken as to whether a general
strike shall be ordered in all shops
affected by this amendment, and
whether the members are willing to
contribute the necessary assessment
for the purpose OF continuing the
fight to a successful conclusion.
From present indications the vote
on these questions will be nay by a
large majority.
1t has been rumored that the
boilermakers would be called out all
over the Santa Fe in sympathy with
the machinists.
Such a proceeding would look very
ill-advised at this time. The railroads
in the east have been showing de-
creased earnings recently, and the
high tension of the demand for the
east has taken a slump. This is ac-
counted for by the fact that the I'M
usual amount of bridge building and
track extensions by all railroads for
the past few years has fallen off. The
natural sequence of the falling off of
the large orders for this structural
steel and steel rails is, first, a de-
creased tonnage of freight, both of
the steel from the steel mills and of
coal from the mines to the mills. At
the same time also follows the laying
of of employees at the mills. And
with the decrease of tonnage over
the lines of railroad the repair work
on equipment and shop work also de-
creaSeS in corresponding ratio.
Hence Il big cut in the working forces
in the shops of the railroads. De-
creases in all classes of freight in the
east is a natural consequence of this
condition.
During the past few months, and
especially the last few weeks, reports
the laying off of employees in the
shops and mills in the east by the
hundreds and thousands
The traffic and tonnage of freight
40 - 20 X L
on the decrease. and for this reason
the Santa Fe has not been making re-
auctions in its working forces.
The fact that so many skilled
workmen are idle in the east, how
ever, presents very good reason why
the Santa Fe has been experiencing
no trouble in securing all the help
needed to fill the places of the strik-
ing machiniSts.
The officials. of the operating de-
partment of the Santa Fe declare
that a strike is not apparent to the
railroad company, and that they
would not know that strike was in
existence on the line but for the fact
that it is talked about in the news
papers.
A reporter for the State Journal
today called on Mr. H. U. Nudge.
general manager of the Santa Fe, for
a statement of the conditions existing
on the Santa Fe.
'The machinists' strike is causing
us no annoyance he said. and /
know of no better illustration of the
fact than to give you the statistics of
the engine failures of the first six
months of the year. By this table YOU
will see that during the month of June
we had Just $50 less engine failures
than during the month of January,
before the strike was declared
Here follows the record of the en-
gine failures:
January, S69-average per day PAS
6SI-aUarapra
PAS.
March, 5OO-average per day 1871.
April, 393-average per day 1874.
May, 319-average per day 1872.
June, 349-average per day 11.6.
This average for June" Mr.. Nudge
continued, lis approximately two en-
CINE failures for each one thousand
miles of road. which is the best record
ever made on the Santa Fe road. and
L believe better than is being made on
any other road in the west.
I'VE have at present at least TWEEN |
ty-five more good freight engines on
the Atchison proper than are needed |
Tor present traffic, and our traffic is |
about the same as it was last year at
or the coast lines that we can spare |
some of these engines if he needs |
them. but he states that he has all
the engines needed at present. Pos
sibly we may be able to utilize all of
this power to good advantage during |
the movement of the wheat crop. but !
we certainly shall have plenty of pow |
er to move the crop promptly
although rumorS have been persistent |
that the boilermakers on the Santa Fe |
re al 10 OUT on symPathy strike. It IS IN
tons would not seem to warrant it,
Grand President John Mcneil of the |
Brotherhood OF Boilermakers and Iron /
Snip Builders is opDOSed anV further !