The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-05-07
NUDGE SAYS NO
Refuses to Confer With the
Strikers.
Machinists Given Till Monday
to Go Back to Work.

The conference which was to have
been held Friday afternoon between H.
u. Nudge, general manager for the
Santa Fe, and j. D. Buckalew. third
vice president of the International As
sociation of Machinists. regarding the
settlement of the machinists' strike
has been indefinitely postponed.
Mr.. Nudge refuses to have any more
dealings with the association and it is
understood that any proposition that
Buckalew may make to the company
will not be accepted. The company
has decided to fight the union to the
end and today posted the following
notice at all of the shop points on the
line:
"An machinists who do not report
for duty at or before seven o'clock,
Monday morning, May 9. will be con
sidered as having quit the service of
the company and their places will be
filed. If any are sick it viii be neces-
sary for them to send doctors certifi-
cate in order to retain their places.
"A LOWELL,
f'Supt. of Motive Power
The company expects that this no
tice will serve to bring many of the
men back to work but Mr.. BuckaIew
says that it viii not carry its purpose.
1T is only an attempt to intimidate
impression that the company has the
upperhand. The men are still firm in
their behalf that they are on the right
side of the controversy and I am GER
tain that none of them will be effected
by the notice. In fact instead of our
men going back I expect some OF the
non-union men to come out.
Some of them have done so al
ready. Thursday night we initiated
seven nonunion men into the associa-
tion and we have application for mem
bership from many more. No; the
company hasn't the best of it by any
running down because of incompetent
workmanship and in time they will be
compelled to give in"
Following is the reply of H u.
Nudge, general manager of the Santa
Fe, TO the communication of Arkansas
City machinists disavowing connection
with the damage to Santa Fe engines
at that place:
Topeka Kan, May s, 1904.
''AIr. r. o. Snow, Recording Secretary,
Walnut Lodge No. 67S, International
Association of Machinists, No. 7O2
South B Street, Arkansas City, Kan.
Dear Sir: 1 am pleased to ac-
knowledge receipt of yours of May 8.
There is no question about the at
tempted damage, as the engineers and
fremen who discovered it will testify
and as it is exactly what one of your
grand officers stated would be done.
we naturally at once suspected the
machinists.
Il am also pleased to learn that the
depreciation was not committed by ma
chinists, and to have your further as
surance that you do not intend to in
terfere with the power of this COM
pany
Il will take pleasure in giving this
correspondence to the papers that pub
lished the account. Yours truly,
III. U. NUDGE,
General Manager"
Nudge Says It's a FizzIe.
The opinion of the Santa Fe officials
regarding the strike situation is natur-
ally just the opposite of the machin-
lists. 1t is an established fact. how
ever, that the company has already
employed sufficient men to keep the
shops going and with the exception of
Monday when the machinists We're
locked out and the shops closed down
the road has been in constant opera
ton. The strike has in no way effect
ed the running time of the trains and
to all appearances the roads motive
power is in just as good condition as it
has been in the past.
IT do not know what the company
intends to do said General Manager
Nudge today, but as for myself will
have no further dealings with the In
ternational Association of Machinists."
DO you think that there is any pos
sibility of the strikers returning to
work Monday?' was asked.
LAS have no way of knowing" said
The strike, however, is complete fiz-
zle as far as the company is concerned,
and if the men do not show up for
work by Monday morning, or give some
good excuse as to why they are out,
they will hereafter be refused employ
ment on the lines of this company. We
have put no new men to work at the
Topeka shops in the hope that the men
would return to work of their own ac-
cord but if they are not back by Mon
day morning we Will take it to mean
that they are out on strike and viii
Immediately bring in other men. We
have plenty of men employed who have
not yet been put to work and we can
hold them off much longer. There are
now at work in the Topeka shops "A
full-Hedged machinists, GA apprentices
and 1S7 handy men and helpers. Ac-
cording to the reports have received,
81 of the machinists employed in the
shop have failed to return to work
and nine have drawn their time and
gone away since the lockout on Mon
day We also have reports showing
that u of the men who are absent are
out on account of sickness or leave Of
absence. thus accounting for 21 out Of
the 81 absent machinists-
Then the proposition of a settle
ment between the company and the as
soclation is out of the question:" was
asked.
Most decidedly. Mr.. Buckalew pre-
sented his set of rules to Mr.. Lowell
Friday afternoon and the latter refused
to consider them. now understand
that it is his intention to present them
to Mr. Kendrick in Chicago but hard
ly think that Mr.. KenGrick will con-
sent to consider them at this stage nf
the game, particularly in view of the
fact that the strike has been a fiz-
zle.'