The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-01
PENDING STRIKE.
Thousand Machinists ON Santa
Fe May Go
On Strike Within the Next Day
or Two.
WHAT TROUBLE is.
:, 1eisVanees Appear 10 Exist
- Shops Here
According to q Sta>,, u0"s Aro"
General Manager dlS 70

Chicago April IA genera strii.,'
of the 1000 machinists on the Santa Fe
road from Chicago to California may
be called within "a hours. according to
T. L. Wilson. fourth vice president OF
the international Association of Ma
chinists. Mr.. Wilson declared last
night that he had been in Chicago for
month in an effort to reach terms
of agreement with the company but
had been unsuccessful. and charged
/ that the company has been arranging
for men to take the places Of the union
men if they strike.
News regarding a strike Of the ma
| chinists employed on the lines of the
Santa Fe may reach Topeka at anY
time now. According to statements
made today by H. u. Nudge, general
manager of the Santa Fe who has
just returned from Chicago where he
and several other representatives Of
the Santa F'e have been holding a con-
ference with the representa- tives of the
union, the different lodges along the
line have been instructed to take
vote on the question and to report in.-
nediately to the headquarters of the
union. 1t is probable that this will he
/ done Saturday night and if the ous-
come favOrs a strike the officials of the
/ road will be advised Immediately.
In my opinion" said Mr.. Nudge to-
] day, the men will strike. OF course
d the CCnl fjany .11-1 :,ct ---f=r r. sea IT
/ come and win do everything possible
\ to prevent IL but in view of the action
/ that has been taken by Mr.. Wilson, a
/ strike seems to be inevitable In case
/ the men should 20 out the company
win fill their places with other men.
We will not take into consideration
whether the men belong to a union or
/ not"
THE grievance of the machinists has
| nothing to do with their wages. We
are paying them as much money as
any other road in the country. They
I were forced to admit this at our recent
/ meeting in Chicago. All of them said
that they had been we'll treated and
! at no place along the line could we
! find a man who had any objection 20
make in regard to his wages. The
principal trouble seems to be based
1 upon the action the company takes N
! regard to the employment of its men.
/ It is generally understood that when
the Santa E'e employs man it does
not ask any questions in regard 10
/ whether the man belongs to a union
| or does not. With the Santa F'e the
! ability of a man to do the work re-
/ quired of him has more to do with his
/ employment than the question OF ms
! belonging to union. This is what the
/ machinists are Objecting to- At the re-
/ cent meeting in Chicago they asked
! that hereafter when men were employ
/ ed that union men be given the pre-
! ference and that the union be given
1 the right to regulate the work and the
/ wages of the men, This we refused 10
! do and there the matter rests. Mr.
/ Wilson did not take any part in the
| meetings at Chicago but I understand
1 that he is at the bottom Of the whoie
| thing. Ever since last December he
has been after the men to make GER
| tain demands of the company and
/ whatever dissatisfaction exists now is
| largely the result of his work
MR. MUDGE'S STATEMENT.
loo Fn
asked by the State Journal for a formal
statement of the cOmpany'S position,
submitted the following:
Last July Mr.. T. L. Wilson came to
1 Topeka for the stated purpose of organ
izing the machinists on the Atchison-
Prior to that time and since that time,
we have had no complaints on the part
of our men Of mistreatment or of unfair
wages.
In September last we made an in
crease Of two cents per hour in the
rates paid so that our machinists might
receive their share of the increase in
wages that was generally being made
to all classes of employees This increase
was given without the solicitation of the
men and we had every reason to believe
that our men were entirely satisfied
with their condition.
Mr.. Wilson started in to abuse in
public speeches the officials of this COM
pany and endeavored in every way to
fncite our men to make trouble In De-
cember he managed to get together at
/ Topeka, a sO-called delegate from each
of the divisions west of here, but these
people were told at that time that the
officers of the company were engaged
with committees Of other classes of en-
ployes and could not see the machin
lists until later Notwithstanding this
Mr. Wilson, with two other delegates,
made visit to the office of the super
intendent of machinery, while he was
away, and demanded that certain en-
plOyes (nOt giving their nameS) should
] ho fE0np[a GhnnE
within three days, or failing in this all
machinists on the Santa Fe system
would be called out No attention was
paid to this threat and the men were
not called out
Mr. Kendrick did agree that he
would meet committee of the ma
chinists of the system, if properly Sc
| lected, some time in March This
meeting took place in Chicago on the
23rd, the meeting being conducted
principally by representative of the
International Associated Machinists. It
| soon developed that the machinists on
/ the Santa Fe system, and particularly
those on the Atchison proper, had no
grievances. L was admitted that the
wages paid by this company at To-
peka and elsewhere on the east end
are as high as the maximum wages
paid by other companies, and that the
wages paid at La Junta and points
west thereof are higher than those
paid by other companies in the west.
Each and every delegate to this
meeting was asked If the men were
mistreated in any way. or in fact if
there We're any local grievances, and
it was clearly stated by them that
the men were not uistreated so far
as they knew and that they had prac-
ticalIy no grievances. As the confer
ence proceeded 1t became very appar-
ent that the meeting was not in the
interest of the employees of the Atchi-
son. Topeka & Santa Fe railway COM