The midland journal., 1909-06-04

Atlanta, Ga. Especially How less
than 100 striking Georgia Railroad
firemen were able to stop practically
all train service in a territory ITO
miles long and from % to 100 miles
wide was the knotty problem into
which United States Commissioner
of Labor Charles X. Neill plunged
Immediately after he arrived here.
AS emissary of the National Board
of Mediation, he faced first. the race
problem, the force behind the strike;
second, an announced wish of many
persons in this section to have the
Georgians settle this 4 estion by ar
bttration, and third, the necessity of
moving the United States mails i'm
nediately.
Within two hours after his ar.
rival Mr.. Neill was in private con-
ference with General Manager Scott,
of the Georgia Railroad, with no in.
timation as to when the negotiations
might bring results.
What a remarkable feat his hand.
full of union firemen accomplished
and what power was behind them
became apparent, when consider.
able section of this state was COM
PEELED to rely on automobiles for pas.
senger, mail and express service, and
when the transportation of such ne.
cessities of life as food dropped back
to the methods of a former degree
of civilization-namely, to wagons
and even pack animals.
The four score firemen alone did
not produce this situation. 1t was
the communities which the railroad
served that stopped every wheel OF
the system during the past three
days; not the officials of these COM
munities, but a. few men who are
said to haye fighting blood in theiI
veins, who came forward and an
nounced that negro firemen should
not be given seniority over the white
firemen. From some hidden source
of public opinion these men have up
to now made good this racial ulti'
matum.
Few of these men were firemen,
some did not even claim to be ac'
quainted with striking firemen. They
accomplished the tie-up without ser1-
GUS acts of violence, and, with a few
cases of throwing stones, which ap-
pear to have been accomplished as
warnings of what might happen II
trains continued to run.
A settlement by arbitration should
not be difficult so far as the strikers
demands are concerned, Vice Pres.
ident Ball, of the firemen's organiZa'
ton, said, because the firemen are
not trying to exact hard and fast
settlement. They struck because Ten
white firemen were replaced by ne
gro firemen. The railroad officials
declare that the negroes were put I'D
these positions as rewards for faltn-
full service, and that they are Witnln
their legal rights in such action. Up
on this one crucial point OF the con-
troyersy there has as yet been no
sign of agreement.
The officials of the road We're ID
almost continual conference TuesdaS
and it was reported that some or the
directors strongly favored Governor
Smiths proposition for each SIDE
to select three Georgians as arni-
traitors. General Manager Scott
would not say whether this oner
would be accepted.
Handcars, automobiles and inter-
urban cars made little impression
upon the 5000 pounds of delayed
mails at the Atlanta postoffice. Here
and there in the strike district a
rural postmaster shouldered sack
of outgoing mail. and after hours OF
hard work riding and walking, man
aged to reach an unaffected railroad
station.
Reports were current that the
federal courts might interfere and
place guards on trains, in order to
get the mails through. No such
action, however, developed locally.