El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-02-04

under which the locomotive engineers
and conductors of the National railways
Of Mexico are required to perform their
duties, for both salaries, and conditions
are as advantageous for the men as
those that obtain on the railways of the
United States, if not more so. Nor is
any complaint made as to any specific
act or order of the company. What has
happened is that some of the more i'm
pulsive of the locomotive engineers and
conductors, belonging to the American
unions, have sought TO dictate to the
management of the railways the rules
which it must observe in appointing and
promoting employees in the future, and
their object in thus seeking 10 dictate
to the company is not as they say, TO
assure the safety of the travelling pub
lie, but TO create obstacles to an in
crease in the number of nonunion men in
the service of the line. 1 maintain that
il is not the safety of the travelling
public that is at the bottom of these
demands because the safety of travel is
not imperiled; in point of fact there
has been a diminution in the number of
accidents since the reorganization of
the company, and il is worth while not
ing that the train dispatchers, on whom
the lives of the passengers depend as
much as on the engineers, are now near
ly all Mexicans owing to last years
the service Of the company.
Company VIII Not Surrender
las then, there is no cause for the
foreign engineers and conductors to fear
for the safety of the travelling public,
We must seek elsewhere for the motive
OF their demands, and if it be considered
that So percent of the engineers and
rs percent of the conductors belong
to the American unions, and that the
essence Of their demands was that they
be entitled to appoint two out of the
three members of the examining boards.
and that orders be issued in English
when so requested, one does not need TO
possess much perspicacity in order TO
perceive the real aim of the movement.
1t is true that, subsequently. these de-
mands were modified. the representa- tives
of the orders agreeing TO forego a ma
jority ON the examining boards and pro-
posing that the boards should consist
of four members, of whom two were to
be appointed by the company and the
other two by the local committees of
adjustment Of the engineers and con-
decisions TO rest with the d.
vision superintendent in case of a tie.
But 1t must be remembered that most
of the division superintendent have be-
longed to one or other of the orders, and
in any case, the second proposition was
no HoIe compatible IMAM the flrSt with
the fundamental principle which the
board has adopted for the guidance of
its policy, the principle namely, that
no one outside Of the superior officers
OF the company, responsible fol its pol
ICY and management can or ought TO
control the appointment and promotion
OF men in the service of the lines"
As to Foreigners.
How does this question" asked the
reporter, affect the other much mooted
question Of the proportion of Mexicans
and foreigners?"
L have stated" said the minister.
what l consider TO be the vital prin-
clple at stake. But in addition, natur-
ally the natives of our country are
qualifying in larger numbers than for
nerly for the various branches of rail-
way work, and when a vacancy occurs It