The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1910-03-18

rified by the ghastly story told in a
thousand papers of the great Yelling
ton disaster which blotted out the lives
of hundred human beings, brought
sorrow and pain into many fireside
where the empty chairs will stand for
many day mute witnesses to that
avalanche of snow which swiftly and
silently did it's work of death and dis
truction. Gifted writers have told to
the world the story of that night when
the snowbound passenger trains with
their loads of sleeping people who lay
dreaming of the time when they should
be released from their prison and
should again be clasped in the arms of
loved ones, were sent hurtling down the
mountain side to an awful DEATH We
have read vivid stories of the work of
rescue of the living and dead from be-
meath that mass of twisted iron and
| broken timbers, fallen trees and banks
of snow Stories, too. of the heroism
of men and women who aided in the
work of rescue, and the herculean eff
forts to reopen the line for traffic,
railroad officials and common workmen
sticking doggedly to their task al
though in constant danger that they.
too. would be caught in another falling
avalanche of snow. The story is too
| gruesome and too awful to be soon for.
gotten and will be remembered for many
years as the tragedy of the Cascades.
There is sordid side to the story
which the people has been slow in hear
ing, story OF greed and mismanage-
ment and abuse shown bv the railroad
company towaid che armies of workmen
hired to clear the line, that it would be
unbelievable We're it not borne out and
| corroborated by the testimony of scores
OF workmen who reached the citv this
week. If we assume that their stories
are true, any lingering spark of sympa- j.
thy that may be in the breast of the
red blooded person who reads the story.
for the G. n. Co., will vanish.
The workmen arriving in the city
TINS week from the scenes of the dis
aster are not ignorant foreigners.
tramps or buns. Neither are they
newspaper correspondents in disguise.
looking Tor a sensational story for vel
low journalism. as railroad official
| flippantly stated. They were Just plain,
everyday American workinemen who
were willing to give an honest dav's
work for an honest days paw and
Wholesome grub ana decent treatment
in return. The police officials who took
| some thirty of them in and fed and
housed them Tuesday night will bear
out the statement that the majority
We're above the average common labor.
er IN intelligence A couple of instan.
ces will prove the assertion that tbev
were self-respecting and far from be-
longing to the vagrant or bum class of
humanity. Nine of the men refused
to accept the willingly offered proffer
OF the police of food and shelter, saw
ing they never yet had been forced to
sleep in police station nor had their
names ever been entered on police
blotter and even in their extremity they
could not bring themselves to accept
police hospitality
The publishers of The Journal took
nearly dozen of the men to a restau-
rant and made provision for their food
and shelter for the night. After eat
ing their supper one of the men met an
acquaintance ON the street, and, bor-
rowing S. from him, went back to the
restaurant and paid for himself and his
partner Tramps do not do business
that way. No, these men decidedly
were not of that character What kind
of treatment then did these men re-
eeive from the railroad company that
they would throw down their shovels
and walk the seventyfour miles from
Wellington to Everett?
Typical of the experiences of the men
is the story told to The Journal by w.
f. Bennett, who hired out from Spo-
kane He and his partner, Frank
Wheeler, quit the employ of the com
pany last Thursday and walked the
entire distance to Everett, their only
sustenance during the hike of four days
being half loaf of bread and few
half raw potatoes. Mr. Bennett is a
member of the Electrical Workers
union of Portland and hired out in
Spokane under the impression that he
was to do rescue work at the scene
of the wreck Mr.. Bennett and Mr..
Wheeler are typical young American
workers, intelligent, selfrespecting, law
abiding No one could hear the straight
forward manly way in which they told
their experiences without being CON
vinced of their truthfulness. Neither
one would be objects of charity and
Mr.. Bennett started looking for em-
ployment soon after reaching Everett
In his own words Mr., Bennett tells his