The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-01-22
Mexican Railroad Situation Is
Now Believed to Be
Very Serious.
RELATIONS ARE STRAINED
HARD FEELING BETWEEN THE
EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYED
WILL MEASURE STRENGTH IN
BIG STRIKE.

San Antonio. Texas. JAN 22-There
is no longer any doubt that within a
few weeks the National lines of Next
co and their American and foreign en-
plOyes will measure their respective
strength in a general strike or lock out
For some time past relations between
employer and employe have been very
strained and had it not been that both
sides had been anxious to fence for
time, things would have been brought
to an issue before this. The manage
ment of the road entirely under the in
fluence of the Mexican government
which owns about 80 per cent of it's
stock, has been trying to settle the diff
ficulties with the American and for
eign engineers, foremen, conductors
and dispatchers, by gradually elimi-
mating them, and the latter have kept
up desultory warfare in one way or
another.
Dates Back Some Time
The present situation may be said to
have had its inception about five years
ago in the strike of the locomotive
firemen of what was then the Mexican
Central and in the strike of the ma
chinists in the Laredo shops occurring
little later. The first move on the
part of the Central was the transfer of
the machine shops from Laredo in Tex
as to Nuevo Laredo on the Mexican
side of the Rio Grande and other points
in the interior, such as Monterey and
San Luis Potsoi. For a while it was
hot ho
tween employer and employee would
make room for better feelings, but
grievances on all sides kept adding to
the flame, and last summer the govern
ment, after having gained control over
the railroads that had been merged in
to the national lines. decided to dis
place as many foreign and American
employees as possible. The office force
composed entirely of Americans. was
the first to go; brakemen and yard en-
plOyes went next. Their places were
filled with Mexicans. 1t was not pos
sible, however, to follow a like meth
cd in the case of engineeds, conductors
and dispatchers. However. these, too,
had been slated for removal and to get
Mexicans with the necessary training
her of railroad schools. The graduates
from these instituoins have already
taken the places of many Americans
and contrary to popular belief are
proving excellent railroad men.
Engineers Went Out.
Some time ago about 100 engineers
and others resigned their positions ap-
Of in
the system in a bad fix. The plan
does not seem to have worked as antic-
ipated and no disturbance in the reg
ular traffic of the roads resulted. For
all that there are still enough Ameri-
can and foreign employees connected
with the system to tie it up completely
should they decide to go on a strike.
That this will be resorted to by the
engineers, dispatchers and conductors
in an effort to fix their status can no
longer be doubted. Their claim is
that the National Lines have not acted
with fairness in good many instances
A short time ago rule was adopted
making it obligatory that all promo
ton examinations of firement would
have to be passed not in English as
heretofore, but in Spanish, something
very few would be able to do. Of
175 who presented themselves for the
examination. only five to ten passed
This arrangement, Of course, will mean
that the American firemen will either
have to learn Spanish Or remain a
fireman while a Mexican becomes his
engineer. The management of the
National Lines argues that q man nor
able to speak the language of the coun-
try after many years residence in it.,
does not deserve what amounts prac-
tically public employment by having
shown the absolute lack of interest his
ignorance of the language implies, A
protest from the Brotherhood of Lo-
connective Engineers has been answered