The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1910-01-21
A New Labor Organization.


ed Irishman Is T. II. Morrissey a dip.
lomat OF long experlenc and proved
skill. with 1908 he completed four.
teen years of service at the head OF
the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
During that time the average wage OF
the more than one hundred thousand
members of his organization increased
from one dollar and ninety cents to
two dollars and fifty.four cents day
"A ten per cent bigger jump than was
secured by conductors, engineers or
any other class of employees. One of
his last acts as president of the union
was to head n committee which, after
long negotiation with the general man
ayers of railroads west of Chicago,
procured an advance In wages that
aggregates some seven million dollars
a year. And the general managers
were so much impressed with Morris.
sey's fairness and moderation that
several OF them presented him with
their portraits inscribed with their
names. Also Morrissey is justifiably
proud of a letter written to him by
certain distinguished faunal natur-
alist. just before his recent lease Of
the white house expired, in which
the labor leader is Enthusiastically
assured that mighty few men have
helped me as much as you have"
SO, when the great railroad corpora
tions began, finally to realize the over
whelming force of public opinion 1t
was perfectly natural that they should
select Morrissey to head their prOpa-
ganda. Morrissey is good business
man as well as an organizer. His man
ner is a nice mixture of Cordiality
and caution. When he took hold of
the Brotherhood it's treasury was not
far from empty. When he quit it had
more than million and half in
it's strong box and Morrissey himself
laid down a salary of seven thousand
dollars to take the presidency of the
American Railroad Employees and
Investors assoCiation-the business
of which is to mould public opinion
and to prevent, if possible. the passage
of unfavorable railroad legislation.
It was the great year of 1907 that
taught the railroads their lesson. H.
Iinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and
Iowa reduced passenger rates from
three to two cents mile. Kansas
Oklahoma and especially Texas passed
stringent laws. 1t was Texas which
passed law declaring that no railroad
train must be more than thirty min
utes late, under any circumstances
Another Lone.Star enactment empow
ers three of the state officials to fly
the number of locomotives, freight
and passenger cars and the amount Of
other equipment which each railroad
in the state must own, and to re
quire it's purchase. Up in Kansas the
state railroad commission made {
ruling cutting down all freight rates
in the state by twenty-five per CEN
on the average: ordered the companies
to build, at their own expense, spul
and side tracks to all elevators ant
warehouses adjoining their right o
way; and fixed a minimum rate o
speed at which all freight must bt
moved. Missouri gave its commission
power to make schedules for the run
ming of trains on all branch lines ant
to change other timetables wheneve
the commission thought such changes
would benefit certain communities
and passed law compelling the road
to build stations at all grade crossings
The corporations filled the air will
shrill screams of wrath.
Condemned at the bar of public opin
ion-though, in their own opinion, un
justly--the presidents and vice presi
dents of fourteen of the greatest rail
road systems in the west quietly me
in Chicago. With them fore-gathere,
the heads of the four great unions o
railroad employees. 1t was confer
ence representing hundreds of million
of capital and hundreds of thousand
of workmen, all vitality interested il
the one great industry,
A conference of this kind-involy
ing the two great elements in tn
railroad business have most often bee
at war with each other-was possibl
then, because, during the panic manas
ers and men had learned, APPARENT
for the first time, the lesson that the
are mutually dependent upon eac
other in making railroad property pre-
fitable. When the panic struck raj
road revenues dropped like the me,
curry in a cold wave: expense keI
up To cut expenses down by cuttin
wages meant a probable strike. |
this emergency some wise man RI
membered that great authority ha
estimated that a quarter of the hug
coal bill of the railroad companie
could be saved by the expert and carr
full firing of locomotives. The mans
gers went to the men and put the cas-
straight up to them. Stop THROWN
big chunks of coal off on the right {
way in order to save the trouble {
breaking it up" they told the firemel
BE more careful in handling freight
they said to the brakemen and hant
lers, and save us few millions
damage claims" Have all orders an
way-bills ready so that trains won
no DELAYED " they suggested to the ST