Bisbee daily review., 1911-09-06
Roads and Labor Friendly s & % x :.
 Kruttschnitt Maps Case

pay granted to all shop crafts of l2 1-2 per cent in the last five years, and in the face of the fact that the southern aPcific is now paying higher wages than any other railroad in the United States.
 Fellow Servant Law
 The effect of all these demands would increase the shop pay rolls Of the Hartman lines about S7,000,G00 annually.
 Sixth-No employees shall work by piece, premium or bonus system, where anything of this sort is in sx- istence, it shah be discontinued; shop foremanships shall be filled by promotion from the ranks of fedora. tion employees; all this in direct con iiiet with the public will recently em- phatically expressed that increased expenses of the carriers were to be met by increasing the efficiency of their operations and not by increas- ing freight rates.
 Seyenth-No form of physical ex- animation or personal record shall be required; that is, the company is de nied the right exercised by every citi- zen to require of persons entering his service evidences of competency, good character and health Under this rule, diseased, incompetent, inefi- cient and immoral persons might be employed, and if they succeeded in es- caping deteetion for thirty days they could not be discharged without dan ger of a strike.
 The fellow servant laws of Calif0r- mia, and of many other states, make the corporation responsible in dam ages to it's employees through negli- gence of co-employe. The proposed clause would deprive the corporation of all means of protection, and would promote inefficient and unsafe public service.
 Previous Strikes Not Serious
 Eighth-f forces are reduced. cm- Dloyes are 70 indicate who shall be laid oT, thereby embarrassing the company in efforts to increase eff eieney by ridding the service of in- efficient employees.
 Ninth-No employe belonging to tho federation is to be discharged or sus- pended without previous consent of the employees committee.
 Heretofore, any issue arising with a machinist. boilermaker. blacksmith or sheet metal worker, was taken up with the company by his associates, and in most cases was adjusted. When unsuccessful, strikes Of that particu- lar Qaft have followed, but these were not serious enough to cripple the operations of the properties and prevent them from performing the pubhc services for which they were created. Except in few cases, where sympathetic strikes were or dered, the trouble vas confined to the particular craft and line on which il originated.
 Under the change proposed by the federated employees and opposed by the companies, an issue raised on a small system road in Louisiana or Texas might stop all shop work throughout the system by requiring members to strike in distant Califor- nia, oregon, Washington or Nebras- ka. To settle the question the com Iany involved might have to meet a committee representing ali of it's craftsmen of all the lines of the liar r!man system.
 Railroads Duty
 Such an arrangement would mean chaos, would abridge 6r deprive the corporations of the ability to fulfill the duties imposed upon them by law. and the officers deliberately so betray. ing their trusts would be universally and justly condemned by public opin- ion.
 The public nature of the functions of the railroad corporations has re. gently been most clearly defined by the people in legislation, and by the courts in interpreting the laws. IL would be difficult today to find rail read officer who did rot fully recog nize the paramount nature of his du. ties to the public.
 These are the reasons why we de cline to surrender to an irresponsible committee of federated employees rep Tesenting a very small portion of the public, trusts coRfided to us by the entire public, and why we will not con cede to such a committee the right tc dictate whether our companies shall CT shall not fulfill for 2G,OO0, ,OGO O, people in seventeen states of the union the duties clearly prescribed by law.