The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-05-06
Railway vi all Clerks
Forbidden to Affiliate
With Federation.
CALLED MENACE
TO THE SERVICE
Officials Oppose Any Organiza-
ton Which Bars Them From
Participation in It's Affairs,
Lest Department Lose
Control Of Employees.
No Right to Organize.

Washington. d. c.. May 5.-"A labor
union that viii not admit officers and
< supervisors OF the department., that
! holds its meetings behind closed doors.
thar has a secret password. and that
does not permit The heads OF depart
ments 10 take part In It's deliberations
VIII always be disapprovcd by our de-
pertinent"
This Is the reply made by Second
\ Assistant l'osGmastcr-Gcneral stewart
to-day before the House Comm!ttcc on
reforms In the Civil Service TO Il ques.
lion asked by Representative Gillette
OF Massachusetts. as to what objection
the department had to the clerks organ
izins union. The committee is in
reEtlgating the recent troubles In the
Post-Oflce department. arising from
the controversy between the railway
mall clerks. who organized to affiliate
with the American Fed Grafton OF Labor,
and those i'll authority
Before Mr.. Stewart took the sta nd.
Frank Morrison. secretary OF the fed
GRAFTON. concluded his statement 10 the
( committee. which he began Wednesday
He denied that the proposed union OF
railway mail Clerks could result in
general strike upon call Of the fed
Grafton.
Ilooscy~Is Order HecaiIcd.
Reference WAS made by Mr. stewart
to the executive order Of l9O2 issueu
originally By President Roosevelt and
later approved b. President Taft, for
bidding employees OF the government
TO petition Congress for salary In
creascs or for the redress of griev-
ances. lie also included in the record
the order issued by The Post .Omce
Department forbidding railway mall
VI clerks to organize. s'ss j;
L = 80 IL Z
Representative Wilson, OF Penntyi-
vania. chairman OF the Committee on
asked Mr.. Stewart II he denied the
right OF civil service employees TO
4 strike. Mr.. Stewart did not answer
the question directly. but instead. In
unired II Mr. Wilson did not think the
oath taken by government employees
IN assuming their positions should be
placed above everything else
Some Belong to rnIons.
Questioned further by Chairman
Wilson Mr. stewar, admitted that
printers. iinotrpers and other en-
ployes Of the government were AT
iiilatcd with unions, but he consider
ell that Affiliations OF this sort were
not SO ininical 10 tho interest. of the
government as an utilization covering
distinct branch of the service as was
the case with the railway mail en-
pioyes
we now have organizations among
the employees of the Post-Omce De-
partment." the Second Assistant Post
master-General declared, hut in these
+ organizations supervisory officers have
part. They do not want to permit
these oficials to Join the union under
discussion. An organization of the
character proposed would he peril to
The government II such thing had
been permitted II would have meant
that the Immediate control OF the
executive officers of the government
& service would have become disorgan-
lied AID control would have passed
into the hands of the organization.
Might Calf for >vnlkout.
This might even call for walk
out base the latter assumption on
my knowledge Of the character and
n history of organiza atoms OF this class"
4# Represent tive Kent, of California.
asked Mr.. Stewart If he had heard Of
any trouble at the Government Print
ing Ofict, and Mr., Stewart replied that
he had not.
II take the position" said MIR. stew
art, that the clerks have no right to
organize unless the supervisory off
GERS are permitted TO hsconie par
OF their organization. All OF ehesa or
ganizations should be subseryient to
the supreme jurisdiction of the head or
the department."
wouldn't that be bureaucracy ". in !
qured Representative Finley, of South
Carolina MIR. Stewart did not think
1t would M
Membership Scattered.
AIR. Stewards attention was called
to the fact that there is one organi-
cation Of postal clerks--ths National
Federation of Postal Clerks which Is
affiliated with tho American Fedora
lion of Labor He said he knew this
but that the membership of this ma
iional fedora ton lis scattered all over
the country. and that snerefore there
could he no comparison between II and
the proposed organization of railway
I. mail clerks, who gathered al the di.
vision headquarters
If We had been confronted a the
time that body was organized with The
positions that confront us today said
ar. stewart that body would not have
heen permitted 10 be formed any more
than we will permit the organizati ton
of the Railway Mail Clerks Union that
has been proposed"
Mr.. stewart was asked why the
III executive order referred to. forbiddinE
clerks 10 petitionlfor salary increases
and the like. had been issued
'fnde hearers Laugh.
We'll" tho Second Assistant Post
H aster General replied "thc civil SER
vice has hecn taken out of politics"
/. For some reason or another, everybody
laughed except MIR. Stewart. who looked
surprised. lt.
i MIR. Stewart was asked why the or
der to railway mall employees forbid
ding them to organize a union was is
d sued, He replied that an emergency
existed which 1t was necessary to meet.
Ia real peril then confronted the SER
vice hr said. Tho railway mail SER