The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-19
POWELL EXPLAINS
 STRIKE STATUS No Attempt to Make Ne
 grOes Engineers MANY FALSE REPORTS Vice President of the Queen and Cres- cent Explains Attitude of the z Road in the Present
 Firemen's Strike
MANY FALSE REPORTS

yesterday throughout Alabama, Tennes- see and Kentucky, Thomas C. Powell, vice president of the Queen and Crescent Route, says among other things that in the strike situation above Chattanooga, there has never been the slightest inten- ton of the company to promote negro firemen to locomotive engineers, and that so far there have been no serious fatali- ties, despite reports to the contrary.
 The official statement of Mir. Powell, giving the Queen and Crescent version of the dispute, follows:
 Tn reply to request of the citizens that the position of the railway company be stated, l beg to advise as follows which is a telegram I sent on March Il to Hon. Martin A. Knapp, presiding judge of the court of commerce, and one of the mediators appointed by President Taft under the provisions of the Erdman act
 |" Point of difference between the Gin cinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway company and it's fremen is as to the interpretation of the first two sec tions of Arcticle IS of schedule of wages and regulations, which became effective July 1, 1910, which read as follows:
 eF'iremen will have preference of work runs or promotion according to age in service, experience, merit and ability being equal: firemen who have had three and one-half years in freight ser vice will be considered eligible for pro- motion to engineers when otherwise fitted for such service. It is the intention to provide engineers by promotion from fire men to such positions as far as practi- cable.
 "'When a temporary vacancy occurs in passenger or preferred freight runs, 1t will be filled by the oldest available fireman in service. If the regular fire man does not return in ten days, the oldest fireman in line of promotion will be held for and placed on the run
 'The firemen desire to amend Article IS by a supplement reading as follows
 Tn employing or promoting men to the position of locomotive firemen ani hostlers only such men shall be consid- cred as are eligible to be promoted to and fill the position of locomotive ensi- neer. Bremen or hostlers now in the company's service that are not eligible to become it's engineers shall not be re- tained, except by special agreement be- tween the management and the regular accredited committee of fremen.'
 Tt is the established practice of the Cincinnati New Orleans and Texas Pa cifc Railway company not to promote colored firemen to the position of engi- neers. and 1t is the contention of the white firemen that the colored firemen should not be promoted in any way With l in the ranks of firemen
 "'The adoption of the proposed sup plement, quoted above, would result Tn excluding absolutely from service on the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pa cific Railway company colored men as hremen, regardless of their experience, merit and ability for such duties
 "Colored firemen have been employed on the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Tex as Pacific between Chattanooga and oak dale. Tenn, since 1904, but have not been employed north of Oakdale.
 "In the year 1904 it was found neces- sary to employ negroes as firemen, for the reason that the road was not able to oo- tain sufficient white firemen to man the engines Therefore, when the present ad- ministration took charge of the Cincin- nati. New Orleans and Texas Pacific op- erations, colored fremen were in service.
 There has been no effort on the part of the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway company to extend the use of colored firemen north of Oakdale.
 .Durine the first few days of the
 u-L;al, ooror,, epced at T n. m.. on March g. we were compelled, in order to move the passenger trans, to use colored firemen north of Oakdale, but as soon as we obtained a supply of white nremeh, which we very quickly did, we removed the colored firemen and, with the excep- ton of those first few days, we have been ,sinr white firemen exclusively north of Oakda1e.
 we are using between Oakdale and Chattanooga colored firemen, in accord ance with the practice for at least seven years, viz, since 1904
 "The company does not claim that col | ored men are suited for the position or en- sineers and has no intention of promoting any of the colored men to the position of engineer, but, under the articles or the | agreement with the firemen, the colored | fireman Is eligible to promotion within the | ranks of fremen, either to preferred | freight runs or to passenger runs, pro vided, of course, that he can be consid- cred from the standpoint of seniority, ex- perience, merit and ability.
 If we were to exclude from promo | tion as firemen within the ranks the hre- | men who are not capable of becoming To- | comotive engineers, we should be com pelled to exclude not only colored men, but also a good many white fremen who were in the employ of the company prior | to the strike and were serving as compe- tent firemen but, for various reasons, were not competent to become locomotive engineers. The suggestion of the f1remen' s committee was that such cases as these arising among the white firemen should be settled by special arrangement by and with the firemen's organization
 "It is the belief of the management of 1 the C., N. o. & T. P. that to accede to | the demands of the organization of white 1 hremen would so limit the operations of | the railroad, according to the best judx- l ment of it's officials, that there would be | a serious and permanent disturbance to
 traffic, and, therefore, serious and per- | manent injury to the rights of the pub lie.
 "The telegrams to Judge Knapp were
 sent by me with the hope that mediation
 proceedings would obviate the strike These efforts have failed owing to the
 persistent refusal of the f1remen's organ ization to accept mediation in any form
 We have held no conference with the officials of the firemens brotherhood since the afternoon of March g, and no effort has been made by the officials of the firemen's brotherhood to hold any confer.
 ence with us.