Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-09-01
TRA|NMAN' TAKES
WHACK At PIERCE,
B.E.R.E.PR PRESIDENT
Calls Him ''Disturber" and Say:
He Caused Needless
Strike Here y
STATES POSITION OF B. R. 7.
Declares He Tried to Start Some
thing on Being Defeated
by Firemen
STATES POSITION OF B. R. T.

In connection with the recent strike
of the Brotherhood of Federated Rail-
way Employees here and the imbroglio
involving several Harrisburg members
of the allied railroad brotherhoods,
which has been settled by an order
directing the reinstatement of the men
accused of violating their loyalty to
the brotherhood, the Railroad Train
man for September, official organ OF
the Brotherhood of Railroad Train
men, directs a length editorial at con-
ditions here.
The editorial says, iE part:
THE brotherhood at present is suf-
fering from a local attack of effer-
Vescent unionism that has belched
forth in its most serious form among
certain Pennsylvania employees al
Harrisburg, Pa. AS a direct result to
this brotherhood numberous news
paper statements have been sent over
the country, one of which reads as
follows
Ballots were distributed here
to-day among members of the
Brotherhood of Railroad Train
men for vote on the question of
calling a convention to consider
charges against President w. G..
Lee and other grand lodge Off
GERS. The nature of the charges
is not disclosed, but they are said
to involve transactions affecting
the interests of the brotherhood.
ITO call the convention will
require the affirmative vote of
f1fty-five per cent. of the brother
hood members. The convention
will elect new grand lodge officers
II the charges are sustained.
This will serve as a sample of the
news notes that have been very widely
circulated throughout Pennsylvania
The cause of this disturbance can be
attributed chiefly to w. H. Pierce, who
had acted as deputy. organizer for the
Brotherhood ofNLocomotive Firemer
and Enginemen. and who was a de.
feated candidate for the position ot
vice-president of that organization al
its 1913 Washington, d. c., conven-
ton. About October, 1913, Pierce or.
ganized what was named the Brother.
hood of Federated Railway Employees
with headquarters at Harrisburg. He
as matter of course, was it's presi
dent. Carmen, shopmen, clerks anc
other railway employees not eligible t
membership in the four transportation
organizations were especially invited
to join the new organization.
President Lee tried to make it plair
that the assistance or in.
f1uence of the transportation organ.
izations would not be given to the new
organization until the chief executives
of the organizations already organized
and affiliated with the American Fed.
Grafton of Labor claiming jurisdiction
over the classes of employees intended
to be organized by Pierce had giver
their consent or approval for such
assistance. President Lee stated thai
- Il. n
men was in sympathy with all of the
unorganized classes on the Pennsylva.
MIA railroad, but that he did not pro-
pose in any wise to antagonize the
organizations affiliated with the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor by giving
support to an organization such as was
proposed until he was certain the
American Federation of Labor was
willing to lend Its support.
The Pierce organization, like al
other organizations of its kind, was
born in the promise that immediate
results would be secured and the as
surance that the transportation organ.
izations were behind 1t. The only way
open that offered promised results was
to declare a strike OF the employees
interested, and early in May, 1914, g
strike of these employees was declared
at Harrisburg and vicinity
iSlCC Lully appreciates NuG lllSltl'
cerity of his statements to the effect
that the officers Of the four organ
izations were traitors when they die
not set aside their constitutions an6
laws for the purpose of assisting the
men he led into a strike and, as we
have every reason to believe, encour.
aged them to go on strike by promises
to the effect that the Firemen and
Trainmen at least would go to their
a cufc OF DinrIn ha hanr q oaf
of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen and Enginemen long enough
to understand that the organizations
do not do business in any such way
"a brief summary of the situation
as It stands is: Pierce was an indiffer-
ent organizer for the Firemen, a de-
feated candidate for Office in it's grand
lodge; he looked for like work in an
other direction; his only way to secure
own, which he did. His chief argu-
ment in favor of the organization was
quick results, and after the organ
ization had assumed some little size q
strike was the only thing left to satisfy
the membership. 1t was called. A
number of men representing the
classes affected responded in Harris
burg and the immediate vicinity, but
the strike order had no effect else
where. The Trainmen were asked tc
strike in sympathy and a number OF
our members expressed themselves as
being in favor of going out to assist
the strikers. They were advised very
plainly they could not do ii and re-
main in the brotherhood. These are
the men. so far as we understand, who
have Joined in the press note for a
convention ito consider the charges
against certain officers"