Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-03-24

/
his refusing to sign.
Gateman and watchrnan.
Now let us consider the case Of the
trackmen, the gatemen and the
crossing watchmen-the poorest paid
men in railroad service. Does it
seem possible that any of the big
railroads would ask man to work
! twelve to thirteen and one-half hours
watching a crossing, with its resp0u-
sibility in some cases where gates are
| operated with but one day off per
month for the twelve-hour man, and
| two days for the man who works
| thirteen and one-half hours? These
companies have such great considera-
ton for the safety of the public! Some
safety! safety first" Just think,
they practically force these men TO
| sign such a petition regardless of
what their convictions might be.
| Of course, they are not compelled
| to sign, but take the poor old man
who has grown old in the service, per-
haps enfeebled through exposure and
| hard work on the tracks or In some
other branch of the service; or the
young man who has had the misfor-
tune to be crippled, either in the train
service or perhaps struck by train
while cleaning switches in blind
| ing snowstorm while working with
the track force. There are many such
cases which happened before the COM
pensation law was enacted, and this
is the best position the company can
give them-a position working thir-
teen and one-half hours day in some
cases. These companies insist that
the public is their first consideration.
, They seem to lose sight of the fact
that these poor men are part OF the
public.
Some SigneFs Are Not Citizens.
Speaking of the petition, which is
being filed out by the men in this
department, some of the signers are
not even citizens of the United States
and do not even know what they are
signing. There are also some OF these
men who are very intelligent in the
affairs of the day, who read the pa
pers of their own language, and, while
not in sympathy with the move to
repeal the law, they feel that their
hands are tied, and sign it without
question.
With regard to the yard force, take,
for instance, the clerks, switchnfen
and assistant yardmasters-what can
they do? After a turmoil has been
raised the general yardmaster can
say, Certainly not; you need not
sign 1t if you do not wish to-"
This is said when the newspapers
get hold of the information that the
companies are using all manner OF
persuasion and means little short of
threats, for, when the clerk finds he
is liable to have to report to the
office in the event of refusal, what is
there for him to do? A clerk many
years in the service is sent around
to get petition signed by all clerks,
switchmen and any one else whom he
can get What his instructions are
nobody knows, but he knows his busi-
ness, and after several years OF SER
vice with the company he is a we'll
disciplined employee; in fact, none but
such would be entrusted with a docu-
ment of this kind
Those Called Carefully Chosen.
A man, working for railroad COM
pany, entrusted with such a task, is
quite sure to live up to the letter of
his instructions, and he does so in
variably, but the fact is. that among
the employees Of this branch of ser
vice there happen to be several men
who belong to the organizations who
for the protection of themselves and
fellow employees are working to pre-
vent the repeal Of this law. Their
honor prevents them from playing the
part of traitor and they are ordered
to the office for their action. The su-
perior officer is notified that there
are men in these lines who will not
sign and he comes to the ground at
once. This, in itself, Is not an act of
intimidation, from his point of view,
as he afterward expressed himself,
but in the opinion of others 1t Is an
act of coercion.
The superior officer finds out that
the men who were ordered to the
office were In some cases members
Of the Brotherhood Of Railroad Train
men, and to try to bluff them would
be a terrible mistake. This would
never do. so some were told that they
need not call at the Office In the
morning. Unfortunately, a few of
them were overlooked and did call at
the office.
As men have a habit OF complain
ing when they feel aggrieved, II seems
that a newspaper friend heard of the
railroad company's method Of obtain
ing signatures and reporter called
to ascertain IL such are the facts. OF
course the reporter is informed that
a mistake has been made-a nisun-
derstanding of instructions on the
part OF the clerk who was obtaining
the signatures; he should not have
ordered the men to the Office (surely
not organization men).
Clerks Follow Instructions.
A clerk IN charge OF such a mission
is not likely to assume authority on
his own initiative. Notwithstanding
all statements to the contrary, he
knows better. He generally follows
his instructions to the letter, but in
case his action should stir up strife
among the men or plans miscarry, as
rule he Is the goat. The explana-
ton is, "a misunderstanding on the
part OF Mr.. Clerk" and an assurance
on the part OF the company's official
to the effect that there is no compul-
sion to sign, or an attempt of coer-
cion, or intimidation of any kind-1ust
a misunderstanding, ETC., etc.
l might state that these are facts
in the case OF the company's action in
their hopes of repeating the full crew
law; but worse, and more OF 1t, is
that one OF our biggest railroad COM
panies should go so far as to call it's