Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1915-02-03
PAY OF ENGINEERS
and F|REmEN
Testimony Before Arbitration
Board Develops Conflicting G
Statements.

OF wages and working conditions for
negro tiremen in the South, secret
propaganda has been started by some
Of the powerful Western railroads to
d:scredit brotherhood officials and so
to twist the issue as to make it ap-
pear that the brotherhoods are en-
ueavoring to oust negro firemen in
stead Of help them.
Within the last week a powerful and
widespread publicity campaign has
been inaugurated by the conference
committee Of managers in Western
territory and virtually every newspa-
per and periodical in the Mississippi
Valley, Rocky Mountain and Pacific
Coast states has been bombarded with
printed sheets purporting to repro
duce dialogue and testimony from the
Western wage hearing at Chicago re-
tlecting on the judgment and good will
of such men as Warren S. Stone,
grand chief Of the engineers brother
hood, William S. Carter, head of the
firemen's brotherhood, and their CO.
workers.
On Jan. 2Sth this corporation pub
licity combination sent out story
which began as follows: "Denial of
the co1ored firemen's right to work at
all on Southern railways unless these
firemen receive wage increases which
would result in their losing their jobs
was the stand taken today by the en-
gineers' and firemen's brotherhoods
when they resumed the fight on the
negro labor question"
There followed more matter along
the same line and various alleged quo
tations from speeches by President
Carter of the firemen's brotherhood
and others.
On Jan. 9th the corporation public
| ity bureau, referring to the same neg
ro controversy which was opened that
| day, said: "President W. S. Carter of
| the f1remen's brotherhood made a
heated speech demanding that any ar
bitratiOn award be applicable to negro
| f1remen uniformly with whites, though
| the negroes now and always have
been denied admission to the brother
hoods, and Mr.. Carter himself admit
ted that the negroes, if it were neces-
sary to pay them the same as whites,
| would lose their jobs"
In contrast to these statements, the
truth regarding the stand of the two
brotherhoods, as cleaned from stem
ographic report of Wednesdays and
Thursdays proceedings may be out
lined as follows:
| Negro fire1nen work on Southern
railroads at much lower stipend than
is given white firemen and from a
purely selfish and mercenary stand
point the negroes, although not quite
so competent as the white men, are
given the preference by railroad COM
panies.
The basic constitutional laws of the
brotherhoods make eligible to their
membership only persons of white
blood" The fact that the firemen's s
and engineers brotherhoods were
born within decade after the Civil
war and sprung into life in the New
England states may account for this
so-called bar. This eligibility embargo
keeps out Japanese, Chinese and 9th.
er non-white races.
In spite Of this embargo, the bro.
therhood officials have for many years
made it practice when higher wages
or amelioration Of working conditions
were awarded to brotherhood mem
bers the same should apply to all
workers in the craft without regard tc
organization fealty. In this way non
members of the firemen's and engi
neers' brotherhoods have participated
in the benefits of various awards.
President Carter having discovered
that James M. Sheean, counsel for the
railroad companies, recently got into
the arbitration hearing record a not
ice that the firemen on the Yazoo ant
Mississippi Valley Railroad were ex
empt from participating in any pos
sible award made in the present con
troversy, informed the board Wednes
day that he had in his pocket peti
tion from 1872 firemen on that roat
asking that they be included. Practi
cally all of these firemen, if not all
are negroes, Mr.. Carter said, and hi
made it plain that at no time had thu
|! brotherhoods indicated to the West
ern railroad companies desire to ex
empt the Y. & M. V. firemen from any
| benefits the present movement Nigh
| bring. Whereupon Attorney Sheea1
made spirited speech in which II
accused the brotherhoods of secre
effort ito root them out of their job
so that there would not be the oppor
/ tunity to do what is fully understood
not to mean taking care of the firemel
Il upon that road, but to deprive the fire
| men Of that road of their pres
ent Jobs" When Mr.. Sheean saf'
"them" he referred to the negro fire
men in the South.
President Carter explained to tn
board in detail that both the engl
neers' and firemen's brotherhoods ha,
been attempting for many years t.
spread any beneficial results the bro
therhoods might obtain through negc
tiations to workmen outside of thei
ranks. He said it was the same Il
this instance.
\ It was Charles Nagel, neutra