Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1915-01-20

HEARING STILL ON
Continued from Page Three)

days pay for the amount due on his
benefit premium, no matter whether
his wife and children were sick or
starving and needed immediate aid.
AS for blacklisting, George N. De-
CURE, a North Western engineer now
connected with the Grand Lodge Of
fee Of the firemen's brotherhood, Of
fered conclusive testimony. He ex-
hibited Santa Fe application blank
containing clauses absolving the rail-
road in any imaginable contingency,
in extended verbal detail, from all re-
sponsibility or blame for an employees
injury or death. In the Santa Fe
blank also was provision authoriz-
ing that company to cquire refer
ences from other companies with
which the applicant had worked, to
inquire into the applicants history
and comforting the right on these 9TH
er companies to give this information
to the Santa Fe. The witness held this
led to blacklisting..
Mr.. DeGuire at Fridays session mar
rated the story Of Ed. Powers, an en-
gineer on the Lake Shore division of
the North Western Railroad, running
out Of Green Bay, Wis, who because
he had stepped into saloon on GER
tain day in 1909 and taken a glass Of
milk at the bar, was Immediately
thrown out Of the service by Supt. An
drews under Rule G regarding the use
10 Nv khok Ev,
gineer Powers never drank intoxicat-
ing liquors and that Supt. Andrews
was so informed and admitted the
truth Of the statement. This made no
difference, however, and Powers was
kept out of service, Mr.. Andrews say
ing, $50 long as l am on the North
Western, Powers shall never get a
job on the road"
It was shown that young Powers
tramped around for nearly year and
although he did obtain job at Ash
land, Wis, on another branch of the
same road, the influence of Andrews
was sufficient to GUST him from that
place within two weeks. 1t was only
through the kindly influence of Mr.:
Cantillon, recently deceased, general
manager of the road, that Powers was
restored to place.
William B. Best, Chairman of Engi-
neers on the Canadian Northern Rail-
road, was another man who took the
stand on Friday and told a tale of
tramping over the face of the earth
like the Wandering Jew, going from
railroad to railroad inquiring for work
and being turned down everywhere
Unfortunately, Mr.. Best many years
ago had participated in strike on
the old Great Northern road and be-
cause Of his Identification with the
union movement seemed to have been
voted an industrial outcast by the rail-
road companies. Mr.. Best said he
worked for years on logging road
in Northern Minnesota and acquired
employment on the Canadian North
ern because, at the time, that road
, was under construction and blacklist
, ing apparently had not reached it.
Another bit of evidence clinching
the charge that blacklisting is and
has been practiced was offered by
Grand Chief Stone in the form of a
copy of an application blank of the
Oregon and Washington Railway and
Navigation Co., the last clause of
which reads: II hereby release your
company from any and all liabilities
for damage, Of whatsoever nature, on
account Of furnishing the information
above requested, which is to be used
in determining my fitness for the pos
ition mentioned" Mr.. Stone develop
ed that this clause virtually was a
legal waiver for any damages on &C.
count of blacklisting with which the
company at some future time might
be accused.
1T would seem, then, that this COM
pany was fearful it would get into
trouble and, therefore, asked for the
DeGuire.
eyes, would say that the company
in this instance was playing safety
first" replied the witness.
Other features of the week briefly
were:
Failure of Mr.. Sheean of the COM
panies to cause w. Jett Lauck, expert
statistician of the brotherhoods, to ad-
nit that the increase of wages in 1910
in any respect had offset recent gains
in productive efficiency of the men.
The settlement of 1910 for firemen
was unsatisfactory and the small in
crease of wages then was based en-
tirely upon the higher cost of living;
the engineers settlement was entire
ly through mediation and amounted to
little.
Western roads have accumulated a
credit Of over $700,000,000 in recent
years with which to reward the in
creased efficiency of engineers and
firemen.
A. H. Hawley, Grand Secretary and
Treasurer of the firemen's brother
hood, declared that AZ per cent Of the
firemen die with their boots on and
that 81 per cent of the disability
claims of the brotherhood paid since
1904 were the result of blindness and
amputations caused by railroad acct
dents.
DR.. Henry J. Harris, of Washing
ton, D. c., widely known as a Stats
tical expert, said that the working
life Of an engineer is between eleven
and twelve years.
DR.. w. B. Cory, general medical ex-
aminer Of the firemen's brotherhood,
testified that virtually all the ills to
which RvoYnou o11c hoiv. ho ~.