Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-07-06
Shipments STRIKE SITUATION
UNCHANGED IN WATERvILLE--
ONLY Y Men REPORT FOR WORK

The local end of the railroad strike
was unchanged Wednesday, only II
men, other than foremen and crafts
not on strike, responding at the re-
opening of the Waterville shops.
Pickets were everywhere Wednes-
day morning-quiet groups of men
numbering from to a dozen or more.
What might be called the main body
were seated on the steps of a store on
Britt street, which is the main thor
oughfare to the railroad shops. A
trolley car arrived from Waterville
and half dozen section men alighted
The section men belonged to the
maintenance of way department and
are not on strike. They greeted the
strikers cordially, and trudged down
the hill toward the shops, swinging
| their dinner boxes. Most Of the boxes
being Of the up-to-date kind with a
thermos bottle in the top. A middle
aged man with a deputy sheriff
| badge pinned on the outside of his
coat talked affably with the strikers
on general topics, but with no men
ton Of the main business in hand.
A fireman, who had worked all
night in the fire room of the shops,
and was not a strike breaker, came
| YEARLY up the hill and took a car for
Waterville. AS it neared Z o'clock an
automobile drove into the shop yard
carrying several railroad officials A
group of section men stood in a knot
apparently talking things over, but
when the whistle blew at they pick
!! ed up their shovels and began to work
on piece Of track. One by one the
crowd of watchers dispersed, a few
OF them having already got other jobs.
"Who are you scabbing for now?"
would be the laughing query directed
to a man in overalls. The man ad-
dressed would double up his fists as if
in great wrath. I'm not scabbing. I've
got job doing so and So" he would
reply as he walked away.
Just how many went to work Wed /
nesday morning derends how one fig
ures it. The foremen were all in their
places as they are not striking. The
firemen and those in charge Of the
motive power of the shop are not on
strike, and steam was up and the
electric speed was turned on at the
usual hour. About a dozen men. who
were expected to go to work anyway,
that this is in no sense a break in
their ranks, and it was with the best
OF courage that they entered upon the
fifth day of the strike. The men were
paid off at 3 o'clock Wednesday af-
ternoon from a passenger car on a
siding at the rear of the Railroad Y
NJ. c. A. This passenger car No. 101
had been fitted up for the purpose by
little rough carpentering. The door
at one end of the car had been partly
boarded up. At the top of this board
ing was a window ledge, and a pine
window ledge had been built for each
Of the two windows in the end of the
car. Inside were the paymaster and
his two assistants. standing at each
step at the end of the car was a spe-
cial deputy sheriff.
"All right boys, We'll do it Just the
way we did it at the shop" called the
paymaster. well begin with the
painters"
Then each man as his name was
called alphabetically mounted the
steps Of the car. handed in his rail-
road passes at the first window, and
was given his two pay envelopes for
the two weeks due him through the
door. and passed down the steps at
the other side of the car. The entire
crowd, including the paymaster and
his assistants. was in the best of hu-
NOR. When A particular popular mem
Der OF the crew mounted the steps, or
one we'll known for his popularity. he
would be greeted with appreciative
laughter or slight cheer.
The work of paying off the men oc-
cupied more than an hoIr. A local
newspaper man appeared on the
scene with a dimnutive camera and
took half A dozen snapshots of the
scene. receiving a good deal of good
natured joshing from the men. and
then. their work completed, the pay
master and his assistants left the
car and returned to the railroad off
ces over the Maine Central passenger
station.
The men were disposed to criticize
a bit the action of the railroad in
such lavish display Of guardians for
the payroll. why that pay-ma ster
knows each one of us by name" ex-
claimed one of the men, and he
knows we'll enough that we weren't
going to allow anybody to steal our
money just for the fun of asking the
railroad for more. We are not dis
posed to criticize but we would have
marched up to the regular pay VIM
dow at the shops, or to any other
place designated by the railroad off
cials. and accepted our envelopes
Just as quietly as we did today, and
just as we have always done for
many years"
Whatever ones opinion of the
paper to maintain position Of neu-
tra!ity, citizens yesterday could not
but express admiration for the real
heroism Of some Of the men: one of
them has a rating Of IS years, and is
over 20 years old and he has cast his
lot with the members Of the union.
Many other men of long service have
learned a particular part Of the work.
They are specialists and for a num-
Der Of years have done nothing. else.
waterville citizens, who are not rail-
road men. yesterday expressed the
opinion that these men also are TAX
ing a stand for which they are to be
commended from the standpoint Of
courage.
A chance visitor to Waterville. read
ing about the strike. would walk up