Year: 1877

At 4 O'Clock on the afternoon OF reo' IL
last, all the engineers OF the Boston and
Maine Railroad, in pursuance OF an ar
rangement previously determined in or
der to enforce demand for considera-
BILE increase of pay, stopped their trains
wherever they happened to be, drew the
fires, and abandoned their engines. Such
engineers as could be found. no; members
ut the trade organization, were obtained,
and operations were gradually resumed !;
after three days of disturbance. inconven-
ience and danger, the business Of the road
was gotten into shape again and the de-
feat of the strikers was completed. But
this was not attained without repetition
of the outrageous Inconvenience inflicted
upon the innocent public. such as those
who had personal experience of the New
jersey Central strike have not forgotten ;
there was serious and threatening block
ade of freight, and the attitude of the
strikers was such as to challenge atten-
ton, for il went so far as to defy public
opinion. At meeting OF engineers held
in Faneui Hall, Mr.. Arthur, of Ohio, who,
as Grand Chief Engineer OF the Brother
hood of Locomotive Engineers, had or
dered the strike, denounced certain train
dispatcher as a perjured villain who had
violated his oath, warned the managers
of the Old Colony road that if they did
not desist from aiding the Maine road they
would have strike on their own, and
threatened that if the other roads con-
tinued to furnish help he would "stop
every road running out OF Boston" He
did not try it. however, but the State Rail-
road Commissioners investigated the case,
and recommended the passage of an act
making 1t penal offense for any engineer
to abandon his engine except at the end
OF his trip, to interfere with any other
employee, or TO refuse to haul ears belong
ing TO other corporations than that by
which he is employed. All this is a mat
ter of record, and it is revived by the re-
cent action OF the Reading road. The
strikers struck further and harder and
nearer home than they knew. The man
ayers Of the Reading-whose President
has had long notable and victorious con-
test with the molly Maguires''-consid-
cred the case in all its bearings and de-
cided that it was time to deal counter
blow. Accordingly, every engineer was
informed, by circular, that the affair on
the Maine road had raised an issue that
must be met that the authority and in
fluence OF the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Engineers had become such that it
was no longer safe for railroads 10 sub
nit; that all the benefits dcrivabe from
the organization, as a benevolent one the
company had arranged to fully supply,
under scheme supervised by itself; that.
having thus provided for all the good the
Brotherhood is capable of doing, the COM
pany could tolerate no further connection
of its employees with that body, and that
each engineer would in few days be
asked to choose between leaving the
Brotherhood or leaving the company's
service. The result of this bold step we
watched with interest. A strike was at
first reported to be imminent, and was
probably discussed, but the result was that
the men, for once, took counsel of discre-
tion, all but handful Of them accepting
the condition and remaining


Employers have never heretofore taken
resolute stand against the trades-unions
although it has long been evident that the
issue must be made and met, sooner or
later. The workmen have an absolute
and unassaiable right to say, singly or
unitedly, that they will work only at a
specified rate, or that they will not
work at all; but they become intoler-
able nuisances when they attempt
by supplementary practices to in
crease the effect of this position, or by
threats and pros cription to dragoon un-
willing workmen into line with them
Upon the voluntariness or the contrary OF
their united action, and their interference
or non-interierence with other workmen,





as useless as it is unwise to try evading
that issue, for all employers should under
stand that there can be neither stability
nor profit in manufacturing until the die
tatorial power of the trades-unions is
broken. The action of the Reading Rail-
road is, therefore, to be applauded, espec-
tally because railroad is peculiarly sus-
ceptible 10 injury by strikes; an engineer.
TO be serviceabe and safe employee,
must not only be good craftsman, but
must be familiar with every rod Of track
on the line; hence the bull which the
Reading managers took by the horns was
an unusually formidable-looking one. 1t
is especially significant that he proved to
be only goat in disguise, and submitted,
with characteristic meekness, when seized
by the horns. Other railroads may or NAV
not take similar action, but Mr. Arthur
will hardly talk again about tying up the
railroads OF State, and if the Brother
t.<.<~. ...MN- l.