Part 8 (1/2)
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers present, informed the officers of the American Railway Union that Chief Arthur had issued orders for men to work with scabs, and that he was supplying scabs to take the places of men on strike. In other words, he was running an employment agency for the benefit of the railroads.
The general managers' defeat on the fifth day of the strike was beyond all question of a doubt. They had summoned to their support the federal government with the result previously mentioned, but the government aid was not sufficient to operate their roads. They must have a number of the old men to educate and aid the scabs in the performance of their duties. At this critical time the services of their faithful allies were badly wanted. In this, their time of need they knew that those men who had feted, dined and wined at their expense would prove faithful to them and traitors to the orders they represented.
The d.a.m.nable spirit of treachery that evoked Benedict Arnold to betray his country predominated in the hearts of these double-dyed scoundrels.
They were not only ready and willing but feverishly anxious to a.s.sist the corporations to enslave the men that they were oath-bound as well as duty bound to protect. Grand Chief Arthur, representing the engineers, who had grown old in the service of the corporations, and whose wealth was estimated at half a million dollars, in direct violation of the const.i.tution of his order, ordered his men to work with scab firemen.
Not only this, he ordered all those who were on strike to return at once to their engines and in case of their refusal he would supply men to take their places. This was also true of Grand Chief Sargent of the Firemen and Wilkinson of the Trainmen. Clark of the Conductors, and Barrett of the Switchmen advised their men to return to work as they had no grievance. But only a part of these men would be taken back by the companies, and what under the sun did these chiefs intend to do with the others? Positively nothing. But the result was exactly what they intended it should be, and the men were applying to the companies--in lots of ten and twenty in the different cities--for their positions.
The dark deeds of treachery were now rife in many places especially in the Twin Cities. At this point the blockade, which was on since the strike began, and which was the key to the situation in the Northwest was raised.
The Great Northern was the only line in operation to the coast, and under instructions from J. J. Hill, the president, refused to accept any freight from roads included in the boycott. The men were instructed to decline even to throw a switch or a.s.sist in any manner any road on strike, as the Great Northern company did not wish to be drawn into the difficulty. In fact the men on this line were, almost to a man, members of the American Railway Union, and could not even if asked to do any act that might prove a detriment to their brothers. At this time there happened to be sixty car loads of twine in St. Paul, a greater portion of which was at Minnesota Transfer. This freight was consigned to points on the Great Northern Line and a committee headed by Harry Gray, chairman of the general board of mediation of the American Railway Union on that system, appeared at the rooms of the central strike committee and asked permission to switch out the twine, giving as an excuse that the farmers were in need of it.
This permission the committee was loth to grant as any move toward raising this blockade in the Twin Cities might prove detrimental to their cause, and further action on the matter was deferred until it would be submitted to the different unions interested.
That night at a meeting held at Plummer Post Hall in Minneapolis, the American Railway Union headquarters, a committee of farmers, from the peoples' party convention in session there at that time, were admitted.
When appraised of the nature of the trouble they stated that they had contracts with the twine companies to deliver their twine and on failure to do so the farmers would suffer no loss. They further stated that the farmers would bind their grain by hand before they would ask the men to do anything detrimental to the success of the strike. This settled it as far as the twine was concerned. However, the next day, the officials of the Great Northern took an engine and switched the twine out themselves without any objection being made by the men who stood by while the work was being done.
This was the beginning only.
The next move was a positive a.s.surance of treachery.
The Burlington road had about thirty cars of water pipe for the Great Northern, and this same man Gray again waited on the central committee for permission to move the freight, saying, that he had the a.s.surance of the company that no more concessions would be asked. His request was promptly refused. Later a committee of switchmen called on the central committee for instructions and were told not to move the freight under any conditions.
They left apparently satisfied, but nevertheless the cars were moved; no one seemed to know how but it became apparent to the strikers that a traitor was in their ranks, and took immediate steps to ferret him out, and have the embargo once more placed on business at this point.
Gray of St. Paul, and Foster of St. Cloud, were openly accused of being the traitors to the cause, although others were thought to be implicated. Charges were preferred against Gray in the Union, but nothing ever came of it. Every conceivable means was used to again cause a blockade at this point but to no avail.
The switchmen promised to refuse to handle boycotted freight if the road would support them in case of discharge, which they well knew was inevitable. It would be simply a sacrifice to strike in the yards of St.
Paul and Minneapolis without the support of the whole system, although after a canvas of the road, when it was found that the majority of the men voted against a strike, the switchmen of these cities sent word that they were ready to ask for their time and quit the service of the company if the Union so desired. This proposition the strikers would not accept, not caring to sacrifice a few loyal switchmen whose places could be easily filled if the rest of the employes remained at work.
This result was wired to Chicago, and Director Goodwin was sent out to see what could be done. His efforts were fruitless. The road was again canva.s.sed with the same result, and Goodwin returning to Chicago, Mr.
Burns, another director of the Union, was sent to take his place, but with no better success.
They positively refused to strike. The traitors with the price of their treachery in their pockets had been there first and accomplished their purpose.
The d.a.m.nable traitors responsible for the raising of the blockade were also responsible for the suffering and untold misery of the n.o.ble men whose sympathetic hearts went out to their brothers in Pullman, and who without money were obliged to leave their homes (in many cases only partly paid for) and seek employment elsewhere in order to provide for their families.
The switchmen in the employ of the Milwaukee road at Minneapolis, now--fearing that the treachery of the men on the Great Northern Line would lose the strike in the Northwest--applied for their positions, and all who were wanted were taken back. The men who were employed by the Omaha Railway at East St. Paul, took the same course, but all others declared their intention of standing out until the American Railway Union called off the strike.
Disasters seemed to follow one another in rapid succession at this time.
In many places the weak-kneed men were applying for work and circulating false stories to induce others to do the same. The news went flas.h.i.+ng over the wires that Debs, Howard, Rogers and Kelliher were in jail. But this news did not have the depressing effect on the men that was expected, in fact it only caused a feeling of indignation and the strikers were now more determined than ever to stand up for their rights and fight out the battle with renewed energy.
In making this statement I do not refer to the poltroons who were continually raising the cry: We are lost, but I refer to the n.o.ble men who spoke from their manly hearts, and with words of no uncertain sound declared their intention to go down to defeat if need be with those grand, n.o.ble, generous hearted men, who signified their willingness to rot in jail, or even mount the scaffold in defence of the just and righteous cause they had wrapped their lives in.
Could it be charged that they were actuated by selfish motives in the cause in which they had enlisted? No! A thousand times no! If Eugene V.
Debs could be induced to turn his magnificent executive abilities over to the railroads instead of the poor enslaved workingmen, these corporations would place him upon the highest pinnacle of plutocratic fame, and no one can dispute George W. Howard's t.i.tle to being a workingman's friend, for by his actions on more than one occasion he has proven himself to be a friend indeed, and actions speak louder than words.