People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1894 — FIGURING UP. [ARTICLE]

FIGURING UP.

Some Statistics of the Strike’s Coat— Wickes Again Testifles. Chicago. Aug 28.—When the labor commission assembled for Tuesday’s session several railroad officials who had been summoned to furnish statements of the losses caused to various roads by the strike were heard. Summarized their statements show that the aggregate loss of the Chicago & Alton road was $286,360; the Lake Shore, damage to cars. $5,154; the Chicago & Eastern Illinois. ; $123,706; the Burlington, $115,000; the St. Paul, I $190,026; the Northwestern, $562,690.31: Chicago & Erie. 8144,788.77. The same statement showed a total loss of wages to employes of $835,935.93, The commissioners wanted some figures on the losses to business and other figures whio* the officials did not have, but they later promised to get at the desired estimates as nearly as possible and report later to the commission. Then Mr. Wickes took the stand. Questioned by Chairman Wright, he said that the cost to the company of building the cars under contract at the time of the strike was about $1,400,000. The labor would cost about $240,000. The contracts were taken on a basis of a -reduction of 20 per cent, and thus under the old prices the labor would cost about $340,000. On this basis Mr. Wright said that, according to the testimony of Mr. Wickes, the company had contributed $52,000 for the purpose of securing these contracts and keeping the people employed and the wage earners $60,000. Mr. Wickes admitted that possibly it would have been better for the company to sustain the loss of $60,000 plus the $52,000 than allow the strike to occur, but he did not think it would be a very good policy. A principle was involved. The Pullman company could not afford to give up its right to manage its own business. The wages of workmen had been raised, Mr. Wickes said, time and again where there had been no request from the men. The company’s officers were always ready to pay every man for his skill; but, too, they were entitled to just profits occurring from the use of improved machinery. Witness had been in close touch with labor men for the past twenty-six years. He thought the present principle of operation had worked ad- I mirably until last May. In the works of the j Pullman company at Wilmington and at St. I Louis there had never been any trouble of i any kind- He thought that if there had i been no outside interference there the men ! would not hp,ve gone on strike. The company I was preparing an investigation and a state- I ment of its actual condition to set before the ' men when the strike was called. That state- I ment would have been identical with the one ' given in evidence before the commission. Witness said the back rent now owing to the 1 company amounted to about SIOO,OOO. Almost > no effort had been made to collect any of this I since the strike. * "Has any eviction list been prepared?” asked ' Commissioner Wright. i

“No, sir. No eviction list has been prepared and no evictions have been ordered.” The subject of arbitration and the Pullman company’s refusal to arbitrate with its former employes was taken up by Commissioner Kernan. The witness thought that the question of wages could not be submitted to arbitra;ion. An employer knew what he could afford to pay for the work needed and that was a fixed amount. It could vary only as profits to the manufacturer change The Pullman company had never objected to unions except in one instance. The objection to the American Railway union was that the company would not treat with its men through any union. It would treat with them individually omy. Commissioner Kernan read clauses from a sample Pullman lease, and asked if Mr. Wickes did not think it harsh upon the signing tenant and employe. Mr. Wickes thought the tenants should not be called upon to make repairs and improvements, and as a matter of fact he knew that they never had been called upon to do so. Commissioner Kernan asked if the witness did not think that was harsh on the men. He answered no. The more competent men always got along all right with the company. It was always the less competent men who made all the trouble. It the better workmen at any time permitted themselves to be led by the less competent men that was their misfortune. Chairman Wright asked about the salaries of the officials oi the Pullman company. Mr. Wickes said that he thought these salaries were not so high as those paid to high officials in other kinds of business. Some time ago the president was paid only SIO,OOO a year. W itness did not know the amount of the president's salary at present. He preferred not to say anything about the salaries of other officials. Gen. Nelson A. Miles took the stand when the commission met after luncheon. In answer to questions he said his occupation was major general of .the United States army. He denied flatly the story that on his arrival here from Washington he had at once consulted with the general managers. On July 2, when this conference was said to have taken place, he was in Washington, and he arrived here on July 4. Asked if it was true that he had declared he had broken the backbone of the strike, the general said this was not quite exact. W fiat he said was that he had broken the backbone of the opposition to the federal troops. The commissioners wanted to know if tho troops forced railroad men to work at the point of tho bayonet. Gen. Miles said that while this might have happened in some instances, he had not been aware of it and had issued no orders to that effect. He said be knew nothing about the strike. That the troops were ordered here by the president to see that the decrees of the United States courts were enforced, and beyond carrying out such instructions he had nothing to do with the strike.

Inspector Hunt testified as to the disturbances in his division during the strike. Prior to July 3 there was little actual violence, but then trains were stopped and men were sent to disperse them. He knew of no actual violence that day, and in fact none until July 7. July 4 twenty-five men were sent out to Halsted and Fortieth streets to move cars and they were compelled to disperse a mob. There was little actual violence during the entire time. During the strike he did not notice one railroad man interfering in any way. shape or manner. The mob was composed of toughs and men who never worked on railroads or anything else. The men arrested for depredations were not railroad men. Albert W. Sullivan, the general superintendent of the Illinois Central Railroad company, was next sworn. He said the employes gave him no notice they were going to quit the service of the company. The first to strike were the switchmen and the day foljlowing the strike by that body all the employes went out and there was a general cessation of work. There was no interruption of passenger traffic of any great moment. There was but one day the company failed to dispatch its regular trains from Chicago. After the arrival militia July 8 business picked up again. The men had no grievance when they struck."