The Pullman Boycott Part 5

The governor replied that he had sent troops to restore order, enforce law, and protect lives of law abiding citizens. Lawlessness and rioting must be suppressed. Citizens obeying law had nothing to fear.

Was ever military despotism more thoroughly demonstrated? What further proof was necessary than the reply of the chief executive of the state, to the citizens, that they were at the mercy of, and subject to the arrogant brutality of military despotism? The governor in his reply said: "Citizens obeying law have nothing to fear, that lawlessness must be suppressed." According to that we can only arrive at one conclusion; that the persons overturning cars and destroying property were obeying the law, as they were not shot down nor were they arrested, but on the other hand peaceable citizens who were in no way connected with the rioting, were shot and maimed by the troops.

The people were beginning to regard the law with suspicion, they no longer felt that sense of security, the implicit confidence, they were wont to place in the const.i.tution. The law of to-day, if the interests of the railroad corporations so required, would be reversed to-morrow.

Under those circ.u.mstances could it be wondered that the people were beginning to lose the respect that had been accorded the law, and to which it was ent.i.tled? Could it be wondered that they became restless and exhibited signs of revolting against such d.a.m.nable brutality, and the indignities to which they were subjected under the guise of the law?

Cleveland was now beginning to fear, that in his eagerness to a.s.sist the railroads in crushing the strikers he had overreached himself and the wanton murder of citizens, he feared, might have a damaging effect on his future political plans. His uneasiness was quite apparent, while on the other hand his co-conspirator, Olney, was in a happy state of mind.

He claimed to be able with the anti-trust bill, to break up every labor union in America.

The general managers, finding out that the city would not be held responsible for the loss of and damage to railroad property, were now in favor of removing the troops from the city of Chicago--but knowing the effect of such action after making an appeal for their a.s.sistance--did not ask for their removal.

The situation throughout the country had not materially changed, and the prospects for a final victory for the strikers looked very favorably.

General Miles circulated a story that ninety per cent of the citizens of Chicago were in sympathy with the Pullman company and the railroads.

The railway managers took advantage of this report and spread and distorted it in order to discourage the strikers.

Now for facts: The trades unions of Chicago alone represent 750,000 people, adding to this the membership of the railway unions you have a total of 900,000 or ninety per cent of the citizens, who were in direct sympathy with the strikers. And it was not confined to members of Unions alone; such men as Bishop Fallaws, Rev. Dr. Henson, Prof. E. W.

Bennis, Rev. G. P. Brushingham, Rev. W. H. Carvardine, Mayor Hopkins and hosts of other men prominent in the affairs of the city endorsed the men and denounced the railroad corporations.

Resolutions by the score were pa.s.sed by business men, by the Typographical Unions and other organizations endorsing the American Railway Union, and denouncing Pullman and the railroads, also condemning the action of Grover Cleveland in upholding the corporations against the workingmen.

Resolutions were pa.s.sed requesting all sympathizers to wear a white ribbon, the badge adopted by the American Railway Union, and the sea of white ribbons to be seen in Chicago would not bear out the statement of Gen. Miles.

The labor unions now signified their willingness to strike in support of the movement if called upon by the American Railway Union.

Grover Cleveland at this time issued a proclamation which--to all intents and purposes--declared martial law in the city of Chicago. This was what Gen. Miles desired, as it virtually gave him full power to rule with despotic sway over the citizens and civil authorities.

The following protest was wired the President of the United States by President Debs, of the American Railway Union and Grand Master Sovereign of the Knights of Labor.

"To the Hon. Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C.

"Dear Sir:--Through a long period of depression, enforced idleness and low wages, resulting in wide spread poverty, and in many cases actual starvation, the working people have been patient, patriotic and law abiding, and not until the iron heel of corporate tyranny was applied with the intention to subjugate the working people to the will of arrogant monopolies, did they make any effort to stay their oppressors.

"The Pullman strike was not declared until the employes of the Pullman company were driven to the verge of starvation, their entreaties spurned with contempt, and their grievances denied a hearing. No refusal to handle Pullman cars was declared by any railway employe until all propositions looking towards arbitration and conciliation were rejected by the Pullman company. Notwithstanding the truths set forth above were known to the public and the national authorities, you have seen fit under guise of protecting the mails and federal property to invoke the services of the United States army, whose very presence is used to coerce and intimidate peaceable working people into a humiliating obedience to the will of their oppressors.

"By your acts, insofar as you have supplanted civil and state authorities with the federal military power, the spirit of unrest and distrust has so far been augmented that a deep seated conviction is fast becoming prevalent that this government is soon to become a military despotism. The transmission of the United States mails is not interrupted by the striking employes of any railway company, but by the railway companies themselves, who refused to haul the mail on trains to which Pullman cars were not attached. If it is a criminal interference with the United States mails for the employes of a railway company to detach from a mail train a Pullman palace car, contrary to the will of the company then it holds true that it is the same criminal interference whenever a Pullman palace car is detached from a mail train in accordance with the will of a railroad company while said mail train is in transit. The line of criminality in such a case should not be drawn at the willingness or unwillingness of railway employes, but at the act itself, and inasmuch as it has been the common practice of railway corporations to attach and detach from mail trains Pullman palace cars at will while said trains are in transit and carrying the mails of the United States, it would seem an act of discrimination against the employes of the railway corporations to declare such acts unlawful interference with the transmission of the mails when done by employes with or without the consent of their employers.

"In view of these facts we look upon the far-fetched decision of Attorney General Olney, the sweeping un-American injunctions against railway employes, and the movements of the regular army as employing the powers of the general government for the support and protection of the railway corporations in their determination to degrade and oppress their employes.

"The present railway strike was precipitated by the uneasy desire of the railway corporations to destroy the organizations of their employes and make the working people more subservient to the will of their employers; and as all students of government agree that free inst.i.tutions depend for their perpetuity upon the freedom and prosperity of the common people, it would seem more in consonance with the spirit of democratic government if federal authority was exercised in deference of the rights of the toiling ma.s.ses to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But on the contrary there is not an instance on record where in any conflict between corporations and the people the strong arm of the military power has been employed to protect the working people and the industrial ma.s.ses from the ravage and persecution of corporate greed. But the measure of character has been in the line of declaring the corporations always good and in the right, and the working people always bad and in the wrong.

"Now, sir, we pledge to you the power of our respective organizations, individually and collectively, for the maintenance of peace and good order and the preservation of life and property, and will aid in the arrest and punishment of all violators of the civil and criminal laws of the state or nation. In the present contest between labor and railway corporations we shall use every peaceable and honorable means at our command consistent with the law and our const.i.tutional rights, to secure for the working people just compensation for labor done and respectable consideration in accordance with the inherent rights of all men and the spirit of republican government. In doing so we appeal to all the liberty loving people of the nation to aid and support us in this most just and righteous cause.

By EUGENE V. DEBS, President.

"Order of Knights of Labor, By J. R. SOVEREIGN, Grand Master Workman."

CHAPTER X.

BUSINESS MEN'S PROTEST.

The town of Danville, Ill., was now visited by martial law with the result that two women were killed and two men fatally wounded. A non-union brakeman fired three shots into a crowd that was jeering him, whereupon some one in the crowd returned the fire hitting him in the neck. The militia then opened fire, killing a Mrs. Glennon who was standing in her own yard and Miss James seated at the organ in her own house. This was the effect of federal troops in Danville, and so it was in every town and city where Grover's minions were stationed. The d.a.m.nable outrages perpetrated on the people of the commonweal by the federal troops under the guise of law and order was goading the citizens to a state of open rebellion. The business men of Chicago fearing a general outbreak determined on sending a committee to the Pullman company with a view to reaching a settlement whereby this dire calamity would be averted. A committee was formed composed of representative business men, members of the city council, and members of the various trades of the city. The committee met with no success.

Mr. Wickes, who represented the Pullman company, informed them that the company had nothing to arbitrate and wished to see no committee. The proposition they wished to submit to Mr. Wickes as the representative of the Pullman company was this: That Mr. Pullman had said there was nothing to arbitrate while the men contended that there was. Let the Pullman company appoint two men and the circuit court two men. Let these four select a fifth, if necessary, to determine if there was anything to arbitrate and in case there was, that would take care of itself later.

If not, the strike would end just as soon as the decision was reached.

Surely this proposition was fair and manly but speaking for the Pullman company Mr. Wickes flatly refused to entertain it for an instant.

Alderman McGillen, who acted as spokesman, then made an eloquent plea for the Pullman company to take steps, which he considered would go far toward settling the strike. He said: "Mr. Wickes we received a request from the trades-unions--their representatives who are now here you have already met--to see if some means to settle this strike peaceably could not be found.

"It has been demonstrated that your company had no subject for arbitration, that the request of the employes for arbitration could not be acceded to?"

Mr. Wickes: "Yes, sir."

Ald. McGillen: "We are here to suggest that it might be possible to obviate all differences between the company and the men--strikers, ex-employes, or whatever you wish to call them. We would suggest a committee to ascertain whether there is any matter needing arbitration as you are a quasi public."

Mr. Wickes, interrupting: "Do you come as representatives of the city instructed by the mayor? We have nothing to arbitrate, the Pullman company cannot recede from its position."

Ald. O'Brien: "There must be some trouble?"

Mr. Wickes: "Our men made complaint, we promised to investigate, but before we had time to do so they struck."

Ald. O'Brien: "But that will not settle the matter."

Mr. Wickes: "Unfortunately not."

Ald. McGillen: "We suggest that this committee be made up of representative men, the best men in Chicago, men who occupy positions of honor."

Here attorney John S. Runnell appeared and was closeted with Mr. Wickes for a quarter of an hour.

On his return to the room Mr. Wickes said that neither the Pullman company or the railway manager's a.s.sociation created the situation of to-day. When our men went out we told them that we could not do the work at the scale of wages we were paying. We had contracts to fill then, some of them we let out and some we retained. No men can arbitrate this, you, as business men would let no man say how that business should be conducted.

Ald. McGillen then said: "You require protection from us. You call on the police, on the county, on the state, and on the nation for protection. Your only valued a.s.sets are the patents which the nation gives you in recognition of the genius which built the Pullman car.

Remove that a.s.set and you are ruined. You utterly ignore our request. It is not dishonorable men we ask to investigate your affairs. Think of the sickness, starvation, want, disaster and bloodshed which is coming if the strike a.s.sumes larger proportions. The climax is fast approaching and who will be to blame. I am here for the common weal, and I hope and beg of you not to refuse."

Mr. Wickes: "There is a principle involved. Every business should have the right to dictate to its own labor, we will brook no interference, national, state, county or munic.i.p.al."

Ald. McGillen: "Compulsory arbitration is not a law but it will be if this strike does not stop."

Mr. Wickes: "We have nothing to arbitrate."

Ald. Warreinner: "We are not asking for arbitration, we want a committee appointed to see if there is need of it. Will you consent to that?"

Mr. Wickes: "No."

Ald. McGillen: "In the name of humanity let me beseech you to reconsider your negation."