How a Strike was Averted on the Union Pacific Railroad—Concessions to the Men—A Settlement at Memphis—Declaration of the Supreme Council of the Labor Union, Order of Melakhto—Rights and Privileges—Sympathizers with the Strikers—The Engineers Brotherhood at Pittsburgh—Views and Opinions.

Some of the minor incidents of the Great Strike about this time, excited an important influence on the general course of events. The concessions made by railroad companies and other employers, had a salutary effect by withdrawing from active interest in the movement, many thousands of men. In all cases where the demands of the men were promptly acceded to, all enthusiasm in behalf of the cause of the strikers at once ceased. It is difficult to conceive to what extent the spirit of lawlessness might have gone, had the vast number of men who made demands, been repelled, as were the employes of the Baltimore and Ohio, and Pennsylvania Railroads. The course pursued by those managers of railroads who made concession, justly entitles them to the lasting gratitude of the people of the entire country. It was this action of theirs which withdrew a mighty force from the cause of the strikers, and perhaps even saved the country from a revolution, at least a protracted period of mob-rule, anarchy, and bloodshed. They strained a point to do what they did, and are entitled to the honor which is cheerfully accorded them.

The situation on the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha to Ogden, was becoming every day more threatening. The evening of the 19th, about three hundred employes of that road, held a meeting for the purpose of discussing the reduction from five to ten per cent. in their wages. A committee was appointed to confer with Superintendent Clark, and the meeting adjourned to Monday night. The night for the meeting arrived. By this time, about seven hundred employes of the road had come to Omaha, and were present to receive the report of the committee. The chairman of the committee then rose and stated that they had discharged the duty assigned them. They had met Superintendent Clark, who had received them in a cordial manner, and informed them that the Company had determined to rescind the order reducing the wages. The report was received with immense satisfaction. Thus was averted a strike on the great trans-continental highway, and no further trouble was experienced on that road during the existence of the strike.

The Central Council of the Labor League of the United States, at a meeting held at Washington the afternoon of the 19th, passed a series of resolutions on the depressed state of labor throughout the country, and the anticipated results to flow therefrom, enjoining coolness and moderation upon the members of the order, and especially warning them, as well as workingmen in general, to beware of emissaries, some of whom had endeavored to operate at Washington, by inciting to strikes and violence, measures which injure labor in general, disturb order, and end in the conviction and punishment of the participants therein. The council further resolved that moral agitation is the strength and power by which labor can acquire tangible reformation, and that mob violence and riot lead only to anarchy and the final destruction of human liberty, and it was better to submit to any sort of despotism for the time being, than to have no government at all.

A strike on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was averted by the action of the Railroad Company. Dissatisfaction with the wages received had been manifested for some days. The evening of the 19th was selected as a suitable time to hold a meeting of employes, to give expression to their views and wishes. Accordingly, the machinists and carpenters of the road met quietly and discussed the present condition. The result was the drawing up of resolutions, which were placed in the hands of a committee, who waited on the master mechanic, H. N. Buford, who referred them to Colonel C. M. McGhee, manager of the road, upon whom they called, at the Peabody Hotel, late in the evening. The resolutions were respectfully couched. The machinists and carpenters requested that their wages be made the same as those paid for the same work by the Mississippi and Tennessee, and the Memphis and Louisville roads. The cost of living was enumerated, and the careful consideration of their petition requested. The increase asked was in some cases ten cents, in some fifteen cents, and others twenty-five cents per diem. This road was not making expenses, and the employes appreciated the difficulties under which the management labored. The plan had been to keep up the regular force on trains, and to reduce fares, so as to throw none out of employment.

The trainmen presented their needs to Colonel McGhee, who agreed to meet his petitioners in conference at eleven o’clock the following day. The matter was amicably adjusted. At noon Colonel McGhee met the committee appointed by the employes, and after a free discussion and consultation as to the causes of the strike, an arrangement was agreed upon as to rates of wages, which was alike satisfactory to the Railroad Company and the employes. There was no further trouble on the Charleston road, and every thing moved along as before the appearance of the unpleasantness.

A convocation of the Supreme Council of the Labor Union of the order of Melakhto, for the State of Missouri was called at St. Louis. This organization is said to number more than two hundred thousand in the United States. It is a secret society, and has for its object the educational, social, and physical well being of the working people. The situation of the country was discussed, and the following declaration of rights and privileges was issued to the members of the order.

Every man has a right to determine for himself, whether he will or will not, work for any wages that may be offered him. No man has a right to determine for another man, whether that other man shall, or shall not, work for any wages that may be offered.

No man has a right to prevent another man from doing any work, not noxious to society, and not dangerous to other individuals, which he may think best to do.

Every man has a right to his own freedom.

Every man has a right to act, or not to act, in accordance with the dictates of his own judgment, and his own conscience.

No man has a right to interfere with the freedom of another, by dictating either how he shall feel, what he shall think and say, or what he shall do.

The foundation of society in this country is freedom, and anything except the laws of God, or the laws of the land, which interfere with freedom must be suppressed and removed.

The Supreme Council of the Labor Union, O. M., of Missouri, solemnly affirms that it is the privilege of all men—

To refrain from labor at any time, even though that should result in a complete stagnation in all business.

That since employers exercise the privilege of closing their manufactories, thereby depriving their employes of the means of labor, the employes are entitled to the privilege of depriving employers of their services at any time.

That it is the privilege of all men to give full expression to whatever views they may entertain, and that any interference therewith is gross tyranny and should be resisted.

That it is an unquestioned privilege, appertaining to manhood, of laboring men in all departments of human industry, to combine together in associations to promote the general welfare of their class, as much as it is the privilege of capitalists to combine in corporations.

That statutes formed by several State Legislatures and known as conspiracy laws, encroach upon the privileges of the people to organize and combine forces.

That it is the privilege of capital to combine, and no less the privilege of labor to combine to resist the power of combined capital, by all legitimate means.

That it is the privilege of the people to assemble, and discuss any subject in their own way, and all municipal regulations which trench upon this privilege, should be set aside as unconstitutional, and subversive of popular liberty.

That it is the privilege of this Supreme Counsel of the Labor Union, Order Melakhto, to express sympathy with the railroad and all other laborers now on strike, and, to lend aid and comfort to them so long as they refrain from acts of violence.

The discussion of the question of cause was taken up by all the leading journals of the country. Every one had a particular theory, and nearly every one had a ready patent remedy for the occurrence of such strikes. The following is one of the remedies suggested by one of the leading men in the nation, and published at the time. Secretary Evarts said but a few days ago, that “if we want to sell, we must buy.” The laws and treaties affecting foreign commerce be changed so as to allow us to exchange our products for others. In this, the railroad companies and their people have a common interest; and the managers of these companies are to blame that they have not forseen trouble and arrested it by showing their workmen where lies the true remedy for the general depression, and leading them to demand needed changes. The country is not really poor; it is suffering because it has too great abundance. One of the communistic speakers said, that the great increase of labor-saving machinery had not improved, as it ought, the condition of the workmen. He was perfectly right; but the workmen themselves are largely to blame for this; they have tolerated a total neglect of foreign commerce, and in the course of time the country has come to a point where it can manufacture more—not much more, but yet more than it can consume. The surplus weighs like lead on every branch of industry; it depresses prices and disables manufacturers, who find the home market overstocked by nine months work in the year, and are prevented by plundering laws from selling the surplus abroad. Suppose our wheat farmers could not sell their surplus in Europe. They would be utterly ruined, no matter how great their crops were. But that is precisely the condition of our manufacturers, and all interests suffer with them—the railroads of course chief of all. The workingmen can easily and quickly change all that, but not by striking. Let them demand that Congress shall free foreign trade from some of the shackles, and they will see a new prosperity rapidly springing up, and labor in demand everywhere, we must sell our surplus.

There was one feature that cropped out in the widespread riots, that was full of meaning, and that was the great body of suffering men opposed to any infraction of the law. Hungry and naked as they were, they placed their brawny bodies between the vicious rabble and those who were injuring them. This changed it from the form of a strike for wages, to an earnest protest against a cruel and wicked national policy, and it was a protest that must be heeded.

The workingmen were only resisting a strike inaugurated by the officers of the railroads. These had combined to cut down wages, and the men said, “we will not stand the reduction.” An idle, vicious rabble took advantage of the disorder to steal, burn and rob. The injured men interposed and said to the mob, you shall not destroy the property of our employers, however much they have wronged us! Their protest was honorable, calm, magnanimous! In the meantime, tramps were multiplying; the hungry, the starving, the naked, were daily increasing. This condition of things could not be trifled with. It ought to be considered and remedied. Men cannot, and will not “grind at the mill forever.” Even in America, the proletariat is becoming great in numbers, and dangerous in disposition. A policy that increases the number of poor, that depresses the condition of the working people is unwise, and must inevitably end in the destruction of social order and the ruin of the country.

A largely attended meeting of the merchants of Evansville, Indiana, met at the Court House in that city, on the evening of the 22nd of July, to discuss the situation of the country. Mr. Peter Semonin presided.

Mr. Read explained that in view of the troubles by which the country had been invaded, it had been deemed expedient to call the business men of the city together. He thought the President ought to be petitioned to convene Congress immediately, to repeal the resumption act. The strike was not an excuse, there was widespread dissatisfaction. It was growing worse every day, but they had hope of settling the difficulty without bloodshed. Men must not die from starvation. They would not submit to that. He was opposed to the resumption act heart and soul. All the people were in the same boat. As merchants he declared they would not turn back against the working classes for John Sherman. The sooner the bondholders were made acquainted with that fact the better for the country.

Mr. Williamson moved the appointment of a committee of five, to draw up resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting. The committee having performed the services assigned them, returned with the following declaration and resolutions, which were adopted:

In view of the disorders existing throughout the country, consequent upon the revolt of workingmen against the reduction of wages below the cost of comfortable living, and that the people of this city may clearly understand the relations of the business men of Evansville towards their fellow citizens, comprising what is known as “The Laboring Class,” this meeting declares

1. That the prosperity of business men being directly dependent upon well-paid labor, and the happiness and prosperity of the masses, it is the interest as it is the duty of business men to demand the removal of all causes that compel employers to curtail expenses beyond a point that makes economy an oppression too grevious to be borne.

2. That business, despite the practice of the greatest prudence on the part of employers, has hardly been self-sustaining for years past, and believing, as we do, that the cause of this general stagnation in the commercial and manufacturing world, is directly traceable to the policy of forced resumption, to be reached through the severe contraction of the currency, we respectfully request of the administration the cessation of the contraction policy, and demand of our Representatives and Senators in Congress the unconditional repeal of the resumption act.

3. That the bankrupt law be abolished.

4. That we favor the making of the silver dollar a legal tender for all debts.

5. That we have every confidence in the good citizenship of the industrial classes of this community, and we pledge ourselves to use every influence at our command to secure relief from the evil legislation that has resulted so disastrously to the entire people.

6. That we cordially approve the action of the workingmen in tendering their services to the Mayor and city authorities for the protection of life and property, and the preservation of law and order, and that the chairman of this meeting be authorized to make a similar tender on behalf of the business men of Evansville.

At Cincinnati, on Monday evening, 22nd of July, shortly after the steamer W. P. Thompson had come in and began to unload her freight, a swarm of negro roughs from the “Yellowhammer” saloon, “Pickett’s,” the “Steamboatman’s” saloon, and other extraordinary places along the landing, descended upon the Thompson’s crew with drawn pistols and boulders, and ordered them to quit work, or strike for higher wages. The crew, which consisted of twenty-three men, attempted to keep on working; but their boss, a hard working little roustabout called “Nigger Jack,” had to quit in consequence of being hurt by a boulder, and the mob commenced throwing rocks on board the boat. There must have been at least one hundred and fifty or two hundred of these fellows, who were not working themselves, and wanted, apparently, to keep others from working. There were no white tramps, it seems, in the black flock; and the rumor that the idea of the undertaking was organized in the “Blazing Stump” does not seem probable.

The captain had actually anticipated the possibility of a row of this kind, because at Pittsburgh the ’longshoremen had been striking for thirty cents an hour, in consequence, he ordered the mate to pay the crew twenty-five cents per hour for night work, the old rate being twenty cents. The strikers however, made the crew demand thirty cents, and compelled them to stop work. As the W. P. Thompson had to leave at a very early hour, and would lose much more by a few hours delay than would suffice to make up the difference in wages. The captain stepped on shore and told the strikers he was going to pay thirty cents per hour. The crowd then became quiet and the work went on.

Mr. H. C. Lord, one of the oldest and most experienced railway men in the West, gave his views of the railway strikes in a very able and interesting letter to the Cincinnati Enquirer, from which we make some extracts. They touch the vitals of the whole difficulty. It is well known that very many of our roads are in the hands of Federal and State courts, whose records show that the pay-rolls of the employes are terribly in arrears, while they should have been promptly paid, in preference to bondholders or any other class of creditors. So they are left to the mercy of the small grocers and shop keepers, who have furnished them food and raiment upon their credit in the corporations, and now the employe is refused further credit, and is at the same time called on to pay up his back dues, which he cannot do. He is alarmed and desperate, and now a further reduction in his wages is threatened. Mr. Lord says, further, “It is perfectly well known, at least to the railway and mercantile community, that while there has been no essential falling off during the past two years in the number of passengers carried on our railroads, nor in the amount of tonnage hauled between the seaboard and our Western cities, farms, and prairies, yet the business has been done at rates of fare and freight earning no profit to the companies, but, on the contrary, involving them in daily loss. I venture the assertion that if fair and judicious rates of transportation had been fixed, and not departed from, nearly every railroad in the country would to-day be in a prosperous condition, its men paid up and contented, the whole country more prosperous, and not a road strike throughout the land.

“Now, who is to blame for this gross mismanagement? Certainly not the engineers and firemen, nor the brakemen, nor the mechanics, nor the section men, and yet they are the parties virtually called upon to make up the loss. The merchants and manufacturers of the country have not enforced these ruinous rates of transportation. All they ever need or ask for is uniform rates over all competing lines to common points; and what difference has it made to the western farmer whether his wheat, corn, and cattle paid twenty cents freight to New York or fifty cents, so long as the rates were uniform, and the price to the consumer was the original cost of the product, with the actual freight added? No, the great fault lies with the railway managers, who have defied all established maxims and rule of correct business procedure, who have quarreled among themselves, and inaugurated a policy of personal, and local, and corporative rivalry and competition, which has been destructive of the property they were pledged to protect, and of all confidence in railway securities, and they are now striving to stem the tide by the practice of a false economy, in striking a blow at the wages of over-worked men, while the rates of transportation are not changed. They give another turn to the screw upon wages, but make no effort to reform themselves. The result is natural, inevitable, and will continue to be as it is as long as the world shall stand. Capital and men in power become timid, apprehensive, and call upon the State for protection, and labor becomes first suspicious, and then mutinous.”

About this time a Buffalo railroad fireman published an account of the life and pay of a fireman on the engine of the Lake Shore road. An extract will be found interesting as containing one view of the strikers cause. He wrote, “After the last cut down, we firemen received one dollar and forty-six cents for running one hundred miles, and our division is eighty-eight miles long. Now supposing we start out of here early in the morning. We get our breakfast here which costs twenty-five cents. At Dunkirk we dine, which costs twenty-five cents more, and on arriving at Erie we have supper, costing twenty-five cents more. Our lodging also costing twenty-five cents, making one dollar in all. So that here alone we have about forty-six cents left. Now, if we were able to run all the time, and make all the trips possible, we would clear above board, about twelve dollars per month. From this comes washing and other incidentals. This is only a bare statement, when in reality there are hundreds of cases where the men fall below many a month. A month ago a test was made by an unmarried fireman, who was well known for his economical habits. Well, he ran as often as he could, and made many extra trips, and had an unusually good month. It was found at the end of the month that he owed fifty cents.”

This man is ready to take the stand and swear to the truth of this fact. Very bright prospects for the future, was it not? The remainder of the employes are as bad off in regard to pay, and many of them worse than we are.

“I suppose you think, like all other people, that we are a fierce set of fellows, anxious to burn and smash things, etc., a set of lions going about seeing what they can devour. But all of our men, excepting a few who are under the influence of liquor, have decided to be quiet, and make no violent demonstrations whatever. From all I can find out none of the acts done here to-day have been committed by the strikers, although there may have been one or two of the fellows mixed up in some way, but as a general rule they are quiet and not a bit war-like. We are confident of success, as we believe we have the sympathy of the people.”

Such are some of the phases of the opinion which prevailed at the time of the great strikes. They are interesting now, and will prove more so as the scenes and incidents of the great strikes become a mere episode in the history of our country. They prove, too, that the popular sympathies were without doubt with the strikers, but not with the vicious rabble that gathered in every city—with no other motive than to pillage and burn down houses, and commit other deeds of violence. But the thieves were not railroad strikers.

A large amount of jewelry and silverware was found in one car, which was distributed with a prodigality that would have astonished the legitimate owners. A few very fine pictures were found and carried off by persons whose appearance indicated a woeful want of aesthetic culture. There was no attempt at concealment. Property thus stolen was exhibited as freely as if it had been honestly acquired. Men exchanged old boots for new ones without hesitation or shame. One person secured several silk dress patterns Sunday morning and sold them for one dollar and fifty cents each. It was a harvest for those who did not know the difference between meum et tuum. But it is a fact well attested that these depredations were not committed by railroad, or any other laborers or artisans as a class, but by the evil disposed of all classes. All railroadmen are not honest or perfect men, neither are all capitalists, bankers, merchants, priests or preachers. Human nature is about the same in all classes, and with all conditions of the people.