The Pullman Boycott Part 10

Mr. Erwin said that Attorney Walker had drawn the bill up hastily, and it was signed only by himself and the district attorney, who verified it merely by belief. He urged that the court should not add the information by continuing the consideration of the imperfectly drawn and inadequate bill. The court should not be a detective to ferret out the alleged truths of certain charges the evidence of which should have been collected by the government officers before a rule against the defendants was issued.

Mr. Bancroft for the Santa Fe followed Mr. Erwin. He vigorously defended the information filed, and proceeded to color the telegrams admitted by the defendants, to suit the purposes of the government.

After a legal tilt between the counsel on both sides, Judge Wood overruled the motion of defendant's counsel to quash the information, and postponed the case until September 5.

In conclusion he said that from what he had heard, he thought it necessary for the court to have its hand on the matter. It was evident, he said, that the defense intended to attempt to put forward a quant.i.ty of irrelevant matter as to the allegations regarding a combination on the part of the railroads. He said that while it was irrelevant he would hear it as a matter of curiosity and for public disclosure.

The above synopsis of the proceedings of the trial, will give a fair idea of the course the government--on behalf of the railroads--pursued in conducting the prosecution of the officers of the American Railway Union.

After a conference with their counsel--although opposed to it on principle--the officers of the American Railway Union decided to give bail.

This decision was due to the fact that matters of an important nature demanded their immediate attention. They were placed under $7,000 bonds each, signed by Wm. Skakel and Wm. Fitzgerald, these gentlemen qualifying to the extent of $50,000 and $250,000 respectively.

For the time being the officers of the American Railway Union were free men.

CHAPTER XVII.

A CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN RAILWAY UNION CALLED TO TAKE ACTION ON THE STRIKE.

In an editorial on the trial, headed: The Press against Justice, the Chicago Times had this to say: "When it became evident that the rights and actions of E. V. Debs and his a.s.sociates in the American Railway Union strike were to be reviewed in court this paper said editorially: "The Times appeals to its contemporaries and to the people to join with it in avoiding all clamor which may in the least degree influence the findings of the court or bring its proceedings into contempt." It appears that the appeal fell upon deaf ears.

"Such papers as the Tribune and the Evening Journal seized upon the very first utterance of Mr. Debs' counsel as an opportunity for insidious effort to prejudice the court and the people against the cause of the labor leaders.

"Two of the editorials and two of what it calls editorialettes were necessary to the Tribune yesterday in order to give its advice to the prosecuting lawyers and the court proper expression. The other organs of plutocracy though less lavish of editorial s.p.a.ce, employed their news columns to the same end. The first strike of the allied newspapers is to p.r.o.nounce the opening plea of the counsel for the defense, Mr. Erwin, in effect an a.s.sertion of the gospel of anarchy.

"Overworked as it is by the bigoted press the word anarchy still serves as a more or less effective bogyman to frighten timid and ill-informed people, but no one who will read the reports of Mr. Erwin's address will find any anarchistic doctrines lurking therein.

"He charged that Pullman and the railroad managers had conspired together against the interest of workingmen, that the manner of the conspiracy made resort to the law hopeless, that lawmakers could not or would not act, and under these conditions the men were justified in combining, resisting and refusing to work longer for Mr. Pullman or the roads allied with him.

"The Times is unable to discern the savour of anarchy in that. It is in effect only a declaration that when employes combine to resist them, neither by direct statement or by innuendoes did the attorney suggest or excuse violence or the destruction of property. He erred, the Times thinks, in describing Pullman's course of procedure as illegal, for unhappily, law as it stands, protects Pullman in his most despotic and oppressive acts. If Pullman's course had been illegal, action at law instead of a strike and boycott would have been the remedy for it, but with the exception of this over-statement which may have been due to inadvertence, Mr. Erwin said nothing that men of fair and judicial minds can denounce as false, and nothing at all incendiary. The clamor of the conspiracy is raised to defeat justice."

After the release of the officers a meeting was called at the Revere House, of the directors of the American Railway Union. They concluded to call a convention of the delegates from the different local unions, to meet in Chicago, August 2d, and take some action on the strike. Each local union was notified of this action and instructed to send a delegate with full power to act.

After this meeting of the officers, they at once repaired to Ulrich Hall, where an enormous crowd greeted Mr. Debs with the greatest enthusiasm.

Mr. Debs,--after being introduced by the chairman of the meeting, Mr.

Adams,--was given three cheers with such a vim that the building fairly shook. He then advanced to the platform and said: "I see you have changed your quarters since I saw you before, and I am glad to say we have changed ours also.

"When Judge Wood delivered his ruling yesterday he declared it to be illegal for men to combine and strike.

"If that is the law, labor organizations had better disband at once. If we have no right to strike, no right to combine, no right to exercise the functions which are delegated to us, then we might as well give up and acknowledge that we are slaves.

"If that is the law we have no right to resist or defend ourselves against the injustice of employers.

"No matter how much has been said about the stars and stripes and the freedom of the workingman, if that is the final tribunal, corporate capital has the right to suck the life blood from the toiler who must make no sign. But I am not prepared to believe that this is in harmony with the const.i.tution. If this is the const.i.tution, then our liberty is gone. Mr. Erwin sounded the slogan yesterday when he declared that there is a higher power than the courts, a power greater than the aggregated combinations of capital and railroads. That is the inherent rights of workingmen to strike at the polls.

"What we want then is to rid ourselves of the old party shackles.

"We want to change the const.i.tution so that even federal judges will be elected by the people. Then no judge will render a decision defying all law and justice. It is wonderful how sensitive the machinery of justice is to any complaint directed against the workingman.

"But how is it when corporations combine? Is it of record that any officials of any one of them has ever been in prison for violating the law?

"It is a notorious fact that the Santa Fe has robbed the people of $7,000,000 in the face of the interstate commerce law. Why not bring these colossal scoundrels to justice too? They say we must obey the law.

I say we are law-abiding, and I defy any man to show a single instance where the heads of the labor organization have advocated violence. If the authorities want the law respected let them enforce it against the rich and poor alike.

"In July, 1892, when the switchmen struck, the soldiers were called out to suppress them. Deputy marshalls set fire to a lot of box cars in Buffalo, N. Y., and this furnished the railroads an excuse to call on the government for soldiers. The railroads are still violating the eight hour law for which the men struck. They arrested the switchmen while the corporations are still allowed to trample the law under foot.

"Is not that enough to bring disrespect of the law? As it is now, the whole thing is a roaring farce. Has anybody ever heard of soldiers being called out to guard the rights of workingmen? Whatever else I have suffered myself, I have not lost the right of free speech. If Judge Wood expounds the law I would rather rot in jail than be an alleged freeman.

There is no man in the country who can directly charge me with violating the law of this country. Did any one of you ever hear me advocate violence? (A mighty no went up in response.) On the other hand did anyone here ever hear me counsel the men to be frank and straight forward, and honest and law-abiding in all they did?"

The audience shouted yes to this and President Debs continued:

"Before we get through with this trial it will be shown that the real conspirators are the railroad managers. Then if I go to the penitentiary Mr. Egan will have the distinction of accompanying me. We will produce the proof that the real purpose of the General Managers a.s.sociation was to reduce wages, and that until we stopped them on the Great Northern, they were going around the circle with that end in view.

"When it comes to striking at the polls we know the people will be with us, it will be a contest against the money power by which this country has been absolutely ruled for so many years. Havemeyer goes into the United States Senate and dictates what the duty on sugar shall be, and all the people combined can't stop him. Let a poor man go to Was.h.i.+ngton to protest and he is arrested for treading on the gra.s.s.

"I am a populist and favor wiping out both old parties, so they will never come into power again. I have been a democrat all my life and I am ashamed to admit it. I want every one of you to go to the polls and vote the peoples' ticket."

At the conclusion of his address, Mr. Debs announced his intention of going to his home for a few days.

On hearing this, the members of the American Railway Union determined to escort him to the depot, and, although they had but two hours to make arrangements, a procession a couple of miles in length was formed.

On arrival at his home in Terre Haute, President Debs was tendered a great reception. Thousands of his fellow citizens in all stations of life welcomed him with outstretched arms. Early in the evening the Naylor Opera House was packed to completion, and hundreds of people were denied admission owing to the dense throng of people who wished to do honor to this great leader. When President Debs appeared upon the stage he was greeted by a roar of applause that shook the building to its very foundation. His eloquent address on the strike situation and the causes that led up to it was received with thunders of applause.

This was the man whom the corporate courts had indicted for criminal conspiracy.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE STRIKE LOST.

Through the machination of the general managers, the courts and the press and the Benedict Arnolds of labor, the cause of the railroad corporations was beginning to triumph. Discouraged and disheartened by the treachery in their own ranks, a great many strikers had lost confidence in the success of their undertaking and were now silently awaiting the result of the convention called at Chicago. This was made known on the return of the delegates.

The action taken was to decide by a majority vote of each system whether the strike would continue in force or be declared off.

After thoroughly discussing the matter, it was decided to call off the strike owing to the fact that they were forced to fight against overwhelming odds and rank treachery, and the men were instructed to make application for their positions at once, in view of getting as many as possible re-instated.

This action was taken on all roads with the exception of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois, the Santa Fe and the Northern Pacific.

Very few of the men were successful in securing positions, for instance at Minnesota Transfer the switchmen waited on the superintendent in a body (all who were still in the city) and made applications to be reinstated.