STATEMENT OF MR. G. B. ROWLAND.

[State legislative board Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen of Pennsylvania, Rooms 503504, Franklin Building.]

Mr. JOHN H. CRANDALL,

HARRISBURG, PA., May 11, 1915.

Secretary Shorthand Reporting Co.,

Room 720, Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D. C.

DEAR SIR: I note through the Associated Press news of the statements made by one W. H. Pierce before the Federal Industrial Commission at Washington, D. C., the following statement by Pierce:

"W. G. Lee came to Harrisburg and addressed a joint meeting of the shopmen and transportation men. Lee said to these men that if the Pennsylvania Railroad discharged one of the shopmen for joining the union, we have 135,000 union transportation men and $3,500,000 in the treasury, and will use every dollar and every man against the railroad if they discharge those shopmen.'" I wish to say that the above statement of Pierce is absolutely untrue, as I was present at that meeting and remember distinctly the statements made by W. G. Lee to the shopmen's trouble in Harrisburg, which was:

"That he could only lend his moral support to the Federated Railway Employees until such time as they had affiliated themselves with the respective bona fide organizations representing their crafts, such as the carmen, shopmen, freight handlers, maintenance-of-way employees, etc."

There was at no time during his remarks that he promised them the support of the 135,000 brotherhood men or $3,500,000 in their treasury. He also stated that “under no circumstances could either of the transportation organizations strike in sympathy with any class of employees.

Yours, respectfully,

G. B. ROWAND,

Chairman Pennsylvania State Legislative Board,
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.

(Copy sent to W. G. Lee.)

STATEMENT OF MR. W. H. PATRICK.

[Keystone Lodge No. 42, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.]

Mr. FRANK P. WALSH,

HARRISBURG, PA., May 11, 1915.

Chairman Federal Industrial Commission, Washington, D. C.

My DEAR SIR: Recently there appeared in the daily papers some malicious statements made before your commission by one Mr. W. H. Pierce against one of the members of Keystone Lodge No. 42, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, namely, Milton T. Robinson, of Harrisburg, Pa., and also the grand president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, William G. Lee, of Cleveland, Ohio. By action of the above-named lodge I was instructed to inform you that the statements made by Mr. W. H. Pierce have been refuted by the lodge, and that they are not true.

Trusting that you will give this affair your consideration, I am,
Very truly, yours,

[SEAL.]

W. H. PATRICK,

Secretary Lodge No. 42, No 2311 N. Sixth Street, Harrisburg, Pa.

STATEMENT OF MR. M. T. ROBINSON.

[State Legislative Board of Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen of Pennsylvania.]

Mr. JOHN H. CRANDALL,

Secretary Shorthand Reporting Co.,

HARRISBURG, PA., May 17, 1915.

Room 720, Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D. C.

DEAR SIR: I have noted by the Associated Press news of the proceedings before the Federal Industrial Commission, sitting at Washington, D. C., of statements

made before the commission, and wherein my name has been mentioned by one W. H. Pierce, and to which I take exceptions and wish to file with the commission my reason for so doing.

I note his statement in reference to a visit to Harrisburg by W. G. Lee, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and of which organization I am also a member, and attended the meeting at which the following statement, quoted by Mr. Pierce, is supposed to have been made:

"W. G. Lee came to Harrisburg and addressed a joint meeting of the shopmen and transportation men. Lee said to these men that if the Pennsylvania Railroad discharged one of the shopmen for joining the union, 'We have 135,000 union transportation men and $3,500,000 in the treasury and will use every dollar and every man against the railroad if they discharge those shopmen.'"

1

This statement is absolutely incorrect. Mr. Lee did say "that he could only lend his moral support to the Federated Railway Employees until such time as they had affiliated themselves with the respective organizations representing their crafts, such as the carmen, shopmen, freight handlers, maintenance-of-way employees, etc." At no time during his remarks did he promise the support of the membership of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, either by membership or by capital. He did say that "under no circumstances could either of the four transportation organizations strike in sympathy with any class of employees."

As to myself note under date of May 7, where Pierce said that I, "Milton T. Robinson, of Harrisburg, ought to be shot at sunrise."

If I may interpret the meaning of his statement I should say that the statement should be reversed and applied to Mr. Pierce, as he is the only man I know who has not only tried, but has misled many good, reliable, and industrious men to follow him in a movement in which he as an experienced organizer of men knew that he was telling them something that was simply impossible to do. He knew as an organizer of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen that the transportation brotherhoods could not under any consideration strike in sympathy with any other class of employees, and yet he has steadfastly maintained that they would, and thereby induced many employees to join the Brotherhood of Federated Railway Employees. If the term "traitor " should be applied to anyone, it is my opinion it is he who should be "branded." When he says that the trainmen promised to go out on strike with the members of his organization, there is nothing to his statement, as no one was in authority to speak on that matter other than W. G. Lee, but there was a few persons unauthorized and of the same disposition as Pierce, and who are of the stripe who would do anything at the wrong time and nothing at the right time, who made such statements, but no one should have known the truthfulness of such sayings better than Pierce from his experience as an organizer, yet he continued to deceive his followers.

Very truly, yours,

M. T. ROBINSON,

P. O. Box No. 598, Harrisburg, Pa.

STATEMENT OF MR. H. B. HUBER.

[Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, general grievance committee, Pennsylvania lines east.]

Hon. LEWIS K. BROWN,

HARRISBURG, PA., May 20, 1915.

Secretary United States Commission on Industrial Relations,

Washington, D. C.

DEAR SIR: I have been an interested reader of the press reports of the testimony presented to your honorable commission during its many sittings throughout the Nation, but particularly interested in the testimony offered by one W. H. Pierce, president of the so-called Brotherhood of Federated Railway Employees, who, according to the Associated Press report, under date of the 6th instant, testified in part as follows:

"Mr. W. G. Lee, president of the trainmen-I should call him brother, but don't, because it's a disgrace-came to Harrisburg and addressed a joint meeting of shopmen and transportation men. Lee said to those men that if the Pennsylvania Railroad discharged one of the shopmen for joining the union, We have 135,000 union transportation men and $3,500,000 in the treasury, and

will use every dollar and every man against the railroad if they discharge those shopmen.'

"The trainmen said to the shopmen, Strike, and we'll go with you.' But the trainmen didn't strike with them. If ever a man was guilty of high treason against his fellows it is W. G. Lee. He is the cause of suicides, great loss of property, and the breaking up of homes."

The meeting referred to by Pierce was held in Harrisburg on November 30, 1913, and I was one of approximately 1,000 transportation men who were present at this meeting-the term "transportation men" referring to members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Order of Railway Conductors, and Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. The meeting itself was one of what we railroad men term "fifth Sunday" meetings, which are usually held in some large railroad center on the fifth Sunday of any month in which such occurs, and the attendance at such meetings is generally limited to transportation men, practically the only exception being when members of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers are admitted. Officers of these organizations are invited to address these meetings, as well as men prominent in public life. At the meeting in question President Lee, of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, was an invited guest.

Pierce, the president of the so-called Brotherhood of Federated Railway Employees, was present at the opening of the meeting in his official capacity, but not as an invited guest, to the best of my knowledge. Pierce-who, by the way, was a defeated aspirant for a vice presidency of the firemen's organization at their Washington convention in 1913, and whose commission as an organizer of that organization expired at midnight, November 30, 1913, sought to have the meeting thrown open to the members of the "federation." After a short discussion it was decided that, in view of the fact that the meeting had been called for transportation men only, the members of the "federation" would not be admitted. Pierce immediately left the meeting in a "huff," but shortly returned in his individual capacity as a member of the firemen's brotherhood, and later on, at the request of the chairman, addressed the meeting.

I was an attentive listener to the address made by President Lee, but at no time in his discourse did I hear him make any statement that could be construed as inferring that Pierce or his organization could, at the least, hope for the support which Pierce testified President Lee promised would be given if the Pennsylvania dismissed any shopman for affiliating himself with the "federation." President Lee did make a statement, which in substance was that if Pierce was organizing the shopmen and other employees and affiliating them with his organization with the permission of the different craft organizations already in existence and affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, then he could no doubt meet with the heads of the four transportation organizations and talk the matter over. Pierce did not then nor has he since, to the best of my knowledge, claimed that he had permission from any of the craft organizations representing other than transportation men in railroad service, such as the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, Brotherhood of Car Repairmen, International Car Inspectors' Union, etc., to affiliate this class of employees with his organization. He has repeatedly announced that he would not affiliate his organization with the American Federation of Labor.

There is no doubt in my mind but that Pierce was promised physical support in his then threatened strike by members of the transportation organizations acting in an individual capacity, but this was an assumption of authority on their part that was contrary to the general rules of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and similar laws of the other transportation organizations. The president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Mr. Lee, acting in his official capacity, can not call a strike of his own initiative, the general rules only giving to him the authority to approve or disapprove the action of a general grievance committee who, having received the approval of at least twothirds of the membership on a railroad as the result of a referendum vote, can authorize or order a withdrawal from the service. Pierce, as a member and deputy officer of the firemen's brotherhood, was well aware of this fact.

The transportation organizations accept the open-shop policy; their members work side by side with others in their respective classes who do not belong to their organizations on the condition that these nonmembers work for the same rates of pay and upon the same conditions; and these organizations neither believe in nor practice the sympathetic strike.

It might not be out of place to suggest to your honorable commission that in considering the testimony presented by Mr. Pierce that you consult the report of Messrs. John A. Moffit and James A. Smyth, the commissioners of conciliation of the United States Department of Labor, submitted to the Hon. William B. Wilson, Secretary of Labor, under date of July 1, 1914. This report covers the work of the honorable commissioners of conciliation in their efforts to avert the at that time-impending strike of Mr. Pierce's Brotherhood of Federated Railway Employees.

Respectfully, yours,

H. B. HUBER, 1352 North Street, Harrisburg, Pa.

Sworn and subscribed before me this 20th day of May, A. D. 1915.

[SE

My commission expires March 25, 1917.

IRWIN M. CASSELL, Notary Public.

STATEMENT FROM HARRISBURG (PA.) PATRIOT.

[From Harrisburg Patriot, Dec. 1, 1913.]

CONCERTED Move Great for MEN-SPIRIT OF HARMONY A NECESSITY TO SUCCESS, SAYS LEE-PIERCE RAPS COMPANIES.

A thousand railroad men attended the regular joint fifth Sunday meeting of the four brotherhood organizations yesterday at the Board of Trade Hall.

William G. Lee, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, who has just finished the eastern arbitration proceedings, was the principal speaker on the occasion. He said he knew of no differences between the various brotherhoods. The especial need of affiliation of the four organizations on the Pennsylvania was urged. Lee declared that he worked for federation and harmony between the engineers and firemen in the Harrisburg and St. Paul conventions. All would stand by the new brotherhood with money and otherwise, he said. He dwelt on spies and gum-shoe men and said it was impossible to keep out the traitor. "With small favors they tempt employees with passes," he said. Government figures were used to show the high death rate on the railroads. For 1912, one killed every five and one-half hours, and those injured, including the killed, average one every 12 minutes. Railroad men can never get just compensation in consideration of these fatalities. He spoke on arbitratiton, concerted movements, and wage scales at great length and intimated that concerted action was one of the most valuable.

Senator E. E. Beidlemen extended an address of welcome to the visiting members.

G. G. Boran, chairman of the State legislative board of the Brotherhood Railroad Trainmen, spoke of legislation and the work of the legislative board, dwelling principally on the public-service commission act and commented on the fact that employees and families will not be granted passes.

J. C. Blarney spoke on behalf of the B. of L. E. and took occasion to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the organization, which is the pioneer of the railroad brotherhoods. He alluded to the concerted movement as one of the grandest things and urged a spirit of harmony to prevail among all railroad employees and the four organizations.

W. H. Pierce, organizer of the B. of L. F. and E., who recently organized the Brotherhood of Federated Railway Employees, told of the achievements of organized labor as monuments of the brotherhoods, and, as he is from the rank and file, his heart is with those who earn their living by the sweat of their brows. The expense of handling grievances is much greater now than formerly, he said. One hundred dollars is now spent where 5 or 10 years ago $10 or $15 was sufficient to handle a case. Petty grievances are now carried to the higher officials. Years ago they were settled in the yardmaster's office," Pierce said. "This is done to create excessive assessments, discourage the men, and make them quit the brotherhood.”

The brotherhood meeting held yesterday afternoon in the Board of Trade Auditorium was continued last night at White's Hall, Broad and James Streets, under the auspices of the B. of F. R. E.

Most of the speakers at the afternoon session were present, all speaking a word of encouragement for the new organization. Among the speakers were W. G. Lee, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and W. H. Pierce, organizer for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen. Both men extended hearty cooperation of their brotherhoods toward the new organization and offered support at all times.

STATEMENT OF MR. P. L. SMITH AND OTHERS.

[Grand Lodge Brotherhood of Federated Railway Employees.]

To whom it may concern:

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 17, 1915.

We, the undersigned members of the different railroad brotherhoods, did attend a meeting in White's Hall on the 30th day of November, 1913, which was addressed by Mr. W. G. Lee, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and heard him make this declaration:

(By W. G. Lee.) We have 135,000 members and $3,500,000 in our treasury, and every dollar and every man will be used against the Pennsylvania Railroad if they discharge one of you men for belonging to a union; and he further said if we stood by W. H. Pierce that he, Pierce, would lead us to a victory. P. L. SMITH,

2010 Susquehanna Street, B. of L. F. and E.

GEO. F. HOFFMAN,

641 Dauphin Street, B. of F. R. E. R. R. STEVENSON,

1215 Front Street, B. of F. R. E. J. Q. YODER,

621 Harris Street, B. of L. F. and E.

M. D. HENDERSON,

1911 Foster Street, H. B. G. B. of F. R. E.

STATEMENT OF MR. R. B. SHEELY.

[William H. Morne Lodge, B. of L. F. & E., 673.]

To whom it may concern:

HARRISBURG, PA., May 22, 1915.

I. R. B. Sheely, secretary of William M. Morne Lodge No. 673, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Harrisburg, Pa., do hereby swear that I was in attendance at a meeting held in the city of Harrisburg, Pa., on the 30th day of November, 1913, and heard W. G. Lee, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, in the course of his address, make this statement, to wit:

"The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen has 135,000 members and three and a half million in their treasury, and that they (the Brotherhood of Federated Railway Employees) would have the backing of the entire organization if one of their men was discharged for joining the union."

R. B. SHEELY.

MAY 24, 1915.

Sworn and subscribed to before me this day above written, May 24, 1915. [SEAL.]

FRITZ KRAMME,

Alderman.

My commission expires the first Monday in January, 1920.