HARDWOOD RECORD 



41 



union label, meaning plaintiff thereby, or, second: By ordering, direc- 

 ing. requiring, or by compelling by any by-law, rule or regulation, or 

 any act thereunder, any person whatever to refrain from or cease 

 working for any person, firm or corporation because they use ma- 

 terials purchased of or furnished by plaintiff or by any person, firm 

 or corporation, declared 'unfair,' or whose material does not bear 

 the union label, meaning plaintiffs thereby; but nothing herein con- 

 tained is to be construed to prevent peaceful strikes except thosij 

 directed against customers or prospective customers of j>Iaiiitiffs for 



the purpose of injuring or interfering with plaintiffs' good will, trade 

 or business. ' ' 



Results obtaining in tlipse cases are of vital interest to the prin- 

 ciple of the open shop in the millwork trade, as well as to combinations 

 between labor unions and certain other classes of mill-workers who 

 operate union shops, and are desirous of forming coalitions with the 

 unions at the expense of other manufacturers holding to the open- 

 shop" principle. The decisions and results are therefore of tremen- 

 dous importance to that branch of the lumber trade. 



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Steel vs. Wooden Passenger Cars 



_@ 



FIIURTH PAl'EK 

 SOXniCE OF THE STEEL CAR CRAZE 



A Washington correspondent, in the Buffalo Evening News, 

 alleges that the introduction of all-steel cars apparently was 

 induced by a concerted attempt to secure national legislation 

 compelling railroads to change their equipment to this type of 

 car. The fact that this movement would result in a great advan- 

 tage to the steel trust has led to the charge that it has "arti 

 ficially" stimulated this legislation, and the matter is creating 

 the liveliest interest among railway oflScials. The writer claims 

 that all the materials entering into steel cars, whether produced 

 by the Pullman Company or others, are supplied solely from steel 

 trust plants, which in all ways encourages the demand. He 

 says that the recent shake-up in the Pullman Company is attrib- 

 uted largely to the charge that officials of the Pullman Company 

 are interested to a considerable extent in steel plate production. 



The writer also states that it is charged that a similar state 

 of affairs exists in the Harvester trust, which was organized by 

 George W. Perkins, then with J. P. Morgan & Co., and chairman 

 of the finance committee of the steel trust. It alleges that the 

 Harvester trust has paid excessive prices for its steel work, 

 which supplanted wood for many purposes. 

 Placing of Order Denied 



The Chicago Record Herald on Oct. 28 announced that ''the 

 Illinois Central Railroad yesterday through its president, Charles 

 H. Markham, placed an order for 115 large all-steel cars. This 

 contract calls for the expenditure of $1,500,000, and provides 

 enough all-steel cars to equip every through train on the system 

 running on the main line with the wreck-proof cars." 



This newspaper article recited the details of the large size and 

 character of the steel cars, etc. It further announced that the 

 Illinois Central w-as the first railroad voluntarily to equip its 

 main line trains, through and local, with steel cars. 



Hardwood Record has the authority of E. C. Cowgill, assistant 

 to President Markham, that this alleged order for steel cars for 

 the Illinois Central has not been placed, but that the company 

 has only been negotiating for the purchase of some cars. Mr. 

 Cowgill states that the company at present is buying materials 

 of all descriptions only from hand to mouth. 



Confession of Weakness of Steel Cars 



During the last week the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad system 

 is out with a display advertisement in metropolitan newspapers, 

 announcing the inauguration of its new all-steel passenger cars, 

 which have been placed in service on through trains between 

 New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, 

 Chicago, St. Louis, Louisville and Cincinnati. The advertise- 

 ment states that these cars, by reason of different construction, 

 are not affected by changes in weather, and are superior to any 

 previoush' constructed. It states further that the interior trim 

 mings are of mahogany, and that the construction permits a uni- 

 form temperature, insuring the comfort of passengers. 



This announcement is certainly a confession that previously 

 constructed steel cars did not afford comfort to passengers. The 



announcement further enlarges on the fact that the ceiling and 

 lower paneling are of non-conducting fireproof material, but it 

 says nothing about the weight of the cars, or the safety that 

 would accrue to passengers in the event of a wreck. 

 Individual Experiences With Steel Cars 



A proniiueut Mempliis lumberman dropped into H.uiDWOOD- 

 Record otfice a few days ago and observed: "Did you ever ride 

 in a steel sleeper on an eighteen-hour train from New York to. 

 Chicago, with a loose bolt rattling over your head the entire 

 distance? Well, I have, and I haven't slept a wink since I left 

 New York." Another man writes that his personal objections to 

 the Pullman car built of steel are that in the winter the cold sim- 

 ply goes right through a car, and while one freezes on one side, he 

 may be comfortable on the other.. He says that it almost makes 

 him feel like going into a jail when he enters one of the Penn- 

 sylvania railroad cars. He says, also, that there is an unpleas- 

 ant odor from the interior finish of the car, which he says he is 

 told cannot be overcome. 



Report of Interstate Commerce Commission on the Fort Wayne 



Wreck 



The Interstate Commerce Commission, through H. W. Belknap, 

 chief of the Division of Safety Appliances, is out with a report 

 on the accident that befell the all-steel-car Pennsylvaiiia Special, 

 eastbound at Fort Wayne, lud., on Aug. 14. This report is a 

 technical one and deals largely with faulty track construction, 

 insufficient orders to engine men and conductors, to insure the 

 protection of the train, and a report of the testimony of the 

 railroad employes that survived the disaster. The report criti- 

 cises the company seriously for negligence, and alleges that the 

 accident occurred by reason of track changes with which 

 employes were not familiar, and by reason of failure to issue 

 "slow speed" orders covering these new sections of track. The 

 report notes: "The entire equipment of the train, with the excep- 

 tion of the dining car, was of all-steel construction. The dining 

 car was equipped with non-telescopic ends. The speed of the 

 train was so great, and the impact of the colliding engines so 

 terrific that the head engine on the passenger train, as well as 

 the freight engine, which was fouled, was turned completely 

 around. Several of the six-wheel trucks were torn from the cars 

 of the passenger train and buried entirely in the rock ballast 

 of the roadbed, while three of the cars on this train were torn 

 entirely from their trucks and landed at the foot of the 

 embankment. ' ' 



Here is the remarkable feature of the report: "Had the cars 

 on this train been of the wooden construction commonly used, 

 they would undoubtedly have been crushed to pieces and tele- 

 scoped by the impact, causing a frightful loss of life. To the all- 

 steel equipment can undoubtedly be attributed the fact that not 

 a passenger lost his life and only one was seriously injured." 



It might be up to Mr. Belknap to explain his deductions, in 

 view of the fact that the larger number of passengers on the 



