Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

8 Correspondence Between the Georgia Railroad and O. R. C. and B. R. T. Copies of Correspondence Between W. S. BRAND. Superintendent. Georgia Railroad. And T. A. GREGG. Vice President, Order of Railway Conductors. Relating to Application of J. T. Paschal for Re instatement to Position of Conductor on the Georgia Railroad, From Which He Was Dismissed June 5. 1912. Also Copies of Correspondence Between W. S. BRAND, Superintendent. Georgia Railroad, And JAMES MURDOCK. Vice President. Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. Relating to Application of A. M. Morgan for Reinstatement to Position of Flagman on the Georgia Railroad. From Which He Was Dismissed April 3. 1912. THE ALBION. Augusta. Ga . Sept. 10. 1912 MR. r K SCOTT. Genl Mgi Georgia Kailroad Company. Augusta, Ga 1 >r a r Sir: On June sth, of tills \ear. Conductor J. T. Paschal, who had been with your Company for nearly twenty years about five years as Flagman and 14 years as Conductor—was dismissed from the serv ice because his engineer remained on duly more than sixteen hours from the time he first reported for duty hi Augusta shops until he got his train on the sid ing and the engine in shape to he left without a Watchman at Lithonia, on May 19th. 1912 Your Conductor.s, believing an injustice has been done Mr Paschal. Instructed their committee to take his case up with the proper officials and request his rein statement This was done, hut the re instatement of Mr Paschal was promptly refused. The ease was then referred to the Ex ecutive officer of their organization, who assigned the writer to assist them. and. after going over the case carefully. I agree with the contentions of vour Con ductors. that Mr Paschal was unjustly denied the right to continue to earn his daily bread in the capacity of Conductor for your Company Therefore, we request that he be rein stated to his former seniority rights as Conductor, and that he be paid fur all time lost. The undersigned, accompanied by the General Committee. C> R C , representing your Conductors, would be glad to have a conference with you to discuss the above referred to subject at your earliest possible convenience I will await your answer al the Albion Hotel, this Cic and thanking you for an early reply. 1 am. Yours very truly. tSigned t T. A. GREGG. Vice President O. It. C GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta, Georgia. September 12, 11*12 MR. T. A GREGG, Vice President, Order of Railway Con ductors, Albion Hotel. Augusta. Georgia Dear Sir Mt Scott. General Manager. Inis re ferred to me your letter September 10th asking for conference accompanied by the General Committee of Railway Con ductors. to discuss the case of J T. Pas chal I shall be pleased to meet the Commit tee and yourself at 4:00 P M . Eastern Time. Saturday. September 14th Previ ous engagements prevent my naming an earlier date for the meeting Yours truly. t Signed i AA S BRAND, pith Superintendent. THE ALBION. Augusta. Ga . Sept 14. 11*12 MR AA S BRAND. Hupt . Georgia Railroad Company. Augusta, Ga. Deal Sil Your communication naming 4 o'clock r M . Eastern Time. Saturday. Septem ber 14th. for conference with the General Committee **. It C and myself to discuss the case of Mr .1 T Paschal, has been receiv ed AVe will be at your office at the above named hour Yours truly. (Signed* T. A GREGG. Vice President O. R. C GEORGIA RAILROAD Augusta. Georgia. September 16, 1912 MR. T A GREGG. Vice President. Ordet of Railway Con ductors. Albion Hotel. Augusta. Georgia T’ear Sir Referring to the case of J T I’asebal. whose dismissal from th-, service of the Georgia Railroad wa« discussed at a con ference held in my office on Saturday aft ernoon. the 14th m“tant at which confer ence there were present yourself. Messrs A. L (’handler. AV S Black and .1. A Scott, representing Mr Paschal. and Mr .1. R Laird. Traveling Conductor, and my self. also Mr Norris, of my office staff You are doubtless familiar with the "Hours of Service" law. passed by the National Congress in March. 1907. the ob ject and purposes of which are set forth hi its title. viz . “An A< t t<» promote the Hafetx <»f employees and travelers upon railroad* dy limiting the hours of service of employees thereon A cop> of this Act wa s posted the bullet it. boards prior to its effective date, that all interested in.gh’. be Informed of its terms, etc and <»n No vember 14th. 1911. the follow ng bulletin vas sutued, over my signature and ha! dressed tn Engineers. Firemen <’»»n --0 ivtors and Trainmen •’To comply with the Hours <»i S»ivi<e Eaw. the period of duty bouki b. <om puled from the lime the etnp; •>*? ua! Iv goes on duty to the time he is relies eu of his engine or train If .< train is taught without instruction* on main line at any point by the »xi»iratiun of the it* hour period the crew will place train in sidetrack, g" off duty anti repor t .o'ion »4» Dispatcher Georgia Railroad Rule No. 13?, uniu. was *n effect at the t me Mr I’as* Hal's offense was committed hears directly on the case. For convenience I quoit- it: ‘The general dir'- : o»n and government of a train, from th* '-me of receiving it passengers or freight until ns arrival at Its destination, is vested in the conductor is held rr-p-»n n»lr f.» its and conduct, and all n•* employed <o tra'r arc i.< n e to * -»er in charge, as conductor, of a westbound I freight train destined io Atlanta, and at > ("ovington <a station 130 miles* distant from Augusta i he learned direct from the engineer of his train the exact time that ibis ithe engineer's* 16-hour period on ; duty under the law would expire. The ‘ train proceeded to Conyers ta station 140 miles distant from Augusta*, where It re- I mained for some time awaiting the ar , rival of an opposing eastbound train. On I arrival of this eastbound train at Con | vers, the westbound train, in charge of Mt Paschal, departed for the next sta ! lion, Lithonia, without sufficient time to I make tlie run to that station at the speed lim.t prescribed by the Rules and clear the main line before the expiration of the • 16-hour period of duty of the engineer. Mr I’asebal admits these facts ami has ' not given a satisfactory explanation of Ills I failure to observe the law and my spe ■ lai instructions relating thereto lie also knows that under Rule 132 "he Is held re sponsible for the safe and proper conduct of the train, and that all men employed on tl*e train arc required to yield a will ing obedience to bls proper orders '' The Georgia Railroad has equipped its line with a telephone system, and each conductor, including Mr Paschal was pro i vlded with a telephone set, that they may i lie able to promptly and conveniently get in communication with the Dispatchers, I thus the bulletin instruction to "report to Dispatcher’’ could have been easily car ried out, and his failure to do so is with out excuse or reason. He seems’to have preferred to deliberately and premeditat edly lake matters In his own hands, de fying our instructions and the law, thus putting the Georgia Railroad in the atti tude of h law-breaker and subjecting it to severe penalties under the law The Georgia Railroad is being asked to reinstale Mr. Paschal and allow hint lost lime, and this request Is accompanied by a threat that unless It is complied with "there will be trouble for the Georgia Railroad ' and myself, the statement being made that the men wHI withhold their support and co-operation, and that with out those I could not succeed In short, you are upholding Paschal in his disre gard of my instructions and the law, both of which were designed for his safety and the safety of his fellow employees, the passengers who entrust themselves to our care and sot the protection of valuable property, and in further effort to accom plish your ends you make a threat that our collductors will "give, us trouble" an.l will withhold support and co-operation, thus not only crippling the Georgia Rail road but our patrons as well, in that they would not receive the service so essentia', io their comfort and success. I repeat with emphasis what I said, in effect, at the conference, viz.: that the conductors employed on the Georgia Railroad are for law ami authority, and that I can not ami do not believe that they would be parties to such indefensible and unworthy prac tices. and that they would not disre gard one of the important notices con tained in the Rules, viz.: "To enter or re main in the service is ait assurance of willingness to obey the rules." You also urge in justification of Mr. Paschal s act thai others have committed similar offenses since the Issuance of the bulletin quoted in this letter and they had not been suspended or dismissed. A breach of the laws of morals or of dis cipline is not modified in degree by Its detection or non-detection An offense of 'hat sort Is still an offense If it never becomes known to any one but the of fender. The weakening of discipline invariably carries with it demoralization, reckless ness ami other kindred horrors. As the responsibh head of the Transportation Department. 1 shall continue to adminis ter such discipline as in my judgment works no Injustice to the offender and affords the protection to our employees and patrons that they expect me to pro vide Yours truly, 'Signed* AV. 8 BRAND. Superintendent THE ALBION. Augusta, Ga.. Sept. 16, 11*12. MR AA S BRAND. Supt . Georgia Railroad Company, Augusta. Ga Dear Sir September 10. I addressed i a letter to Mt T K. Scott, general mana tee of tin* Georgia railroad, tequesting j the reinstatement of Conductor .1. T. i Paschal to his former rights as conduc tor. ami that he be paid for all lime lost, and asked Mr Scott to give conference to the undersigned and general committee it R C representing his conductors, to discuss this matte* < 'n September 12. not having heard from him. 1 wired him at Atlanta calling hir attention to my lette* of the 10th. and advising him that I had received no re ply On September 13 I received a letter from you stating that you would meet the committee amt myself at 4 o'clock p nt., Eastern time. Saturday, September 14. to discuss this matter Not having heard from Mr Scott. I again wired him on the 13th instant, tell rng him tltat I had not received reply to either communication sent him. that we had heard from you. but as we bad taken the matter up with him as general manager ot his company, we were entitled to know from htm who had been author ized to dispose of the case at Issue, and on the morning of the 14th I received a message from Mr Scott to the effect that you would meet us When we first met you ai the confer ence on Saturday. 14th, in answer to a direct question front me. you stated to us that you had authority to settle tills matter However, after reading tour com municatlon of today, we find that you re : view some of ti e arguments you pre sented on Saturday, and do not fairly I state some of the statements made by me. I but you do not say in your coniniunica i tlon whether or not you will reinstate Conductor Paschal and nay him for all time lost. AA hen you lane done a,*, we are pre pared to answer your * ■■mmiin ica t ion ami advise you whether ot not we ate will ing to accept your decision •t rusting that we max get this decision at vour earliest possible convenience. I lam yours vary truly. ■Signed* "|" \ GREGG. A tee President <*. P C GEORGIA RAILROAD Augusta Ga September I*., Ist i.AlK I A GREG*;. A’lce Pre- >■* ■ ordet Ilf Railwae *".in ductors. Albion Hotel. Augusta. Georgia I Dear Sir. 1 am tn receipt of vour tenet Septent ber 1«tli. in wlilcb you ask whether or not I will reinstate Conductor .1 T Pas j chat and pay litm for all time lost, and I state that upon receipt cf this informs |tion vou will Iw prepare.: to answer my I communication of this date and advise I me whether or not you »’•' willing io ac i ■ *'pt me decision Thus fat tm umi reason ,*- been ■g d to ni-'if •• e m entertaining our I request f. > reinstating Mr Paschal and pa- * mi tor all time 1-- Yours irul' *signe*l) \a •"■ brand. I Superintendent THEATLANTA GEOKGIAN AND NEWS. TUESDAY. OCJOBEK 1. 1912. Augusta, Ga.. September 30. 1912. TO THE PUBLIC: As at this writing it is highly probable that the conductors, flagmen, baggage masters and yard Trainmen tn the service of the Georgia Railroad will withdraw from that set vice, and that, notwithstanding the efforts of the railroad management to fill these places, the public will be seriously embarrassed, I feel that it is due to the public to make known to them all the facts, that the public- may consider from whose fault comes this result. For that purpose the following statement is published: In the introduction to the rules for the goveijbment of employees of the transportation department of the Georgia Railroad occurs the language following: "To enter or tamain In the service !• an assurance of willing ness to obey the titles." Rule 132 of those rules reads as follows: "The genetai direction and government of a train, front the time of receiving its passengers or freight until its arrival at its destination, is vested in the conductor. He is held responsible for its safe and proper conduct, and all men employed on the train are tequired to yield a willing obedience to his proper orders.” In 1907 the * ongtess of the United States enacted a law. the purpose and objects of which are set forth in its title, viz.. "AN A<'T TO PROMOTE THE SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES AND TRAVELERS UP ON" RAILROADS BA' LIMITING THE HOURS OF SERVICE OF EMPLOY EES THEREON." A copy of this act was posted on the bulletin boards prior to Its effective date, that all interested employees might be informed of its let ins. etc., and on November 14, 1911, special instructions to engineers, firemen, conductors and trainmen were issued by me as to compliance with this law. These instructions provided that at the expiration of the statu tory period of duty for trainmen (16 hours* "THE CREW WILL PLACE TRAIN IN" SIDETRACK. GO OFF DUTY AND REPORT ACTION TO DISPATCHER." On May 18. last, Mr. J T. Paschal left Augusta in charge, as conductor, of a westbound freight train destined to Atlanta, and at Covington (a station 130 miles distant from Augusta) he learned direct from the engineer of his train the exact time that his (the engineer’s* and firemans 16-hour period of duty under the law would expire. The train proceeded to Con yers (a station 14u miles distant from Augusta*, where it remained for some time awaiting the arrival of an opposing eastbound train. On arrival of tills eastbound train at Conyers, the westbound train, in charge of Mr. Paschal, departed for the next station. Lithonia, without sufficient time to make the run to tltat station at the speed limits or limit prescribed by the rules and to clear the main line before expiration of the 16-hour period of duty of the engineer and the fireman. Mr. Paschal admits that his train was run contrary to the provisions of the so-called HOURS OF SERVICE LAW referred to above, and has given no satisfactory explanation of his failure to exercise the authority vested in him by Rule 132, fully quoted above, and place his train in the sidetrack and report to the dispatcher in compliance with the special in structions also quoted above, thus avoiding an infraction of the law. The Georgia Railroad, in its anxiety to expedite the movement of its trains, and otherwise afford easy and prompt communicatien. has equipped its main line and Macon branch with a telephone system, and has provided each conductor. Including Mi Paschal, with a portable equipment to enable them to communicate witfiin a few minutes directly with the dispatchers. The engineer and the conductor (Mr. Paschal) were, for this offense, dismissed from the service, and tlie Georgia Railroad Is now confronted by' a" demand from the Older of Railway Conductors to reinstate Mr. Paschal in the serv ice and to pay him full wages from the date of his dismissal, and this demand is coupled with a. threat from the vice president of thai order that unless it is complied with there will be "trouble for the Georgia Railroad and for its superintendent.” In brief, the demand is made upon the Georgia Railroad that it shall reinstate in the responsible position of conductor one who has admittedly tailed, though empowered so to do and with full knowledge at the time of the occurrence, to require compliance with the rules, the special instructions issued and a law enacted for the SOLE PURPOSE OF SECURING GREATER SAFETY FQR HIMSELF, HIS FELLOW EMPLOYEES in the railroad service and THE TRAVELING PUBLIC. It Is pertinent to add that this infraction of the law- was re ported to the Interstate Commerce Commission, as required by the law, and the discipline imposed was also made know'n to the commission as an evidence of the Georgia Railroad's earnest desire to comply with the provisions of the act. and the commission, in acknowledging the report, expressed its thanks for the interest manifested by the officers of the rail road In securing compliance with the law. The public must appreciate that in the operation of railroads where the infraction of ONE RULE may re sult in loss of life and destruction of property, it is essential those who knowingly and willfully violate the rules and the law' be eliminated from railroad train service. Otherwise the hazard to those who are employed and THOSE WHO TRAVEL upon railroad trains must inevitably be vastly increased. The Georgia Railroad is also confronted with a demand made by the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen for the reinstatement to its service of Mt". A. M. Morgan as flagman, and for the payment to him of full wages from lite date of his dismissal. April 3, 1912. Under its agreement, the Georgia Railroad undertakes to reimburse its employees, while attending court a< witnesses in its behalf, their ACTUAL EXPENSES during their absence from their regular duties. In March, 1912, Mr. Morgan, at the instance of the Georgia Railroad, attended court as witness in a case wlterein the railroad was defendant. In accordance with the usual practice, Mt. Morgan submitted to the railroad a statement purporting to repre sent his ACTUAL expense, which, upon examination, was found to be in correct. in that the Geotgia Railroad had been overcharged. The state ment was returned to Mt. Morgan, calling attention to the overcharge, which was corrected by him. Upon further examination, another over charge was discovered, and the statement again returned to Mr. Morgan for correction, and for the third, fourth and fifth time it was necessary to re turn this statement to Mr Morgan to secure the correction of a third overcharge. These persistent overcharges (small though they were, the total amount originally claimed being only $8 and reduced by Mr. Morgan to $5.25* were evidences of characteristics w hich are incompatible with the very responsible duties of a railroad trainman. In other words, they indi cated that Mr Morgan is either inexcusably careless possessed of a mem ory which is deplorably faulty, or that lie is dishonest, either of which causes is sufficient to and should eliminate him from train service. The facts recited above, upon which Mr. Morgan was dismissed, ate admitted by him, and these admissions are of record of his own making in the office of the superintendent. it must be patent to all that the administration of proper discipline is essential to the safe operation of railroad trains, and that that prerogative must reside In the responsible officers of the railroads, and can not be dele gated to any subordinate or aggregation of subordinates. It is the exer cise of that prerogative by the officers of the Georgia Railroad and their refusal to delegate it to organizations of its employees which have resulted in an ultimatum from the officers of these organizations that unless these two men ate restoied to their former positions with full compensation for the period elapsed since their dismissal the members of these organizations heretofore employed by the Geotgia Railroad wilt withdraw from its service, thereby impairing its ability io provide the transportation service so indis pensable to the public comfort. While the management of the Georgia Railroad feels in all sincerity that its course in this matter is just and right. It recognizes the fact that parties to h controversy may err honestly in their views, and has. therefore, i eported the situation to the officials designated by another act of congress, to mediate between the parties in sm It ctses and ha« requested their good offices. The correspondence between tin superintendent of the Geotgia Railroad and the vice presidents of the Order of Railway t'onductors and Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen is published herewith. w g BRAND. Superintendent Georgia Railroad. THE ALBION HOTEL. Augusta. Ga . Sept 16. I"1- Mli \\ S HR AND Supt. Geotgia Railroad. Augusta. Ga Deal Su During mj expenemt n ■lealiug with railroad officials throughout (lie country. I have met many men who did not agree witlt me notwithstanding the fact that it was afterwards decided that arguments 1 had offered ami reasons given were good, us to why a matter of grievance should be adjusted: but 1 never have until now met an official who was vested with au thority to make a decision and tried to dodge the responsibility of doing so Your statement that no sound reason has been urged io justify you in enter taining our requests f->r reinstatement of t'omlm tot Paschal and pay him for alltime lost appears to be no reason why you should fail or refuse tn make a decision one w I* or the other when urged to <io so A ou have heard our argument, (nd it is I fr>* tou to decide whether you think :t * , goo.l oi bad. and what I now desire to I know is ate you willing to reinstate Mr. I’aselial io itis former position as con ductor. ami pay him for all time lost? Yours very truly. * Signed I T. A GREGG, Vice President (* R. <■ GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta, Ga Sept. 17. I**l2 MR '!' A GREGG. A me President. Order of Kallwa* ('on ductors. Albmn Hotel. Augusta. Ga I I *ea r St* Your letter of September 16th was de livered to me this morning by Messrs. Chandler and Bia* k There is nothing n my correspondence to Indicate a disposition to dodge any thing I reiterate that thus far no sound reason ha* been urge-1 to justify me in enter taining your request for reinstating Mr Pascral ami nay him for al! time lost. Under our rules with which Mr. Pas ! • hal Is full' conversant, ths respon: ibihty I for the at,- and propet , nndtiei of out |'ra*ns o'er the road rests with the con- ductor. Mr. Paschal himself admits that his train was run. and that be knew be forehand that it would be run, contrary to law. a law that was enacted by our National Congress and designed for his safety, for the safety of his fellow-em ployees and those Ithe public* who travel upon our trains. It would not be compatible with my sense of right, and I would be recreant in my duty to our employees, to the pub lic and to the property' I represent to re store such a man to our ranks without any reason whatever in brief, to restore him simply because you request it. Yours truly, (Signed) W. S BRAND, Superintendent. THE ALBION. Augusta. Ga., Sept. 17, 1912. MR. W. S. BRAND, Supt., Georgia Railroad Company, Augusta, Ga. Dear Sir: Your two. communications written yes terday and one today referring to the rein statement of Conductor J. T. Paschal, and which was the subject matter of our con ference held in your office on Saturday afternoon, 14th inst., have been received and carefully" considered. Your first and second letters did not set out clearly what your decision was, but we understand from your communication of today that our request is denied. We can not accept your decision as final and as the matter has been placed in your hands by the General Manager to adjust, we understand that we have the com pany s final reply. Therefore, there seems only one course left open for us, which is to submit the case to the membership for them to decide our future course. However, inasmuch as the Conductors and I rainmen are federated on this system, we have decided, first to convene the federated committee and lay' our case before th%t committee. As soon as an officer of that organization and committee has convened, W'e will ask you for a further conference to advise you of the decision reached by the Federated Board. In our first communication to you yes terday I advised you that as soon as we received your final answer in writing, giv ing your decision in the case at issue, we would answer your communication and advise you whether or not we would ac cept your decision. In your communication yesterday. 1 no tice several places where I am quoted in correctly. and I wish to call your atten tion to these statements and will correct them. 1 said that no official could succeed without the co-operation and support ot those under him—that unless the men had confidence in their superiors and felt and knew that favoritism and discrimination was not practiced, that it had been con ceded by almost all fair-minded officials, that his success was hopeless. And I did not believe you would claim that you were an exception. Your answer to this statement was—That “You are right, and if I felt that I did not have the support of my Conductors, I would resign as Su perintendent.” But I did not say, that the Conductors would withhold their sup port and co-operation from you. I told you, however, that If we failed to reach a satisfactory settlement (you hav ing failed to convince us that there was no merit in Mr. Paschals case) there was only one course left for us to pursue, and that was to let the. men whom we represent decide for us what, action we should take. I presume this is what you refer to as "threats." We agree just as heartily as you do that the Conductors employed on the Georgia Railroad are for Law and Order, and cheerfully submit to authority at all times. We believe that Mr. Pascltal has been and Is today a firm believer in these same principles, and furthermore, we are firmly of the belief that he carried out the instructions contained in .vour bulle tin dated November 24, 1911, to the letter. Mr. Scott, General Manager, W'rote to Mr. A. L. Chandler. Vice Chairman of the Conductors" Committee, under date of July 19, 1912, as follows: “Your letter of July 18 has reached me here. "I have carefully considered the case of Conductor Paschal held responsible for violation of Superintendent Brand's Bul letin of November 14. 1911. relative to the hours of Service Law and the National Law itself. Therefore. 1 am not inclined to consider an appeal for his reinstate ment." Therefore, on July 19, as a matter of record, Mr. Paschal was charged by his General Manager with violating your Bul letin of November 14. 1911. and the Na tional Law. AND NOTHING MORE. However, he is now charged by you with also violating Rule 132 We claim that the Bulletin issued Nov. 14th. 1911. supersedes and amends Rule 132. inasmuch as It is addressed to En gineers. Firemen, Conductors and Train men. and it confers no power on the Con ductor or any other Individual therein, to arbitrarily decide the question. It is ad dressed to the members individually, and specifically and places the responsibility on men Individually. If it were addressed to the Conductor alone, or if it were ad dressed to all tour classes and then speci fied that the Conductor would be held re sponsible for seeing that it was carried out. it would be entirely different There is not a line in it that recognizes the Con ductor s authority to arbitrarily decide when that time lias been reached, and consequently it seems to us that holding him responsible for violation on the part of others is far-fetched and unfair. We were told by you In conference that he was not charged with violating the law himself, therefore it is not fair to now charge hint with doing so. We un derstand he was on the siding with the switches closed seven minutes before the sixteen hours was up. We. note what you say relative to the Georgia R. R. equipping its line with tel ephone system— "Thus the Bulletin in structions to report to dispatcher could have been easily carried out, and Itis fail ure to do so is w ithout excuse or reason." Under date of Feby. 12th. 1912, the In terstate Commerce Commission made a ruling on the "Hours of Service Law." which reads in part as follows: "Neither under the ait nor under the ruling of the Commission ■ an a carrier employ regularly for the purpose of send ing. receiving or delivering orders affect ing the movement of trains, a trainman who lias been on duty longer titan the limit fixed for a telegraph or telephone operator The proviso of the law applies to an operator, train dispatcher or other employee, and a trainman who. b( the Rules of the Company, is required to send, receive or deliver orders affecting the movement of trains, in < onjiuictfon with tils duties as trainman, would come within the proviso " Therefore. If the above means what we have excellent reasons to believe il does, and the Bulletin of November 14. 1911. means that the Conductor is re- I quire*! to call up the dispatcher and re I eetve oriiers for his own or any other train, after having been on duty the (length of time Mr. Paschal was on this date in question, then we are at a loss to • understand bow the company was placed ' *n the attitude of being more of a law- I breaker and subjecting It to a more se- * vere penalty under the law by his en gineer going to Lithonia than ft would have been had Mr Paschal taken orders over the phone at I'onyers. on the above I 'late, as is indicated in your communica tion that he should have done. I I said that as evidence that others un derstood vour Bulletin of November 14, 1911. as Mr Paschal did. that man.' others i had *j( no from time to time just what Pas* hal did **n this date, and it was hard i f or a practical railroad man to unrier- I -*tand bow * < ottbl be done without (knowledge . ii the part of the officials I Yet. nothing had ever been said to any- one, insofar as the men knew, until Pas chal and his engineer were discharged. Furthermore, I told you that a number of the men had told me in person that, until Paschal was discharged, they understood the Bulletin as Paschal did, but I did not urge in justification of Mr. Paschal s act that others had committed similar of fenses. If Paschal complied with the rule literally, he committed no offense, and therefore needed no argument in justifica tion thereof. We do not understand what you mean in the last paragraph of your letter of the 17th, by the words "to restore such a man to our ranks without any reason whatever." Mr. Paschal lias spent nearly twenty years in the service ot the Geor gia railroad, and if we are to believe the statements we hear from those who have come in contact with Mr. Paschal all these years, he is a matt whose presence will honor any community. He had a good record with this company, and the reasons why he is not now in the service of the Georgia railroad are so obvious that al most everyone in the service understands it. and it needs no further comments. Yours truly, (Signed t T. A. GREGG. Vice President O. R. C. GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta. Ga., September 18. 1912. MR. T. A. GREGG. A ice President Order of Railway Con ductors, Albion Hotel, Augusta. Georgia. Dear Str: I have your communication of the 17th instant, and note therein the direction It is proposed to give the case of J. T. Paschal. The letter really calls for no reply, except to point out certain inaccuracies that mar the record. You are correct in the statement that at our conference on the 14th instant you said, “No official could succeed without the co-operation of those under him,” and that I assented to that proposition. You also at the same conference made the further statement that unless your re quest to reinstate Mr. Paschal was com plied with "there will be trouble for the Georgia railroad and myself, and that the men will withhold their support and co operation." There were others present and heard all that transpired, and will bear out the accuracy of this statement. Certainly the language quoted conveys a threat. As Conductor of the train, and, of course, controlled by rule 132 as to his responsibilities, Mr. Paschal tn permit ting his train to run front Conyers to Lithonia did violate the bulletin Instruc tions and the National law. The bulletin contained no reference whatever to rule 132. therefore his re sponsibilities under said rule were not re duced or changed. You could, with the same soundness, say the bulletin super seded and amended all other rules in the book. The bulletin simply requires that “If a train is caught without instructions on main line at any point by the expira tion of the sixteen-hour period, the crew will place train in sidetrack, go off duty, and report action to Dispatcher.” The bulletin contains nothing whatever about the conductor receiving orders for his train or any other train, therefore what you say is not germane to the subject. In the discussion at our conference you gave as one of your reasons for request ing Mr. Paschal’s reinstatement that others had committed similar offenses since the issuance of the bulletin and had not been suspended or dismissed. That statement was susceptible of but one in terpretation. viz., that there was justifl cation in Mr. Paschal's act. There is no room for misunderstanding my words “to restore such a man to our ranks without any reason whatever." ft is known by you and others that Mr. Paschal’s personal character is not being discussed. it is gratifying to learn that you now share in my belief and view’, viz . that the Conductors on the Georgia Railroad are for law. and you say “order," 1 say "au thority." This is indicative of distinct progress towards disposition of the case. . Many of these men have been associ ated with me for the past quarter of a century and we know and understand each other. They know that in the ad ministration of discipline my sole pur pose is to give exact justice to all, and, to the. best of my ability, provide safe guards and ptX'tection in the performance of their duties. They have every right to expect this of me and other responsi ble officers of the Georgia Railroad. This can be accomplished only by eliminating from our service those who disregard our rules, instructions and laws bearing on the safety of operation of trains. I be lieve the men on the Georgia Railroad will unhesitatingly sustain me in my ef forts in their behalf, in behalf of those who entrust themselves to our care on our trains, and will condemn in no un certain manner any effort to punish their employer and its patrons because of the dismissal of one who lias disregarded our rules and the laws of our nation that were, enacted for the safety of himself and his fellow-beings Yours trulv, * Signed) W. S. BRAND, Superintendent. AT HOTEL ALBION. Augusta. Ga.. Sept. 23, 1912. -MR. T K. SCOTT, Genl. Mgr , Georgia Railroad Co. MR. \V S. BRAND, Superintendent Geor gia Railroad Co. Augusta, Ga. Dear Sirs: The General Committee. O. R. C., and officer representing your Conductors, hav ing failed in an effort to secure the rein statement of Conductor .1. 'I". Pascltal, Mr. Brand was advised by Mr. Gregg, under date of September 16th, that the General Committee, B. R. T. and officer representing your Trainmen and Yard men would be convened and the ease of Mr. Paschal placed before them and fur ther conference requested. The Joint General Committee, O. R. C. and B. R. T. and officers are now in ses sion here and the fact develops that the Trainmen's Committee have been waiting for some time to secure the assistance of an officer of that organization to assist them in the case of Mr. A. M. Morgan, who was dismissed from the service April 2nd. 1912. After going over the two cases care full*', the above named joint committee and officers request the reinstatement of Mr. Pascltal and Mr. Morgan to their former seniority rights and that they be paid for all time lost. Will you kindly grant us a conference tomorrow, at whatever hour it may best suit your convenience to discuss ’ these two cases? hailing to hear from you by six P M., tomorrow. September 24th. we will pre sume that your position as stated to the Committee in both cases, remains un changed and we will proceed to place the situation before the men on your line whom we represent, to secure a vote as to their further desires. Yours truly, (Signed, T. A GREGG, Vice President O. R. C. (Signed* JAMES MURDOCK, Vice President B. R. T. GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta, Ga.. September 24. 1912 MR. T. \. GREGG. Vice President (>. it. C. MR. JAMES MURDOCK, Vice President. B. R. T \lbion Hotel. Augusta. Georgia Gentlemen: On my return to Augusta, about 11 o’clock last night. I received your letter of September _:".td, advising tltat the Joint General Committee. ** 11. C. and B. R. T.. and officers were in session here, and requesting the reinstatement of Messrs. .1 ’I", Paschal ami A. M. Morgan ""to their former seniority rights and that the) be paid for all time lost," and also requesting that I join you in a conference today. In matters pertaining to applications for t•■instatemeni tn our service of those who have been dismissed therefrom, it lias been our poilc* to *l»al <*nl> with the applicant himself or witlt the committees of employees engaged in the same class of service as the applicant, hat is to say. Locomotive Engineers Committee repre sent engineers only. Firemen's Commit tee. firemen: Conductors' Committee, conductors: and Trainmen Committee, trainmen This is a reasonable and prac tical way of handling questions of this kind, and I will have to aek that this practice be adhered to in these ■ ases Messrs Paschal and Morgan hiive been full* informed as to our position in their respective eases: and in one ease, that of Mr. Paschal. I have gone Into the mat ■ ter in detail with the Committee repre senting him: nrverthelrs I will be pleaded to meet the Committees separate!: \iz . the ("ondu* tors' Committ- c a* ’ompaniCil !•■ the Viet. President of the **. R C. :•* furthe'r consider Mr. Paschal s case, and the Trainmen s Committee accompanied by the Vice President of the B. R. T. to discuss Mr Morgan s case, and name 4 90 P- m. i <»th Meridian time) today at mv office as the time and place for the first meeting say with the Trainmen's Com mittee. Yours trulv. 'Signed) W. S. BRAND, Superintendent. Following tills letter, Mr. Brand, Super intendent, met, with the Committees Sep arately **n the afternoon of September util, and the results of these meeting are set forth in the following letters dated September 25th to Mr T. A. Gregg Vic- President, O. R. C.. and 26th to Mr Jamc- Murdock. A ice President. B. R. T GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta. Ga., September 25, 1912 MR. 1. .A. GREGG. Vice President. O. R. C., Albion Hotel, Augusta, Georgia Dear Str: At the close of our conference on yes terday concerning the case of Mr J T Paschal, you stated that this conference was in a measure a re-opening of • case, and that you would be pleased to have me write you a letter setting forth our decision. i«(*n I greatly regret that our meeting was w thout results, and that no reason was advanced to justify a change of the posi tion already taken by me. P - V l h 's conference you for the first time stated that Mr. Paschal's dismissal was due to his being a Committeeman and his activities as such. This allegation is without foundation, and its fallacy is demonstrated by the fact that Messrs John Oliver, L. V. Matcher, J. p Me Cord. C. L. McLaughlin, W. E. Sliurlev and others of our worthy employees and citizens have served actively as Commit teemen, some of them for vears, and arc still with us enjoying full confidence and respect of both their employer and those among whom they live and labor, and bv whom they are known. Ask them if '[ have ever treated them unfairly. Ask the present Committee, Messrs. A. L. Chand- e s r ' ? ’ S ' B lac ' ! »nd I A. Scoft. who stand second to none in my esteem in in tegrity and honesty, if in even one in stance they have received unfair treat ment at my hands. If you please, go outside of the conductors' ranks and in terrogate the Engineers' Committee. Messrs. L. 8. Davis, J. B. Strauss, G E l lorence and G. E. Ballard. They are now, and have been for many years, in the service or the Georgia Railroad, and have during their service on the Commit tee been many times in conference with me. Ask them if they have been dis criminated against or in any particular unfairly treated by me. The facts upon which Mr. Paschal was dismissed are admitted by him, and haw been clearly set forth in my correspond ence with you, and the justice of his dis missal should be tested by those facts alone and not obscured by any allega tions extraneous to those facts; especially when such allegations are, as I now dis tinctly declare them to be, wholly with out foundation Yours truly, (Signed) W. S. BRAND, Superintendent. GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta. Ga., September 26, 1912. MR. JAMES MURDOCK, Vice President. B. R. T., Albion Hotel, Augusta, Georgia Dear Sir: Mr. Scott. General Manager, has re ferred to me, for handling, the matter of your request for reinstatement of Mr. A M. Morgan and payment of his lost time. • ? n A he ? 4th 'bstant I went somewhat into the details of this case at a con ference with you and a committee of Trainmen representing Mr. Morgan. That there may be no misunderstanding. I give below the facts as shown by the records in my office, which were furnished me by Mr. Morgan himself. Mr. Morgan was employed a» a Rag man, and ran occasional trips as a con ductor In Jdarch, 1.912, he attended court at Decatur, DeKalb county, as a wit ness for the Georgia Railroad. Undei our agreement with Trainmen, he shoulc be paid his lost time and reimbursed th« amount of his actual expenses. Mr, Mor gan put in a ticket for his lost time and expenses. The expense account was found to be incorrectly made, in that the Georgia Railroad had been overcharged she trainmaster returned the statement to Mr. Morgan, pointing out one error This overcharge was corrected bv hin (Morgan) and the statement returned I he trainmaster returned all the papers to him a second time, calling his attention to a second overcharge. This was also corrected by him (Morgan); and for the third, fourth and fifth times it wae nec essary for the trainmaster to return the papers to Mr. Morgan to secure the cor rection of a third error, an overcharge I was disappointed and grieved to lean . s .° man y errors had been made by Mr. Morgan in so small and simple an account, amounting to, originally, only $8 and reduced by him to $5.25. As stated to you and the committee, while the amount involved is small, the act itself is significant of characteris tics that are not compatible with the very responsible duties of a railroad train man. In other words, it indicates that Mr. Morgan is either inexcusably care less. possessed of a memory which is de plorably faulty, or that he was dishon est. Certainly we can not retain in out tram service those who are careless, or whose memories are treacherous, or wh* are dishonest. Either cause is sufficient to and should eliminate him from out service. This case has been a subject of corre spondence between the committee. Mr I Scott and myself for a month or more past, and in all the correspondence the i committee has referred to his offense as I a "mistake."' yet in our conferences on the 24th instant, it was for the first tint* stated that Mr. Morgan's dismissal wa (lue to his being a committeeman. Tbe fallacy of this allegation can be easily demonstrated by interrogating the -past and present members of committees, witl whom I have had conferences for the past nineteen years, and who are still in th*- service of the Georgia Railroad, and con tinue to enjoy the full confidence ot their employer and fellow-citizens. As!, them if they have been discriminated against or received unfair treatment from me. The facts upon which Mr. Morgan wa* dismissed are admitted by him and these admissions are of record of his own mak ing on file in my office, therefore, as I stated In another case, the justice of hi' dismissal should be tested by those facts alone and not obscured by any allega tions extraneous to those facts: especially when such allegations are, a si now dis tinctly declare them to be, wholly w-ithout foundation. It is needless to say that it is dis agreeable for me to put into writing these facts, but. as you propose "to place the entire situation before the men" on our line. I feel that, in justice to them, to the Georgia Railroad and to myself, they should be fully informed of the cause of Mr. Morgan's dismissal. Your s truly. iSignedl XV. S. BRAND. Superintendent Augusta, Ga.. Sept. 26, 1912. MR \V. S. BRAND. Supt.. Georgia Railroad, Augusta, Ga. Dear Sir: Herewith 1 acknowledge receipt of your letter of even da e in further reference to Mr. A M. Morgan's case, and I note that the genera! manager has referred it to you for handling. All that you l ate stated in your let ter las been carefully noted and given the consiileration which it deserves l note that you have sent copy of the lette* *j> \ir. I' 11. i’asebal ami to -Mr ('. N. Jones. You evidently overlooked. H owever, sending a copy to the chairman I of tlie Trainmen’s General committee on the Georgia Railroad, Mr. E. J. Hicks Prior to Hie receipt of your letter at 1:25 i*. nt., today, all of the facts in con nection with tiie cases of Mt Pascltal and Mi Morgan had been prepared in the proper form to be printed and submitted to the men on your line. As soon as the joint committees of the ''inductors’ ami Trainmen's organizations have secured the vote of the men em ployed in train ami yard service on the Georgia Railroad, you w'll be advised of the result, and 1 might add tha* the vole will bo secured as promtply as pos sible on account of the fact that al i-catly too mu ■!■ time has been taken. tn tin opinion of the committee. *o eon | sitler tlie; r matters I remain very truly i y ours. I (Slgtm.li I AMES Ml RD* »CK Arne PreVdent R r*f R I (Advt •