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8 Correspondence Between the Georgia Railroad and O. R. C. and B. R. T. Copies of Correspondence Bet ween 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 Cop'es of Correspondence r r- Between W. S. BRAND, Superintendent. Georgia Railroad. And JAMES MURDOCK. Vice President. Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. Reiatmg 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. T K SCOTT. Genl Mgr Georgia Railroad Company. Augusta. Ga Pear Sit t’n -lune .Mh, of this year. Conductor J T Paschal, who had been with your Company for nearly twenty tears about five years as Flagman and 14 years as Conductor- was dismissed from the serv ice because his engineer remained on duty more than sixteen hours from the time he first reported for duty at Augusta shops until he got his train on the aid ing and the engine in shape to be left without a Watchman at Lithonia, on May 19th. 1912 Your Conductors, believing an injustio has been done M> Paschal, instructed their committee to take Ids case up with the proper officials and request his rein statement This was done, but tlie re instatement of .Mr Paschal was promptly refused. The case 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 content ions of your Con ductors, that Mr Paschal was unjustly denied the right to continue to earn Ins dally 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 for all time lost. The undersigned, accompanied by >he General Committee. <_> Ft. C . representing your Conductors, would be glad 10 have a conference with you to discuss the above referred to subject at your earliest possible convenience 1 will await your answer at the Albion Hotel, this City, and thanking you lor an early reply I am. Yours very truly. (Signedi T A GREGG. A fee President t> Its GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta. Georgia. September 12, 1912 MR. T A GREGG. Vice President, Order of Railway Con ductors. Albion Hotel. Augusta. Georgia. Dear Sir: Mr. Scott. General Manager, lias re ferred to me your letter September loth asking for conference accompanied by the General Committee of Railway Con ductors, to discuss the case of .1 T Pas chal. I shall be pleased to meet the Commit tee and yourself at 4:00 I' M . Eastern Time. Saturday . September I4tli Prevl ous engagements prevent my naming an earlier date for the meeting Yours truly. (Signed) AA S BRAND. ISth Superintendent THE ALBION. Augusta, Ga . Sept 14. 1912. MR. AA S BRANI'. Supt . Georgia Railroad Company. Augusta, Ga. Dear Su A’our communication naming 4 o clock F M . Eastern Time. Saturday . Septem ber 14th for conference with the General Committee (.* R C and myself to discuss the case of Mr I T Paschal, has been received We will be al your office al the above name*l hour Yours truly. (Signed) T. A GREGG. Vice President O. R C GEORGIA RAILROAD. I Augusta. Georgia, September 16. 1912 MR. T A GREGG. Vice President. Order of Railway Con ductors. Albion Hotel. Augusta. Georgia 1 *ear Sir: Referring i 1 the case of -I T Paschal, whose dismissal from the service of ,thc Georgia Railroad was discussed at a con ference held in my offi e on Saturday aft ernoon. the 14tb. instant, nt which confer ence there were i.i-. sen yourself Messrs A I. (N'iandler AA S Black and .1. A Scott, representing Mt Pas, hal. and Mr .1 B Laird. Traveling Conductor, ami my self. also Mr Norris, of my office staff Ton are doubtless familiar will) the “Hours of Service' law passed by Hie National Congress in March. 190>. the ob ject and purposes of which are sei forth in its title. vz "An Act to promote the safety >f employees and travelers upon railroads by in "ins ti e hours of service of employ ees thereon A copy of th s Act was posted on the bulletin hoards t- >r to iis eff. . tiv. date, that ■ esied employees might be ■' * diessed ! nfcr t-eei*• uhhi <\»u -<l' it-tqrs ald . 1 i a Hiu • i ’‘To oomph v ih'Uis >• I\ k v Daw, the pet ->i t <!".*> - • •uld be u<»m ptlied from *h< •- U;p en. i-lox auiua. ly goes on duty to :l.- tim. he h relieve* of his engine <•’ ' ' •’ ■* tram caught without nstnn ' ioi > < n main lim nt any point by the •> • »•> ‘ .-»n of the !•» hour pe* the <j• -w w ill place train it sidetrack. go off <lu’> and report a<*tk»r «o Dispatcher Georgia Railroad lliih No whh i was in > ft* ■ ’ ai. • ».« ’ ’in- Mi r.t> offense w •>- • inn ,’i . bears direuih of the caae For convenience I quote it: ’The general dir* • ion and government of a train. f””i il » ?n< of receiving its l>assengers or freign'. until ,is arrival a' jk. its destination, >- vesu .j n the conductor h» r C"! ■■ oblf anr HhlUv m charge. a# <on<; i*»r, of a westbourn ’freight train destined to Atlanta, and at Covington <a station 130 miles distant from Augusta) he learned direct front the I engineer « f his train the exact time that • h.s <the engineers) 16-hour period on I duty under the law would expire. The; train proceeded to Conyers (a station 140 j •miles distan' from \ugtisiat, where it re- I | mained for some time awaiting the ar rival of an opposing east bound train. On | arrival of this eastbound train at Cou- I yers, the westbound train, in charge of IMr Paschal, departed for the next sta- i tion, Lithonia, without sufficient time to I make the run to that station at the speed I limit prescribed by the Rules anil clear | the main line before the expiration of the ” hour pei oil of duty of the engineer. Mr Paschal admits these facts and has | not given a satisfactory explanation of his I failure to observe the law and my spe cial instructions relating thereto. He also knows that under Rule 132 "he Is held re sponsible for the safe, and propel conduct of the train, and that all men employed on the train ate required to yield a wiir ittg obedience to his proper orders. The Georgia Railroad has equipped its line with a telephone system, and each conductor, including Mr Paschal was pro vided with a telephone set. that they may lie able to promptly and conveniently get in communication with the Dispatchers, ihus 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 premedltat eilly lake matters In bls own hands, de fying our instructions and the law. thus putting the Georgia Railroad in the atti tude of a law-breaker and subjecting it to severe penalties under the law The Georgia Railroad Is being asked io reinstate Mr Paschal and allow hint lost time, and this request is accompanied by a threat that unless it Is. complied with "there will he trouble for the Georgia Railroad ’ and myself, the statement being made that the men will withhold their support and co-operation, and that with out those. I could not succeed. In short, you are upholding Paschal In Ills disre gard of my instructions and the law, both of which were designed for his safety and the safety of Ills fellow employees, the passengers who entrust themselves to our care and for the protection of valuable property, and in further effort to accom plish your ends you make a threat that our conductors will "give us trouble" and will withhold support and co-operation, ihus not only crippling the Georgia Rail road but our patrons as well, in that they would not receive the service so essential io their comfort and success. 1 repeat with emphasis what I said, in effect, at ihe conference, viz. that the conductors employed on the Georgia Railroad are for law and authority , and that I can no! and do not believe that they would be parties Io such indefensible and unworthy prac tices. and that they would not dlsre gard one of the important notices con tained in the Rules, viz "To enter or re main in the service is an assurance of willingness to obey the rules." You also urge in justification of Mr Paschal s act that others have committed similar offenses sin> e the Issuance of the bulletin quoii <1 in this letter and they had not been uspendeil or dismissed. A breach of the laws of morals or of dis cipline is nol modified in degree by its detection or non-deteciion An offense of Hint sort Is still an offense if il never becomes known to any one but the of fender The weakening of discipline invariably carries with It demoralization, reckless ness and other kindred horrors As Ihe! responsible head of the Transportation Department. I shall continue to adminis ter such discipline as in my judgment works no Iniustiie to the offender and affords the protection to our employees and patrons that they expect me to pro vide, l ours truly, 'Signed, AA' S BRAND. Superintendent. - THE ALBION. Augusta. Ga . Sep! Iti. 1912. •All: AA S BRAND, Supt. Georgia Railroad Company. Augusta. Ga. Dear Sir . .September 10. I addressed a letter to Mr T 1< Scott, general mana ger of the Georgia railroad, requesting i ihe reinstatement of Conductor .1. T. | Paschal to his former rights as conduc tor. and that he he paid for all time lost, and asked Mr. Scott to give conference li> the undersigned and general committee o. R. c representing his conductors, to discuss this matter On September 12 not having heat,! from him, I wired him at Atlanta culling hlf attention to my letter of the 10th. and advising him that 1 bad received no re ply. On September 13 I received a letter from vou Stating that you would meet the committee and myself at I o'clock p. m., Eastern time. Saturday, September 14. to discuss this matter. Not having heard from Mr. Scott. I again wired him on the 13tli instant, tell ing him thai I had not received reply to either communication sent him; that we had heard from you. but as we had taken ihe matter up with him as general manager ot his company . we w ere entitled ' to know front him who had been author ized to dispose of the case at issue, and on the morning of the 14th 1 received a message from Mr Scott to the effect that you would meet us AA'hen wo tiist met you at the confer ence on Saturday. 14th. in answer to a direct question from me. you stated to us that you had authority to settle this - mattet However, after reading your coin- ■ i munication of today , we find that vou re ' view some of the arguments you pre- ii settled on Saturday, nnd do not fairly late some of the statements made by me. i I but you do not say in your conimutiica- ■ I Hon Whether or m>t vou will reinstate Conductor Paschal and pax him for all , lima lost AA’hen you have done se. we are pre , paled to answer your communication and advise you whetlie! or not we are will , Ing to hi , opt your decision Trusiing that we may get th’s decision at yout earliest possible < ouvenience. I am. yours very truly. ~ (Signedi T A GREGG, A lee Presidenl o R c GEORGIA RAILROAD Augi.s a. (la September 16 1912 ', MR T A GREGG. A. , Presli ■ i i 'rdet of Railwai <’on duiinrs Albion lime;. Augi >ta. Georgia I I am il receipt of yout letter Septem l iiei ISth it; w ich you ask whether or 1; a I will reinstate Conductor J T Pas n | chai and pay him for all time lost, ami I state that upon receipt cf this informa 11ton you will be prepared to answer mi i ,>mn.’ina a• .<•!; of this date an*i advise ‘me when-,er or not v,iu ate will.ng to ac j eopt my decision IT: 1 . far to, nd r> asui a- licon g n sffitertainlng ■ : .o'l,- f..! rcins'a: ing 'lt Pas, hal and i'.i »n I'H all litDc i<v<i > t»ur« trulv . w ri: \ nd >up€» mieii'Jeht THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 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 In the sei-vice of the Georgia Railroad a\ ill w ithdraw from that service, and that, notwithstanding the efforts ot the railroad management to All these places, the public wH! be seriously embarrassed, J 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 government of employees of the transportation department of the Georgia Railroad occurs the language following: "To enter or remain in the service i« an assurance of willing ness to obey the rules." Rule 132 of those rules reads as follows: "The geneial direction and government of a train, from 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 required to yield a willing obedience to his proper ordets." In 1907 the congress of the' United States enacted a law, the purpose and objects of which ate set forth in its title, viz.. "AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES AND TRAVELERS UP ON RAILROADS BY LIMITING THE HOURS OF SERVICE OB’ 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 terms 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 insti actions provided that at tiie 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 ehaige. as conductor, of a westbound freight train destined to Atlanta, and at Covington (a station 130 miles distant frmn Augusta) he learned direct from the engineer of his train the exact time that his (the engineer’s) and fireman's 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 that 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 • f tlie 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, lints 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 communication, has equipped its main line and Macon branch with a telephone system, and has provided each conductor', including Mi Paschal, with a pottable equipment to enable them to communicate within a few minutes directly with the dispatchers. The engineer and the conductor (Mr Paschal) were, for this offense, dismissed frmn the set vice, and the Georgia Railroad Is now confronted by a demand from the ordet of Railway Conductors to reinstate Mr. Paschal in tlie 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 that order that unless it is complied with there will be “trouble for the Georgia Railroad and sot its superintendent.” In 'brief, the demand is made upon tlie Georgia Railroad that it shall reinstate in the responsible position of conductor one who has admittedly failed, though empotvered 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 FOR 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 tlie Interstate Commerce Commission, as required by the law, ■ and the discipline imposed was also made known to the commission as an evidence of the Georgia Railroad's earnest desire to comply with the provisions of the act, and tlie 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 tha| 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 tvlio knowingly and w illfully violate the rules and the law be eliminated from railroad train service. Otherwise the hazard to those who are employed and THOSE WHO TIt.AA'EI. upon tailroad trains must inevitably be vastly increased. Tlie Georgia Railroad is also confronted with a demand made by the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen for the reinstatement to its service of Mr. A. M. Morgan as flagman, and for the payment to him of full wages finn the date of his dismissal. April 3. 1912. Under its agreement, the Georgia Railload 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 tlie Georgia Railroad, attended court as witness in a case wherein the railroad was defendant. In accordance with the usual practice. Mr. 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 Georgia Railroad had been overcharged. The state ment was returned to Mr 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 retimed by Mr Morgan to $5.25) were evidences of characteristics which are incompatible wHth 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 he is dishonest, either of which causes is suffir lent to and should eliminate him fr om train service. The facts recited above, upon w hiclt Mr. Morgan was dismissed, are 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 oflir eis of tlie 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 tlie Georgia Railroad and their refusal to delegate it to organizations of its employees which have resulted in an ultimatum from tlie offir ers of these organizations that unless these two men are instoteil to their former positions with full compensation for tlie period elapsed sime their dismissal the members of these organizations heretofore employed by tlie Georgia Railroad will withdraw from its service, thereby impairing its ability to provide the transportation service so indis pensable to the public comfort. While tlie management of the Georgia Railroad feels in al! sincerltx that its course in this matter is just and tight, it recognizes the fact that parties to a controversy may err honestly in their views and lias, therefore, t eported tlie situation to the officials designated by another act of congress, to mediate between tlie parties in such r ises ami lias requested tiv '■ good offices. Tin correspondence bitween the superintendent of tlie Georgia Railroad and the vice presidents of tin' Ordei of Railway t'omiuetovs ami Hr<>t horhood of Railway Trainmen is published herewith AA’. S BRAND. Superintendent Georgia Railroad. THE ALBION HOTEL. Augusta. Ga Sept. 16. ; 'I. Mi; AA S BRAND Supt Georgia llaili"a'i. Aueustu. Ga 1 tea r > u I During in.' experience n ui.'ling "ith Iroiiil officials throughout the 'iiuntiy. ■ I have met many men who did not agree I with me. notwithstanding the fact that it 1 '.'as afterwards ilecide.l that arguments I ad offered and r, asons gi'i-r: "ere good, as to why a matter of grievami should be adjusted: but 1 never have until now met an official who «as 'esied wita au thority to make a decision and tried to dodg< tlie responsibility of doing -■ j Your statement that no sound reason lias been urged to justify you in enter | ranting our re ruests for reinstatement of 11' ndm ' ot- Paschal and pay him tor all time I i,,si appears to be no reason win you i should fa I or refuse !•’ make f a decision j one )'a' "T rhe other when urged io Y»m ha'"- heard our argument, and it I j’. i \on to i)p( ’tlr n hrt her \ <»u think it - j . bd«i. an-i * hal I tn»* desire krio" is, are you willing to reinstate Mr. Paschal io hrs former position as con ductor and pay him lor all lime lost.’ Yours very truly. (Signed) T. A. GREGG, A’ice President o. R U. GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta. Ga Sept 17, I|.|_' MR T. A GREGG. A ice President. Order of Railwa' Con ductors. Alliion Hotel. Augusta. Ga I 'ear Sir Your letter of September 16th was de livered to me this morning by Messrs. Chandler and Black. There is nothing n my correspondence to Indicate a disposition to dodge any thing 1 reiterate inat thus far no sound reason ha- been urged to justify me in enter tain rrg your request for reinstating Mr I'asical and pa' him fog al! tine lost t n..er our rules, with wind Al' I’as i-bal !• fully i "nvc’’.snnt. the respon-ibil ty .for the -af< and i.r-'pcr . .indui I of out j trams o»cr the road rests a i h Hie con- I ductor. Mr. Paschal himself admits that his train was run. and that be knew be- ' forehand that it would be run, contrary •o 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 (the public) who travel upon our trains. It would not be compatible with my sense of right, and 1 would be recreant in my duty to our employ ees, 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, r 'Signed) W. S. BRAND, ' Superintendent. i 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 statemen of Conductor .1. T. Paschal, and whffh 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 todav that our request is denied. AA’e 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 tlie membership for them to decide our future course. However, inasmuch as the Conductors and Trainmen are federated on this system, we have decided, first to convene the federated committee and lay our case before that committee. As soon as an officer ot that organization and committee has convened, we 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. I no tice several places where I am quoted in correctly, and I w’ish to call your atten tion to these statements and will correct them. I said that no official could succeed without the co-operation and support of 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 1 did not believe you would claim that you were an exception. Your answer to this statement was—That “You are right, and if 1 felt that I did not have the support of m.v Conductors, 1 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 tirat 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.” AVe 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 Paschal 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 your bulle tin dated November 24, 1911, to the letter. Mr. Scott, General Manager, wrote to Mr. A. L. Chandler. A’ice Chairman of the Conductors' Committee, under date of July 19. 1912, as follows: "Your letter of July IS has reached me here. "I have carefully considered the ease of j 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. I 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 Hie 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 Ii 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 four 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 has been reached, and consequently it seems to us that holding him responsible for violation on rhe part of others is far-fetched and unfair. AA e were told by y ou in conference that he was not charged with violating the law himself, therefore it is not fair to now charge him 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—“ Tints the Bulletin in structions to report to dispatcher could have been easily carried out. and his 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 latw," which reads in part as follows: “Neither under the act 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 has been on duty longer than 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. by the Rules of the Company, is requit'd to send, receive or deliver orders ((fleeting the movement of trains, in conjunction with bis duties as trainman, would come within tlie proviso " Therefore. f the above means what we have excellent reasons io believe il does, anil the Bulletin of November 14. 1911. means that the Conductor is re . quired to call up tlie dispatcher and re celve orders for his own or any other train, after having been on duty the I'iigth of time Mr. I’as. ral was on this 'late in question, then we are at a loss to understand bow tlie company was placed ’ ; in the attitude of being more of a law ' breaker and subjecting It to a more se i vere penalty under the law by his en- „ I gineer going to Lithonia than it would I have been lad Mr Paschal taken orders over the phone at Conyers on the above i dale, as is ind'eated in your communlca r | tion that he should have done. 1 said that a« evidence that others un derstood >our Bulletin of November 14. ' <D. as Mr 1 Paschal did. t b at mar' others i had ilene from time to time just w hat i Paschal old on this date, and it was bard for :> pra tii al railroad man to under i stand hew it could be done w'thnut 1 I knowlCKe "i! joe parr of th» officials ■ i Yet. nothing had pit been said to any- one. insofar as Hie 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. Pasclial s act that others had committed similar of fenses If Paschal complied with tlie 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 out ranks without any reason whatever." Mr. Paschal has spent nearly’ twenty years in the service of 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 man 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. A. GREGG, Vice President O. R. C. GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta, Ga.. September 18. 1912. MR T. A. GREGG, Vice President Order of Railway Con ductors, Albion Hotel. Augusta, Georgia. Dear Sir: 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 piled 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 In permit ting his train to run from Conyers to Litnonia 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 w’as justifi catmnjn Mr. Paschal's act There is no room for misunderstanding my words “to restore such a man to our ranks without any reason whatever.” It 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," I say “au thority." This is indicative of distinct progress towards disposition of the case. Many ot 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 protection 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 b.v eliminating from our service those who disregard our rules, instructions and laws bearing on the safety of operation of trains 1 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) AA'. S. BRAND, Superintendent. AT HOTEL ALBION. Augusta, Ga.. Sept. 23, 1912. MR. T K SCOTT, Genl. Algr.. Georgia Railroad Co. AIR AA'. S. BRAND, Superintendent Geor gia Railroad Co. Augusta, Ga. Dear Sirs: The Geneial Committee. O R. C.. and officer representing your Conductors, hav ing failed in an effort to secure the rein statement of Conductor .1. 'l' Paschal, Air. Brand was advised by Air-. Gregg, under date of September 16th. that the General Committee. B. R. T. and officer I representing your Trainmen and Yard men would be convened and the ease of I Mr. Paschal placed before them and fur ther conference requested. The Joint General Committee, (J. R C. and B. R. T. and officers are now in ses sion here and the fact develops that ihe Trainmen's Committee have been waiting for some time to secure the assistance ot an officer of that organization to assist them in 'the ease of Air. A. Al. Morgan, who was dismissed from the service -April 2nd. 1912. After going over the two eases care fully, the above named joint committee and officers request rhe reinstatement of Mr. Paschal 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? Failing 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 eases, remains un changed and we will proceed tv place the situation before the men on your line whom we represent, to secure a vote as to their further desires. Yours trulv, 1 Signed > T. A. GREGG, A'iee President o. R. C. (Signed) JAMES MURDOCK, A ice President B. It. T. GEORGIA RAILROAD. Augusta, Ga.. September 24. 1912. MR. T. A. GREGG. A’ice President O. R. C. MR JAMES MI RDOCK. A’ice President. B. R. T Albion Hotel. Augusta. Georgia Gentlemen. <>n my return to Augusta, about 11 o’clock last night. 1 received yout letter of September' J.'lrd. advising >hat the Joint General Committee, (> H. U and B It T . and officers were in si ssimr here, and requesting the reinstatement of Messrs .1 T Pasehal and A Ai Morgan "to their former 'seniority rights and that I they be paid for all time lost." and also requesting that I Join vou in a eonfeteiiee In matters pertaining to applications for reinstatement in our srivin "1 those who have been dismissed therefrom, it has been our policy to deal only with tlis applicant himself or with the committees of employees engaged in the same ''lass ..f service as the applicant. i,at 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 a ill have to ask that this I'rai tice bo adhered to in these vases. and Morg n full,' Informed as to our position in their resrective irises, and in one ease, that of Mr Paschal. 1 ha\e g-re into 'be ruat i ter 'b detail "ith th* C"nmi'.*tce repre isenting him. noverthelcs-. I will be plea-ed in meet Hie ('ommittees separately viz., j rlir C"nd.n*t"''s r ■ •nonittor a< < oippanjo'l by Hie Vice Prcsiuent of the 11 R. C. to further consider Mr. Paschal s case a the Trainmen's Committee accompany by the Vice ['resident of the B. R. q discuss Mr. Morgan's case, and name t m P-. ni - '7sth Meridian time) todav at n. office as the time and place for the fir meeting—say witli the Trainmen's Com mittee. Yours truly. (Signed) W. S. BRAND Superintendent. Following this letter. Mr. Brand, Super intendent. met. with the Committoe-' Se ' arately on the afternoon of Sentemb. ■ 2 J th. and the results of these meeting are set forth in the following letters bar September 25th to Mr. T A Gregg v’ President, O. R. C.. and 26th to Mr jam.-' Murdock, \ ice President. B. R. t GEORGIA RAILROAD. MR. t'TgREGG.- SePtßmber 25 ' A’ice President, O. R. c.. Dear Sir'^ ,bi ° n H ° tel ' Augusta ’ Georgia At the close of our conference on ve«. terday concerning the case of Mr I t Paschal, you stated that this conferenci was in a measure a re-opening of case, and that you would be pleased'- have me write you a letter setting fort! our decision. s 11 I greatly regret that our meeting wa« without results, and that no reason w.t. advanced to justify a change of the po-o tion already taken by me. .’Y l h *? conference you for the first time stated that Mr. Paschal's dismissal wa< due to his being a Committeeman am his activities as such. This allegation without foundation, and its fallacv demonstrated by the fact that Messi-' John Oliver, L. V. Hatcher, .1 p \i, Co L d ’ -V' L McLaughlin, AV. E. Shurik and others of our worthy employees an citizens have served actively as Commo teernen. some of them for vears and are still with us enjoying full confidence an respect of both their employer and thos.- among whom they live and labor, and b w’hom they are known. Ask them if j have ever treated them unfairly Ask th. present Committee, Messrs. A. L. Chand, ler, W. S. Black and J. A. Scott, who stand second to none in my esteem in n tegrity and honesty, if in even one in stance they have received unfair treat ment at my hands. If you please g. outside of the conductors' ranks and in terrogate the Engineers' Committee Messrs. L. S. Davis, J. B. Strauss, G. E Florence and G. E. Ballard. They ar now. and have been for manv years in the service of the Georgia Railroad am have during their service on the Commit tee been many times in conference with me. Ask them if they have been d<s criminated against or in anv particular unfairly treated by me. The facts upon which Mr Paschal wa dismissed are admitted by him, and have 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 anv allega tions extraneous to those facts; especial!' 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 ami payment of his lost time On the 24th instant I went somewhar into the details of this case at a con ference witli you and a committee of Trainmen representing,Mr. Morgan. Tha' there may be no misunderstanding, I give below the facts as shown by the records in my office, which were furnished me b.v Air Morgan himself. Mr. Al organ was employed as a flag man, and ran occasional trips as a con ductor, in Match, 1912, he attended court at Decatur, DeKalb county, as a wit ness for the Georgia Railroad. Undei our agreement with Trainmen, he shoulr be paid his lost time and reimbursed ths amount of his actual expenses. Mr. Mor gan put In a ticket for hls lost time and expenses. The expense account was found to be Incorrectly made, in that the Georgia Railroad had been overcharged Ihe trainmaster returned the statement to Mr. Morgan, pointing out one error This overcharge was corrected by bin iMorganj and the statement returned I ne 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 th third, fourth and fifth times it was nec essary for the trainmaster to return th" papers to Air. Morgan to secure the cor reetion of a third error, an overcharge I was disappointed and grieved to lean that so many errors had been made b> Mr. Alorgan in so small and simple an account, amounting to, originally, onlv SB. 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 ar? not compatible with the ver\ responsible duties of a railroad train man. In other words, it indicates that Mr. Morgan is cither 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 train service those who are careless, or whoso memories are treacherous, or wh< are dishonest. Either cause is sufficient to and should eliminate him from our service. This case has been a subject of corre spondence between the committee. Mr Scott and myself for a month or more past, and in all the correspondence the committee has referred to his offense a<= a “mistake.” yet in our conferences on the 24th instant, it was for the first tinv stated that Mr. Morgan’s dismissal wa due to his being a committeeman. Th* 5 fallacy of this allegation can be easily demonstrated by interrogating the pa c ’ and present members of committees, will whom I have had conferences for the pa nineteen years, and who are still in th* service of the Georgia Railroad, and con tinue to enjoy the full confidence >-f their employer and fellow-citizens. Asl them if they have been discriminate 1 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 slated in another case, the justice of hi dismissa) should be tested by those fact alone and not obscured by any allega tions extraneous to those facts: especially when such allegations are. a si nov dis tinctly declare them to be. wholly without founda t ion. It is needless to say that it is dis agreeable for me to put into writing the v facts, but. as you propose “to plac» the entire situation before the men or our line. I feel that, in justice to them, to the Georgia Railroad and to myself, they should be fully informed "f th* cause of Mr Morgan's dismissal. Your truly. ’Signed) W. S. BRAND. Superintendent Augusta, Ga.. Sept. 26. 1913. MR \\ S. BHANb. Supt., Georgia Railroad, Augusta. Ga. Dear Sir: Herewith 1 acknowledge receipt of your letter of even da e in further referer' c io Mr \. M. Morgan’s case, and I not* ti.at the general manager has referred :t to you for handling. \ll that you have stated in your let ter has been carefully noted and given tp.e consideration which it deserves I note that you have sent copy of the letter to Mr I’. H. Paschal and to .Mt X. .I ones. You evidently overlooked, however, sending a copy to the chairman of the Trainmen’:; General committee on the Georgia Railroad. Mr. E. 1 Hicks Prior to the receipt of your letter at 1:25 p. m.. today, all of the facts in cot ne< tlon with the cases of Mr. Pascha and Mr Morgan had been prepared In the proper form to be printed and submitte-. to the men on your line. As soon as the joint committees of t' ‘ ‘ ■ r-.actors’ ami ’Trainmen's organizations hav< secured the vote of the men em ployee ip train »n<l yard service on th* Georg’a Railroad, you will be advised the result, and I might add that the \ote will be secured as promtply as flex ible on aecoui » of the fact that al ready too mud time has been take 1 ’ in the opinion • • ’he < ' inmittee. to cop sidrr the ■(' matters. I remain \ery truly (Signed) t \Mi:s MIRDOCK Vice President B. of R 1 < \d\ t