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Show DRAYMEN UP IN ARMS. Tiny Gather Kn M. and I,adjra Hamuli-trauco Hamuli-trauco Agint lln lay Kule. The dray men have shouldered arms and are arrayed against the railroads. They Imvc declared against a forruid-rble forruid-rble adversary lut are none the loss determined de-termined to light the issue. They liavo been unobtrusively pro-paring pro-paring for hostilities fur some days final , and last night assembled as a council ot war in the Sixth Ward school house, whore the proposed campaign wax discussed at considerable length and a war policy decided upon. f.,,,.,tu YV.i'too nnH nf thn leading representatives of the industry in-dustry ( C 'lipied the chair while George Siinms came forward as secretary of war. Chairman Watson opened the meeting meet-ing with a dispassionate statement of lite causes that had led to it ami added that the purpose for which the draymen dray-men as a body was now gathered was to inter a' protest against the treatment they had sustained at the hands of the railway companies. They wanted reciprocity and said that under existing conditions that was an unknown quantity. Their special grievance was lodged at a particular par-ticular rule which they declared was productive of delays, and which ex-pined ex-pined them to enormous losses. The particular rule is that which requires re-quires them to desist from touching the car or consignment for which they have been dispatched until the bill of lading has been received. Tliis sheet of paper then is the casus belli, the Nemesis in the whole campaign cam-paign and the cause of the agitation. The dray m eu in slnting their grievances say that oftimes they are unable to get nl this document for half d ay or more. The rouseipieuce is 11 dead loss of time, the expenses of the driver, disaffection among their patrons and demoralization demoraliza-tion all round. The meeting last night whs for the purpose of correcting this, and after much discussion it was agreed that they were at the mercy of the more talwart of the W o carriers. It was accordingly decided to load their howit.crs with mild ammunition and to treat with the railroads upon the grounds of equity and fairness. They ask that the rule be relaxed and that thev be allowed t) infringe upon it only so far as to keep hody and soul together to-gether and to avert the delays that are eating up their profit. With this con-servtie con-servtie policy before them they have appointed a committee to wait upon local ollicials and to compromise mat- i ters before a gun is fired. |