Show ARTHURS S LETTER II I I Defining His Poscionon theN Y Central Strike 0WEEKLY ACCUSED OF UNTRUTH The Leader of the Knllhts of Labor Docs not Appear in I Very Favorable Light The Engineers ijtziml I NEW YORK Aug 27The letter given below vas written by P M Arthur chief engineer of the Grand International Brotherhood Locomotive Engineers ton to-n engineer on the Third Avenue Elevated road The letter is in response to a letter on the subject of the New York Central strike and tho first uttrance of Arthur which fully defines hisposition towards the Central strikers and Knights of Labor The letter is as follows CLEVELAND Ohio August 23 11 H Holmar t DEAR SIR AND BROTHER Your letter of the 23d inst with Powderlys letter and other clippings from New York papers enclosed en-closed is received In rojlv I will say I have not received any letter from Powdery Pow-dery He claims to have written me a private letter on the trouble and wants me to define my position If he considers his I letter that which appears in the newspapers news-papers a private one 1 eon know that I can answer a letter that reaches mo in that wayIt is unnecessary for Poxvderly or any one else to ask me to define the position of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in the present troubles on tho New York CentralDThe policy of the brotherhood is well known to him and the public as it has been repeatedly explained from the public platform and published in the newspapers He says Some time ago I telegraphed him mean ing me that I would meet him in Cleveland and when I arrived there I could not find him high or low My telegram had been received by him but my efforts t locate him were fruitless Now the facts In the case sn far as I can recollect are these Some four years ago I received a telegram from Powderlj requesting me to meet him at the Union depot in Cleveland on the arrival of a cer1 I I tain train on the Lake Shore road Owing tom to-m absence from my office did not receive his mesrage untill afttr the departure of the train and I so informed him by letter addressing it to him at Scranton I do not believe he stopped over and looked forme If he had ho would meS I have had no difficulty in linring me at my office or at my home as 11m always at one or the other when in Cleveland He tells a wilful false hood when he says others have been unable to find me when they tried todo so Any man who tries to find me when I am in Cleveland can do so with so very little effort and no man whether I leader or private in the ranks of labor ever came to my office that he a not treated courteously While differ with men a to the best methods to be employed secure a certain end I always have been liberal enough to concede to every man the lberq riirhts and nrivileffps T rmlr for mv self When the troub sel present trouble on the New York Central A first occurred I advised the engineers to abstain from all participation in it and to attend strictly to their own business Igave tho same advice when the strike occurred on the Gould system a few years ago My advice to the Brotherhood of Engineers when the men employed in the other branches of the railroad service had been on strike was to mind their own business and not to anything that did not properly belong t them as engineers Can Pow derly say the same I think not Whenever When-ever the engineers have been on strike we never asked any other labor organization to assist us I is trne some of the members of the ordgr during the Chicago Burlington Quincy strike asked the switchmen to quit but they did it on their own responsibility not by tne authority of tho organization Conso quently I hold we are perfectly justified perfecty justfed in maintaining a strictly neutral position when others are engaged in a conflict with their employers Pow erly accuses the members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers of taking the places of the striking firemen I that is true the division of which they are mem bers will deal with them I is not within the province of my authority to deal with wih individual members I wonder if Powderiv had the knights expelled who Powderv places ot our men on the C1 B Ql 1 Yours fraternally P M AirrnuR |