A. There was one link thrown at this man that went to couple the caboose to the engines on the Thursday morning, and he had no business to couple a caboose, or they wouldn't have thrown any link. He belonged down to the transfer, and was not a long road man.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. Every fellow has his work, and if he undertakes to do anything else, they don't allow him?
A. Just as affairs stood then, they didn't allow it. There was no threat made. Another fireman and me sat down on a track and talked to some of them—asked what they were going to do. They said nothing; only we are not going out on double-headers.
Q. How did they come and take possession of the switches, and stop trains from running?
A. They didn't stop any; they didn't have any men to go out with them. A good many men deny that they had anything to do with the strike, but they had at that time. They wanted their ten per cent. as much as anybody.
Q. Had the order cut their wages down below what they could have lived on, or could the men make fair wages enough to live on?
A. If the strike had not taken place that morning, there would have been twelve engineers to go off, about ten firemen, and forty trainmen, conductors, brakemen, and flagmen—that would have been fifty or sixty men. It would have been only a week or so until they would have run everything to Altoona, and that would have thrown out the east end of the division, and then there would be nothing left for the strikers at all, only when freight was a little heavy they would not have made anything. A man never made much money unless freights were very good, and he is running all the time, and is half dead—then he can make money. That is in regard to firemen or brakemen; of course engineers, with their big wages, they can make money.
Q. Was it your object, as strikers, to compel the railroad company to employ more men than they really needed?
A. The object of the strike was to do away with double-headers and get their ten per cent. back, if they could. If Mr. Watt would have come up there that morning and said, all right, let them run single trains, the thing would have been over in half a minute. No; they wouldn't do that. They didn't think about their ten per cent. that morning. All it was about was double-headers. After the strike was prolonged, then the ten per cent. was more thought of.