Commissioner Kernan: "Is it not true that the roads were united sympathetically?"
Mr. St. John: "Let me ask you a question."
Commissioner Kernan: "No, I am not on the stand. I may be some day and then you can question me."
Mr. St. John: "When a neighbor's house burns we all unite to fight the blaze. When an assault is made on all the roads, they unite to resist it."
When General Manager St. John resumed the witness stand, he had with him one of the twenty-six sets of books mentioned by Mr. Howard, containing the scale of wages and rules of employment of all classes of railway employes on the roads represented in the General Managers' Association. When questioned by Commissioner Kernan he admitted that a committee had been appointed to formulate from these a schedule of what was a fair rate of wages for all classes of employes and uniform rules of employment. That committee reported, but the report was never acted on. This committee was appointed under a resolution passed February 15, 1894. Its report was made in March, and if adopted would have affected 125,000 men at least. One or two roads, he admitted, might have reduced wages about this time, but there was no agreement with the other roads concerning it. It became known that Mr. Wright, chairman of the commission, had an annual Pullman pass. He said concerning it that he and Mr. Pullman had been personal friends for several years, and it was to him as a personal friend that the pass was given several years ago and had been renewed annually since. He deemed that it was for the glowing reports of Pullman, made by Mr. Wright and others in 1884, for he did not know Mr. Pullman then. He said that he had not used it since the appointment of the commission.
Following Mr. St. John, John M. Eagan took the stand.
Mr. Eagan admitted that as the manager of the General Managers' Association he was authorized to incur any expense to secure force to crush the strike, but was not authorized to do anything to settle it peaceably. Of his connection with the General Managers' Association he said that he was requested to take charge of the association during the strike.
Commissioner Worthington: "Did you have anything done in relation to the appointment of deputy marshals?"
Mr. Eagan: "Each road appointed an official to select the men they wanted to act as deputy marshalls and turned 'em over to me. I sent them to Arnold to be sworn."
Commissioner Worthington: "Did those men serve as employes of the road while acting as marshals?"