Mr. Conners in speaking of the A. R. U. strike and E. St. John, at that
time general manager of the C., R. I. & P. railway and chairman of the
General Managers’ Association, said that he denied that Mr. St. John
broke the backbone of the strike; on the contrary, he so exaggerated the
cause of breaking the A. R. U. that he was let out of his job soon after
the strike and was practically wiped out himself as a railroad man.
It is true that Mr. St. John said to the General Managers in meeting
assembled on the eve of the strike, these words:
“Gentlemen, we can handle the various brotherhoods, but we cannot
handle the A. R. U. We have got to wipe it out. We can handle the
other labor leaders, but we cannot handle Debs. We have got to wipe
him out, too.”
He closed this article in the following words:
“At the end of the strike the railroads proclaimed their triumph and
the annihilation of the A. R. U. but the principle that the A. R. U.
stood for still lives and is stronger and more in evidence today
than ever, which goes to show that wrong never really wins a victory
over right, and iniquity is never long triumphant. There have been
many changes since that great struggle against slavery, degradation
and privation. Some of the exploiters of labor prophesied the death
of the labor movement and it was down and out for a time, but
history has repeated itself. Labor unions have again become a power.
They are stronger than ever. Many an honest working man and woman
went hungry in 1894 for daring to rebel against the humiliating
conditions that existed at Pullman. Many a Union man went to jail
for disobeying the injunction judges, Grosscup, Woods and Taft, but
today we find Pullman has passed to the Great Beyond, where all are
supposed to be equal; Woods is dead; Cleveland is dead; Egan has
disappeared to God knows where; Grosscup has been under indictment;
St. John has passed into the Shadowy Valley, but Eugene Debs still
lives, loved by his fellowmen because of his honesty, for his many
sacrifices to the cause of humanity. The cause of the working class
is still here and here to stay and will be crowned gloriously
triumphant long after the oppressors and tyrants and all their
fawning retainers have gone the way of flesh and passed from
memory.”
In the _Railway Times_, published at Terre Haute, January 1, 1895,
appeared the following special notice:
“SPECIAL NOTICE.”
“The general offices of the American Railway Union and the _Railway
Times_ have been removed to Terre Haute, Indiana. The directors
having been sentenced to prison, the change was made so that the
work of the Order could be efficiently and economically done during
their confinement. The work of organizing and equipping the A. R. U.
will be pushed with unabated vigor. Insurance and secret work will
be adopted as soon as it can be done under temporarily trying
circumstances.
“All correspondence should be addressed to Eugene V. Debs, Terre
Haute, Indiana.
“TERRE HAUTE, IND., Jan. 1, 1895.”
In the evening papers of the country appeared the following on January
9, 1895:
“DEBS DEFIANT—ISSUES AN ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FROM THE JAIL.
“WOODSTOCK, ILL.—Eugene V. Debs, George Howard, Sylvester Kelliher,
Louis W. Rogers, William E. Burns, James Hogan and Leroy Goodwin are
confined in the McHenry County Jail. Last evening, as he sat in what
Cook County prisoners would call a palace, Mr. Debs issued a
manifesto to the American people, which contains the following:
“‘In going to jail for participation in the late strike we have no
apologies to make nor regrets to express. No ignominy attaches to us
on account of this sentence. I would not change places with Judge
Woods, and if it is expected that six months, or even six years in
jail will purge me of contempt, the punishment will fail of its
purpose.
“‘Candor compels me to characterize the whole proceeding as
infamous. It is not calculated to revive the rapidly failing
confidence of the American people in the federal judiciary. There is
not a scrap of testimony to show that one of us violated any law
whatsoever. If we are guilty of conspiracy, why are we punished for
contempt?
“‘I would a thousand times rather be accountable for the strike than
for the decision.
“‘We are, by chance, the mere instrumentalities in the evolutionary
processes in operation through which industrial slavery is to be
abolished and economic freedom established. Then the starry banner
will symbolize, as it was designed to symbolize, social, political,
religious and economic emancipation from the thraldom of tyranny,
oppression and degradation.’”
The following invitations were issued for a reception in honor of Mr.
Debs upon his release from Woodstock Jail: