The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969 Page: 16
498 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
The only large-scale strike that occurred in Texas prior to 1877 was
on the Houston and Texas Central in June, 1872. It was only proper
that the first important strike in Texas be on a railroad, for as Ira G.
Clark has pointed out,
Railroads introduced complicated labor problems into the Gulf South-
west, never before fully cognizant of the revolutionary social and economic
implications of the industrialization and urbanization of the East. In
practically the entire area, railroad employees were more nearly the
counterpart of industrial labor than any other group."'
No union was involved in the strike. The organization of the railway
brotherhoods had just gotten under way in Texas, and the Houston
and Texas Central employees were not as yet unionized. Around June
1, 1872, the Houston and Texas Central announced a wage increase
for all employees-tied to the signing by each employee of an agree-
ment that the company would not be held liable for injury or death
suffered while at work. Only a few of the operating employees signed
the agreement, which the men termed "The Death Warrant." At a
hastily called meeting on June 4, workers passed resolutions condemn-
ing the agreement as "unjust and uncalled for" and reaffirmed their
refusal to sign it. They resolved not to return to work until the agree-
ment was withdrawn. Some employees had already begun to leave
work when the meeting was held, and by the next morning most were
staying away from work."
During the first full day of the strike, June 5, only one complete
train made its run on the H. 8c T. C. tracks; it was carrying only mail
to Houston and was operated by the strikers. The northbound train
from Houston was stopped at Hempstead and all cars except the mail
car were placed on a siding before the train was allowed to continue."6
On the afternoon of the fifth, the strikers stopped another train, offer-
ing to let it continue carrying only mail, an offer which the company
rejected. No violence was involved in stopping these trains, nor was
any property damaged. Several engines had been disabled by the re-
moval of the steam plugs from their boilers, but nothing was dam-
aged."' No doubt the arrival of Captain L. H. McNelly and the State
Police discouraged the use of force.
54Ira G. Clark, Then Came the Railroads: The Century from Steam to Diesel in the
Southwest (Norman, 1958), 215.
"5Galveston Daily News, June 6, 1872.
6"Ibid.; Tri-Weekly State Gazette (Austin), June 7, 1872.
5"Galveston Daily News, June 6, 12, 1872; Austin Statesman, June 11, 1872.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969, periodical, 1969; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117146/m1/32/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.