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CHAPTER VII. THE RAILWAY BROTHERHOODS
The solidarity and statesmanship of the trade unions reached
perfection in the railway "Brotherhoods." Of these the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers* is the oldest and most
powerful. It grew out of the union of several early associations;
one of these was the National Protective Association formed after
the great Baltimore and Ohio strike in 1854; another was the
Brotherhood of the Footboard, organized in Detroit after the
bitter strike on the Michigan Central in 1862. Though born thus
of industrial strife, this railroad union has nevertheless
developed a poise and a conservatism which have been its
greatest assets in the numerous controversies engaging its
energies. No other union has had a more continuous and hardheaded
leadership, and no other has won more universal respect both from
the public and from the employer.
* Up to this time the Brotherhoods have not affiliated with the
Knights of Labor nor with the American Federation of Labor. After
the passage of the eight-hour law by Congress in 1916, definite
steps were taken towards affiliating the Railway Brotherhoods
with the Federation, and at its annual convention in 1919 the
Federation voted to grant them a charter.
This high position is largely due, no doubt, to the fact that the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers is composed of a very select
and intelligent class of men. Every engineer must first serve an
apprenticeship as a fireman, which usually lasts from four to
twelve years.
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