The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1874-04-03
a Striker Sentenced for InjurIDs IN,
Engine.


! From the Cincinnati Gazette, March 2G.l
The state vs.. Robert Thomas. The
defendent was jointly indicted with j.
c. Van Horne, Morris Reeder anc
Daniel Harvey for putting concentra-
ted I've into the boiler of engine No
2l2 Of the Little Mama Division of the
Pittsburg, Cincinnati and ST. Louis
Railway company, on the Goth of De.
cemher last, with intent to injure the
engine. The otfense was committed
at the time of the general strike of the
locomotive engineers and tiremen on
that division of the Pittsburg, Cincin.
natl and st. Louis road. The defend.
ent, on arrignment pleaded not guilty
Yesterday afternoon the plea of moi
guilty was withdrawn and u Plea OF
guilty entered, the amount of damage
having been reduced from $50, as al
legged in the Indictment, to S34, in order
to lower the degree of crime to less
than penitentiary ofiense.
Some testimony was taken on behalf
of the prisoner to show his former
good character. 1t appears from the
| testimony that he was the ranking
fireman, and next in ordcr for promo
ton as engineer.
On the part of the prosecution, Mr..
Sctchell, the master mechanic of the
division, was examined. He stated
that the effect of putting concentrated
I've on the boiler was to destroy the lu-
rricating qualities OF the oil. 1t was
necessary that the valve and cylinders
should he lubricatad, and for that rea-
son it was customary to use from two
to three quarts of oil in running dis
lance of 10 miles. The oil being Ia
Ell up 10y the lye, il caused the valves
TO work hard. The same result might
be produded by the engines foaming,
whether from the I've, soap or other
cause. The result of sOaping the en-
CINE would be that the valves working
hard would produce bending of diff
ferent parts of the machinery. The
rocker arm of the engine was bent,
and the fibers of the iron so destroyed
that it had to be thrown away. The
witness gave the prisoner an excellent
character, and said that he had told his
| foreman that he (the prisoncr) was
considered as first in the line of pro-
motion. The prisoner was the only
support of an aged and invalid moth
! er.
The court, passing the sentence, re-
marked that the prisoner had borne n
good character prior to the commission
of this otfense, but that for some real
son he had lent himself to combina-
ton of bad men-not bad in that they
declined further to work, for that was
the right of every man, but bad in that
they went further to destroy the ma
chinery of the railroad company; and
even further than that, to imperil the
lives of passengers upon the trains.
| Though the oftense committed was
light, it was done maliciously with the
intent to injure, and while considera-
tons of his character and his relations
to his mother could not be lost upon
the court, and while it vas as painful
to the court to pronounce judgment of
the law as it was to those to whom he
was dear to have it pronounced, yet
punishments were for example, and it
would be doing little for the law to
pass his offense with slight sentence.
| The prisoner was sent to the work
house for thirty days, and ordered to
pay the costs prosecution.
At the request ofthe prisoners coun-
sci, the witnesses refrained from claim
ing their fees, thereby reducing the
costs to few dollars. % .s -It 81