The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-29
AN IMPORTANT ORDER.
Judge Gresham Commands the Strikers to
Cease Interfering with the Railway.

Judge Gresham Commands the Strikers to
Cease Interfering with the Railway.
An unprecedented ruling in case, singular in
character and of extraordinary Importance. was
made by Judge Gresham yesterday. A bill was
presented to him here by Isham g. Lincoln, of
Chicago, in behalf of tho Lake Shore & Michigan
Southern Railroad Company against the striking
switchmen VINO are interfering with the
operations of the road at Chicago. The
bill states that the business conduct
ed by the company as common
carrier is of the character known as interstate
commerce Tho road has been designated by
the Secretary of the Treasury as a common car
rier, to which merchandise imported into the
United States and entered for transportation
to interior ports may be delivered. For
the purpose Of doing this business
the company has entered into bonds
with the United States. Cars containing
imported merchandise have been stopped 1t is
claimed that the combination of the strikers :to
obstruct the complainant's business, by violence
and otherwise. is without provocation, and is
wanton and unjustifiable" No pretense has
been made that the employees overworked or
underpaid. The only reason urged, the COM
plant states, for the arbitrary and violent con-
duct is the refusal of the company to
discharge from its service eight men who
are Objectionable to the strikers, solely because
they are, as they called 'scabs," or non union
men, They have been in the service of the com.
pany, with the exception of one. from ten to six
teen years, all being experienced, capable and
reputable.
AS basis of the plea that the interference
with the companys business is an obstruction of
the exercise of its lawful rights derived directly
from the Constitution the complaint cites Sec
tion 8, Article /, of the United States Constitu-
.on giving Congress u,.h the power to
tions and among the several States;
Section 525S, United States Statutes, athoriz-
ing the transportation of passengers and freights
and Section 2993 United States Statutes. re-
lating to the transportation of imported goods.
Judge Gresham, in an order which was issued
late yesterday afternoon, holds that the aver
mems in the bill showed right Of action in fa-
vor of the complainant against the defendants
He said that the right of the complainant 10 en-.
gage in interstate commerce. as described in the
bill, arose under the Constitution and the laws
OF the United States; that neither States nor in
dividuals, nor com mbnations of individuals could
deprive the complainant of this right, or inter-
fere WITH or obstruct the complainant in the
lawful prosecution of its business and that un
der the act of 1879 the Circuit Courts of the
United States have concurrent juris-
diction with the State courts of
such controversies Judge Gresham also
stated that the complainant had undertaken TO
transport and deliver at the port of Chicago,
foreign merchandise upon which duties were due
to the United States. That some Of the COM
plainant's cars which had been stopped on the
tracks by the strikers were loaded with such
merchandise. and the complainant was thus
prevented from exercising right secured
to it by the laws Of the United States
and obstructed in the discharge of its duty under
its contract with the United States, and that the
defendants had no more right to stop or destroy
cars containing imported merchandise to be de
livered at the port of Chicago than they had
to stop or destroy cars containing munitions
of war or troops of the United States.
The defendants, according to the averinents of
the bill, had undertaken to deprive the COM
plainant of rights which it entitled to under
the Constitution and laws of the United States,
and it was the duty of the fed
eral courts to exert such authority as
they possessed to protect the complainant
in the exercise OF snch rights against the law
less. and utterly unjustifable conduct of the de-
PENDANTS. The motion for an injunction will be
heard at Chicago on the 7th of July, and the de-
PENDANTS are in the meantime restrained from
further unauthorized interference with the COM
plainants business.