The morning call., 1894-07-25
WORDEN'S STORY.
He Was Never a Detective In the
EmnIOY of Pinkerton.

To the Editor Of the San Francisco Call ::
My attention has been called to an article
published in your paper of July % in
which my name, s. D. Worden. is used
by man who calls himself NJ. J. Sullivan
of Chicago, and who is now confined in the
Sacramento County jail under an indict-
ment or on commitment to the Superior
Court of Sacramento County OF the charge
of grand larceny, to wit, the stealing and
carrying away Of $500 in United States
currency from Mrs Ella Turner, widow.
and her three fatherless children.
Ny knowledge of this man is this: In
December, 1892, myself and Fred Wagner,
a member Of the Brotherhood of Railway
TVainmen, of which ! was also at that
time member and am yet until July 81,
arrived in the city OF Boston, Mass, in
search of work. Mr.. Wagner was sick, is
native of Walton. Delaware County.
n. Y, and had been TO GIenwood Springs,
Colo, with me for treatment for rheuma-
tism. | had previous to our going there
been freight conductor on the New York,
Ontario and Western Railway, in NewYork
State. Out of Middlet0wn, n. Y, from
March, 1892, until Septem Der. 1892, when
L had leave of absence for ninety days and
was delegated by Lodge No. 40. Brother
hood of Railway Trainmen, to take brother
Wagner to the Hot Springs for his health.
On our arrival in Boston 1 applied to Joe
Morse, general yardmaster of the Boston
and Albany Railroad in said city, for
position in the yard as switchman and was
employed by him for ten days as such,
from November IS. 1892, until December !,
hoV1 L fnf fhn
and took service with the Fitchbu Rail-
way Company in the Charlestown (Mass.)
yard as foreman OF the coaldOck engine
This l did at the request of f. F. Griffin,
general yardmaster of the Fitchburg Rail-
way, and the cause was an increase of pay
from S14 30 per week to S21 80 per week.
The man who now says his name is
NJ. j. Sullivan was at that time throwing
switches in the yard of the Fitchburg
Railway under the name of O'BrieD, and
he was fnancier of Bunker Hill Lodge
No. 4O4. Brotherhood of Railway Train
men. He never saw me in ChieOgo in his
life, nor in any other place than Charles
town or Boston, Mass, until / saw him in
charge Of Officer McManus of Sacramento
at Ogden. Utah, at o'clock on the morn
ing of June p in the depot, he having
been arrested in Denver by means of
postal cards sent throughout the country
by me to the various lodges of trainmen,
and to which. by nsent, l signed the
name of NJ. NJ. Drew, Chief of Police at
Sacramento. He Sullivan or UBrien)
knows l am principal witness against
him. which may account for his statement.
/ roomed while worked for the Fitch
burg Railway with Mrs. Ella Turner at
3 Second street, Charlestown. Mass.
O'BrieB or Sullivan roomed next door with
Mrs. Turner's mother. l knew Mrs.
Turner's husband, and the money Sulli-
van stole from his widow and three child
rem was insurance money she had received
from the order of Railway Conductors. of
which L am also a member. l belong to
Division 43 Of East Syracuse, n. Y.
l never was in service day with the
Pinkertons in any capacity. as I think too
much of myself TO become associated with
any thieves or ex-convlcts under the pro-
lection Of any detective agency. The
nearest to it was when l was employed in
the Secret Service of the United States
during President ClevelaDd's first admins
tratlon for three years in the Postoffice
and Internal Revenue departments. to
which position l was appointed by the
President himself and from which I re-
signed in 1888. l never belonged TO any
labor organization except the Conductors
Brotherhood, afterward the Order of Rail-
way Conductors, the Brotherhood of Rail-
way Trainmen and the American Railway
Union, of which l was charter member
at Sacramento. l was elected their dele
gate to the Chicago convention, June u,
1894, and / am now Supreme Organizer for
the Pacific Coast. appointed by the Board
of Directors at Chicago. Yours respect
fully. S. ID. WoRDEN.
c1ar;oI Rar1o0a No+;ra