St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-28
COURT DOWNS STRIKERS.
JUDGE SAH606R MAKES THE M.JUac.
Ti0Y PERPETUAL.
CONTEMPLATION, Is DEFINED

Enjoined Strikers Appear in
Court by President Of the 4.
II. q. OF Sit. Cloud as Their At.
torney-Overt Acts or Threats
Not Essential to Cause "Intim.
idation" Defined by Court.
Judge Sanbern, Of the United States
eircnit court, had up for consideration
yesterday the case of the Great North
ern Railway company against Olson and
other employees of the road. This was
the chancerY proceed ny commenced at
the beginning of the strike to enjoin the
employees Of the road against doing dam
age to property. 1t was in this pro-
ceedlng that the chancery subp9nas
and the injunction notices were issued
and served by the deputy marshals by
the hundreds. This proceeding has
nothing directly to do with the arrest OF
the men or warrants for conspiracy or
TOT o0structing the mails except that it
was begun OIL the civil side of the court
as a basis for beginning proceedings
Tor contempt or for instituting the
criminal proceedings before commits
sioner of the court. w. E. Dodge and
w. u. Cornish appeared for the rail-
road. There was no appearance by
attorney for the defendants named In
the notice or for others that had been
served with the Injunction notices of
the chancery subpenas. l.. d. Foster,
president Of the Sit. Cloud local A. II.
D.. anu one of the defendants in the
chancery proceedings, as we'll as sew.
eral strikers. were present.
Judge Sanborn asked if any of the
defendants were present, and Mr.. Eos
ter acknowledged his attendance. After
reading the order to show cause why
an injunction should not issue. Judge
Sanborn asked if there was any desire
Oil the part of defendants to be heard in
opposition to granting the injunction.
l.. d. Foster asked for definition of
the expression intimidation" used in
the notice.
Judge Sanborn proceeded to outline
the course that the employees should
follow, and to make the injunction per-
petLal. and at the conclusion of his
opinion Mr.. Foster told the court that
he had no objection to the Injunction,
and would obey it as far as he is con-
cerned, and advise the men to do the
same.
In defining the meaning of the word
intimidation" Judge Sanborn said:
''Ihe employees have the right to or.
ganize for their mutual benefit, aud for
tie purpose OF advancing their wages.
They have the right tn induce others by
argument and persuasion to Join their
organization, to quit the service of their
employer, or to refuse to enter his ser
vice, but they may not induce such
action by Intimidation. The meaning of
intimidation in this case is well Illus
trated by the case of the United States
VS.. Kane. % Fed. Rep, 74S, in which a
large party of strikers undertook to
stop the operation of railroad by
gathering Ill surging crowd and over
awning the engineers by the threat of
superior force; they did not seek to
destroy an engine; they did not seek to
destroy property; but they assumed to
try and stop the operation of the road:
tried to prevent the engineers from
running out the trains, aud tried to pre-
vent the train men from working,
Judge Brewer. now Mr.. Justice Brewer
OF the supreme court, said:
81 have. no doubt that some men
who are excessively bold might have
laughed at it and waited, believing that
no personal violence would be used;
but men are NOT equally bold aud cour-
ageous; the average man has feeling
that it is his duty to regard his own per.
sonal safety; we all know that and we
act upon that presumption, and when
these men met there in that, fervor of
excitement, when the crowd surged
backwards and forwards, from one end
OF that yard 10 another, approaching now
this engine and now that, they knew
and every man knows that kind of a
demonstration was calculated to intimi.
date.' And he punished one of the
leaders of the party fer contempt. In
the opinion he illustrates the meaning
of intimidation by suppOsing that two
men are working for d farmer and one
is discharged and the other wants to
stay, and the one that leaves goes
around to number of friends and
gathers them and they come around,
large party of them-a party
with revOlvers and muskets-
aud the one that leaves comes
to the one that wants to stay and says
to him: Now, my friends are here, you
had better leave; Request you to leaye::'
the man LOOKS at the party that is stand
ing there: there is nothing but simple
reQueSt-that is, so far as the language
which is used; there is no threat, but it
is request backed by demonstration
of force, demonstration intended
to lntlmldate, calculated to in
timidate, and the man says: Well,
would like to stay. am willing to work
here. Yet there are too many men here.
There is too much of a demonstration. |
am afraid to stay Now. the common
sense of every Man tells him that that
is not a mere request-tells him that
while the language may he very polite,
and be merely in the form of request,
yet is accompanied by that backing of
force intended as demonstration, and
calculated to make an impression, and
the man leaves really because ne is
intimidated.'