The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-17
THREE LICKS WITH ABOARD
The Apprentices Initiation Of the
Central Railroad Shops.

Young Thomas Companions Say His
Story is ExaRRerated-They Deny
That He Was Beaten With a Barrel
stave, But Admit He Was Laid
Across a Bench and Given Sixty
Blows With a Specially Prepared
Spanker-Thomas Determined to
Prosecute.
The young apprentices at the Central
railroad machine shops, who are threat
ened with prosecution BY George H.
Thomas for beating him with barrel
stave by way of initiation into his new
duties, tell a slightly different story of
the hazing from that told the solicitor
general by young Thomas.
The apprentices claim that Thomas told
a very exaggerated story of the hazing.
They do not deny the hazing, but they
say IT Is an initiation through which
every apprentice who enters the shops is
compelled TO go. There are about twenty
apprentices there. When a new one
enters he is taken at the end of his first
days work and laid across a bench or
barrel, while each one of the apprentices
gives him three ticks with board.
CUSTOMARY INTRODUCTION.
So customary is this system of initia-
tion that a special weapon has been pre-
pared for it, 1t consists of a piece of
light pine board, which has been sawed
half way down the middle lengthwise,
and round hole cut in one side so that
when it is vigorously applied the two
sides come together with a sounding slap,
like dancers clogs, the object being TO
increase the noise made by the board,
and add terror to the subject Of the in
itiation.
The apprentices say that when Thomas
was notified that he would have to un-
dergo the usual ordeal he declared that
he would not sumbit TO it and cursed out
the whole crowd roundly. He declared
that he had shot one man, and that he
would shoot them if they interfered with
him.
Thomas threats had no effect upon his
companions, and when the hour for
knocking off came Tuesday afternoon he
was promptly seized and thrown
across a bench. Thomas, in his statement
to the solicitor, said that he was thrown
upon the ground, and that one man sat
upon his head and mashed his face against
the floor. This the apprentices positively
deny.
THROWN ACROSS A BENCH.
They say that Thomas was thrown
across bench and held by his
arms and legs, and not by his
head. They also deny that Thomas
tainted after a few blows had been struck,
but that he yelled most Justify through
out the whole of the ordeal. He
was struck three blows by each
of the twenty apprentices, making sixty
blows in all, which he received. The ap-
prentlces claimed that the blows were not
severe enough to hurt him seriously,
though they were undoubtedly painful
They said they had all been put through
the same treatment when they entered
the shop, and considered it nothing but
right that Thomas should undergo it.
Besides the apprentices, a number
OF wOrkmen witnessed the affair
including several of the bosses, who,
the apprentices say, would certainly
have interfered if they had thought
Thomas was in danger of being seriously
hurt. They did not know whether Fore
man Bouchard witnessed the affair or not
but had no doubt that he knew it was
going on. They denied, however, that
Thomas called to the foreman for help
They said he yelled for help loudly during
the whole Of the ordeal but did not call
upon any particular person.
THOUGHT HE WAS PLAYING 'PossUM.
After the initiation was completed
the apprentices said, Thomas rolled from
the bench and lay upon the ground. One
of them took him by his shoulders to
raise him up, as he thought Thomas was
playing "possum." Another one went
and got some water for him, but did not
give it to him, as Thomas got up and
walked OFF seemingly all right Thomas
threatened then to prosecute the whole
crowd.
The apprentices deny the statement
that they hired carriage and sent
Thomas home. If he went home in a car
riage, they said, he must have hired it
himself.
The apprentices also deny that Eddie
Cohen had quit his shop because of the
beating he received at his initia ton as
reported by Thomas, They say that
Cohen worked for several days after his
initiation, and then quit because he said
the work was TOO dirty.
The apprentices are all young men
from II to 20 years old. They seemed to
regard it as a matter of course that they
should haze the new corners to the
shop, and said it was an old
custom there. The stand taken by
Thomas, however may result in breaking
up the custom.
Thomas called on the solicitor gen
eral again yesterday morning. He-was
advised TO take out warrants for the
parties at once. He was unable to obtain
their names yesterday, but will endeavor
to get them to-day, when the warrants
will probably be issued.
Without doubt the most wonderful remedy