Omaha daily bee., 1894-03-25
WERE NOT SURPRISED
Labor officials Who Foresaw that the Con-
ference Would Prove Futile.
TALK WITH CHIEFS SARGENT AND CLARK
Hallway Employees Now Consulting with
Their Attorneys Making Ready for the
Contest In Court This wcck-Yes-
tcrday Among the Men.

home In Terre Haute. Ind. that gentleman
showed his thorough familiarity with the
course Of events here. He and Grand Chief
Clark OF the conductors were there together
discussing the situation on the Union and
Northern Pacific roads. Both OF these gem
tlemen stated that they had no doubt that
a settlement would be reached of the diff
culties at Omaha. When asked concerning
the probabilities OF a strike Mr.. Sargent
said he disliked exceedingly to hear any
talk Of a strike. and up to that time there
had been none Of It in connection with the
Union Pacific difficulty. He was in daily
expectation that some one would start the
story. though there was no foundation for it
in fact. As an instance of how little foun-
dation for these stories there usually was
he cited the report OF the proposed strike
which was sent out from Tacoma, when In
fact the negotiations for n settlement were
nearing completion. Talk of strikes looked
too much like threats, he said, and III there
was one stigma they wanted to remove
from organized labor more than another 1t
was tho impression that the purpose OF these
organizations is to intimidate railroad man
ayers. The same telegram says that when
Mr.. Clark and Mr.. Sargent left Terre Haute
they expressed the opinion that no settle
ment would be arrived at In the then pend
lIE conference WIN WI blhlh NJ Dtidl0t Oll
sides knew that Judge Caldwell's court was
to be the real and final place of settlement.
This, In addition to the development of
events here, Is an official confirmation Of
the position that has been outlined in The
Bee ever since the conference opened. In
addition to this comes the crawfish of the
local sheet, which gave out the story of an
intended strike, which 1t announced was
certain to occur in case Mr.. Clark did not
1t once grant what the men asked. The
npXt 1nV hrOIU ht a modification .nf thn ginrV
Yesterday brought a third chapter to the
sfect that 1t wasn't any Of the members
VI the organizations interested in the pend
ing controversy that advocated a strike,
but a man who belonged to SOM other or
ganization who had been invited in to at
tend a meeting of the men.
Yesterday afternoon practically completed
che preliminary work of preparing for the
hearing of the case before Judges Caldwell
and Sanborn and the men are ready when
ever their turn comes in the course of busi-
ness in the court.
LITTLE DONE YESTERDAY.
There were few new developments in the
Union Pacific wage conference yesterday.
At headquarters things were particularly
quiet in contrast with the stir and ANNA
ton of the past week.
President Clark was in his Office familiar
izing himself with the testimony taken
during the hearings and preparing to pre-
sent his findings to the circuit court when
ne WdBe QUESTION Is TAKEN up. me re-
ceiver was averse to saying a word about
the result Of the meetings on the ground
that he was the servant Of the court and
he thought 1t would be dlscourteous to the
court to say anything In relation to the mat
ters in controversy until after he had re-
ported the result Of the conference to the
bench. He stated, however. he was pleased
that the conference was over because IL
had been very hard work and he doubted IL
he could have stood the strain another week.
. Tho tnctirnnnv tolyan Inrinu tIn nagt tnn
days Is very voluminous In character. which
will have to be boiled down to present any
thing like a concise statement to the court.
Should the court, however, desire to read all
the testimony It will be forthcoming, but the
impression seems to prevail that Judges
Caldwell and Sanborn will rely upon Mr..
Clark's and then proceed to in
quire from the men themselves as to the
grounds of difference.
II COURT READY FOR BUSINESS.
The presence Of Judge Samuel r. Caldwell
in Omaha yesterday brought everybody
face to face with the question, what was to
be the outcome of the visit of the circuit
court TO this city to adjust wage matters on
the Union Pacific. The presence of the
senior circuit court Judge brought realiza-
ton to the men that their day in court was
approaching and they could not help but
show their anxiety.
Throughout the morning the attorneys for
the different trades were laboring on their
rgument TO he made ana going over the
evidence brought out at the conference. 1t
was In fact a busy mornin : for everybody,
and Easter Sunday will hardly show IA letup
in the work of formulating lines of attack
and defense when the wage battle begins
next week before the circuit court of the
United States.
FEELING AMONG THE MEN.
1t was the quiet that follows the storm
that was observable among the railroad
men yesterday. The strain under which all
have been laboring for the past week has
been relaxed. and all took a long breath
and settled down to enjoy a brief spell Of
rest before the real struggle commences be-
fore the court next week. This is what the
men have all along considered the mainstay
in their case. and they are not going to
leave anything undone which will add to
their chances of success. The heads OF the
various organizations We're in consultation
yesterday with their attorneys. and from
this on until the case is called in
court they will be at work preparing for
what promises to be a historic
landmark in the judicial and labor world.
Heretofore both employees and employers
have simply invoked force when differences
arose among them. and 1t was simply the
survival of the fttest in a physical sense.
with this case dawns n new era and law
will sit enthroned where the deposed mon
arch of force once reigned supreme. The
rich and the powerful have heretofore been
the only ones to invoke the aid of the law
and the more sensible ones among the la
borers now see the mistakes they have
made in the past and propose to profit
thereby. Said one of the representatives of
the men, III there is equity in the law for
the railroad companies there must be some
where in 1t justice for the men whom the
companies employ. The men have, some of
them. too long looked upon the law as only
an instrument OF oppression in the hands of
the rich and powerful. but tho men on the
Union Pacific at least have discovered that
its powers can be just as effectively invoked
in their behalf as they have hitherto been
used to Cypress them. Justice. it is true,
sometimes miscarries, but this Is the ex-
ception and not the rule"
EMPLOYEES ARE CONFIDENT.
One OF the men stated yesterday that
they had every confidence that when the
hearing In court was completed IL would
result in an adjustment In which not only
the men but the company would acquiesce
without Il murmur, Neither side would
probably get all It contended for, but
Judge Caldwell and Sanford came into the
ease without any prejudice or bias born of
interest, and having shown a disposition to
be eminently fair there was no reason TO
look for anything but an absolutely equitable
settlement OF the difficulty. They have the
knowledge OF the law to settle the matter
so far as the legal points were concerned,
and a reputation for justice and fairness
that gave the men confidence. They un-
1Oubteuly aDDrpciatp the fact that tho ayaa