The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-08-21
A Forged Statement Prepared
to Prevent Damage Suit
MORALS ARE LOWERED
The Houses So Crowded There
Can be no Privacy.
Pastor Of Swedish Methodist
Church Denounces Company.

CHICAGO, Aug. 21-M. J. Carroll, edi-
tor Of the Eight Hour Herald, was the
first witness called by the strike commits
sion today Mr.. Carroll told Of the ef-
forts Of the Civic Federation, Of which
he is a member, to settle the Pullman
strike He was informed by the Pull
man officials. he said, that they had moth
ing to arbitrate, and for this reason the
Federation accomplished nothing.
The witness said that hard times were
the cause OF the strike, as we'll other
recent strikes, and thought manufactur-
ers in times Of business depression should
give their employees the benefit of
the profits reaped in good times. He said
he believed compulsory arbitration ap-
piled to quasi public Industries would be
beneficial, and read letter from a
eficiai result Of government ownership
OF railroads and telegraph.
Malcolm Mcdowell. newspaper re-
porter. told or the overturning of cars at
Pullman. lie said that the mob at that
point was composed Of outside men,
mainly foreigners, aud that there we're
no railroad strikers in the disOrderly
crowd.
Rev. L. N. Wickham, pastor of the
Swedish "a ethodist church at Pullman,
was emphatic in his denunciation Of the
methods of the Pullman company.
"When business gets slack he said,
"the company's employees living outside
of Pullman are ordered to move into the
company's houses on peril Of losing their
positions. Some of the men have at
tempted 10 buy houses on the installment
plan, bur this il discouraged as such
men are always the first 10 be laid off
when the force Is reduced. The men
are unfairly treated in various ways.
Il know Of one instance, when man
was injured in the shops and unfair
suit The man was taken to the hospital
aud later SAW a sworn statement, pur-
porting 70 be signed by him in which he
said the accident was entirely unavOida-
BILE 1 know the paper to have been a
forgery; for on the date on which it was
made, the man was unable to write and
could not have signed his name.
Zone of the worst features of the
Pullman system of house renting is the
immortality which it encourages. Many
Of the workmen are compelled to rent
rooms to help out their meagre incomes.
The houses are SO arranged that the
rOomers must pass through the family
sleeping apartments and as a result the
morality Of Pullman is much below that
Of surrounding towns. There ID no way
for the working men to avoid this as
many of them are practically compelled
to live in the cOmp2ny's houses"
Roy Baker, a Chicago reporter, was
called upon for an account of the riot at
Hammond.
Mr. Baker stated he was in the
midst Of the mob and saw no
A. r. Z. men or railroad strikers,
the crowd being made up of toughs
and outsiders. He said that shortly
before the United States troops fired,
q small body Of men. surrounded by
women, children and other spectators,
attempted TO overturn some Pullman
cars. Without warning. the witness de-
clared, the troops fired, killing and
wounding several people. all OF whom
were innocent spectators.
Mr.. Baker said that at no time during
the trouble did he see a railroad man or
member Of the A. r. L. in the mobs.