The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1896-09-28
THEY ARE COERCED
Railroad Managers Forcing Employees To
Sign an Agreement
TO VOTE REPUBLICAN TICKET
Copies of Bourke Cockran's Speech
Inclosed in Mems Pay Enve-
lopes-Fraud Exposed.
From Tho 1ndiananolis Sentinel

From The Indianapolis Sentlnel.
Instances of attempts upon the part OF
railroad corporations to coerce ana influence
their employees to vote for Mckinney are re-
ported daily and in spite of the WeaN uc-
malls of the officials the methods that are
being employed by these corporations =,
becoming well known. overt actS' wiz
important are not so significant, hoWeVe''
as the moral intimidation which Is Deihe
brought against the employees Inc NE,
are given plainly TO understand that ciNll
seryice rules do not control their POSITIONS
and the maintenance of their places ue
ponds largely on their avowaI III laNot u
: Mckinley.
Big Four's Excursion.
The Big -Four company is engineering
scheme to get up big excursion from 'l i
city to visit Mckinley at Canton. one Wen
known silver republican was yesterday III,
Vited to Join the excursion and said ne o!u
not care to go. lie inquired the pronaple
cost, however, and was informed that 'icto
would be no expense. as the transporta'loh
and expenses while in Canton would %
furnished free to those who Went OhueI
these circumstances he agreed to co.
"A Louisville dispatch gives another scheiho
which is being worked by another OF the
prominent railroads. 1t SAYS:
~ new plan to secure votes for Mckinney
has been adopted by some OF the corpora
tions. and one railroad in particular enter
ing Louisville. The charge has been mace
that certain railroads have intimldaled
their employees, and thereby secured
pledge from them TO support Mckinney.
This seems to have 'smote the conscience
of these railroads, and in order to relleNe
themselves of any suspicion OF intimidation
they have adopted a new scheme, Whlch
even goes further and makes each person
employed swear that they will support a
single gold standard by voting for Mchin-
ley.
No oT,. &, Hogr
railroad in particular has sent out notaryS
public with each of its pay trains. When
the workmans wages for the month are
given him he Is also handed a slip or paper
TO sign, on which is printed something IN
substance as follows:
~ hereby sOlemnly swear that no OIL
cial of the -- railroad has forced me 10
sign an agreement pledging my support to
Major Mckinley and sound money, but L
do hereby SOlemnly swear that 1 VIII vote
Tor Mckinley, and that l do so OF my own
free Will
1T win be seen by signing such an agree
ment, ostensibly for the purpose OF exon
Grating their railroad company of any m
timidation. that the men are simply max
ing oath that they will disregard their suf-
: frage as American citizens and vote as
the company dictates"
Others Tell the Same Tale.
In connection with this dispatch The SEN
| tinel has received from well-known rail-
road man a letter In which he says: 1T is a
bare-faccd piece of business and men are
coerced and inundated into joining and
wearing Mckinley and G.. II. & D. sound
money club buttons or else afraid of losing
their jobs. a peculiar thing has happened
the past ten days. The G., II. x - pay ciLr
has always started from Cincinnati to pay
OF on the 18th of each month. This time
word came from the Cincinnati head Office
/ that owing to the fact of the road being I'M
able TO get money from the banks, the pay
car would not start out before the lSeil-
! The pay car was held back until the 18TH
and was wrecked, as you are aware, ana
J three men killed and several wounded. The
I Nff 70 IN D. Il
the end OF the gold people, distress ana
scare the woriinsmon and employees ana
create an impression by paying out Il rev
gold pieces. BE that as II may, three men
lost their lives by that little political move
Railroad employees are telling the same
kind Of stories 10y hundreds. Another en-
plOye said last night. "Of course the COM
pauies arc rot taking clubs and beating
mon over the head if they refuse 70 vote
for Mckinley, but they are going AZ the
work lust as effectively. They are letting
the men understand very plainly that II
they vote for Bryan their positions VIII he
the price of their failure to obey the known
wishes OF the corporations. We are com
PEELED to keep quiet and read the literature
the companies thrust i'm our faces and lis
ten to Mckinley talk and hear Bryan de-
nounced as an anarchist. but we are not
allowed to say n word in reply. Tho repub-
lican employees 20 around shooting off their
mouths about Mckinley. hoping to advance
their own interests with the company. while
We ere compelled I'm self-defense TO pretend
20 fall in with the procession. but | viii
tell You that we VIII % nothing or the
kind. Tho Australian ballot law was given
the employees for lust that KIND OF business
and when we go into the hooth no one VIII
ever know how we voted. The silver vote is
being increased every day on account Of
this course adopted by the companies. and
there is going TO he the biggest surprise
party next November that tho railro ~ COM
panics ever witnessed" The railroad man
who made this statement saws if his name
were used i'm connection with II ne would
4 lose his position IN twenty-four hours.