Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-01
RESENT THE COERCION STORY.

them should they do So
RESENT rHE COERCION STORY,
Railway Men Assert Thcy vote ms
They Please.
That the railway men Of Omaha have not
bad their opinions regarding the wisdom Of
electing william Mckinley president Of the
nation changed by the wild talk of a local
organ about the coercion Of railroaders by
their superior officers is evidenced by the
following circular that has been very gen
orally signed by the employees OF the vari-
GUS Omaha roads. II will be seen that over
500 signatures have been attached to this
paper. but 1t may be relied upon as a fact
beyond all dispute that the railway vote
for Mckinley will be much larger than
shown here. Many employees Of the Union
Pacific shops refrained from signing this
document because OF the threats of their
co-laborers who are pledged to Bryan and
free silver.
The circular reads as follows:
We, the Undersigned workngmen and
voters of Douglas county, hereby appeal
to all citizens of said county to unite with
us In defense OF our wages, our homes, the
prosperity of our state and the honor of
our country.
We ore employees of the --- and --
railway companies. II has been asserted
not once but many times, that in advo-
eating the cause Of honest money in this
campaign we are being "coerced" and 'in-
timidated" by our superior officers. 1t Is
charged that We are guided In our political
actions by subscrvicnce TO the companies
This Is not only totally false, but it T. a
gross and gr9tutous insult to our manhood
and our Intelligence. We are men, not cow
ards We are citizens, not slaves. We re.
sent the insult which Is offered to Us and
propose to show our resentment at the polls
We shall vote as unit for sound money,
and we shall do 1t because of our own free
will and judgment we are convinced that
the free and unlimited coinage of silver at
the ratio OF 10 to ! would be injurious to
our individual interests as wage earners:
disastrous to the United States as nation.
We have not come to this conclusion un-
thinkingy. We have reached the conciu-
sion which We have deliberately. and having
reached II we earnestly appeal to our fell
low citizens to stand with us.
16 to ! must result in a deprecated cur
rency and a cheap dollar The silver ad-
vocates confess as much when they claim
that the prices of all commodities would
rise when measured in our coin; We do not
want cheap dollars As individuals we are
entitled to good dollars for our good work.
As a nation this best country on earth H.
entitled TO the best currency.
eyitably drive all gold out Of the country.
History proves this and nobody denies It;
All our debts abroad are payable In gold
only. To pay those debts would take twice
their face value In 50cent dollars. If, as
nation, nation, we tried TO pay these debts thus
ruptcy. If we did not try. but insisted on
paying every debt dollar for dollar in our
We do not wish to see the nation bank
rupt, nor do we wish to sec the stars and
stripes Haunted before all the world as an
emblem OF reputation anc a badge OF com
mercial dishonesty.
Thrty-five years ago when Lincoln called
Tor troops the railway men of the west
responded so that many Of the railways
could hardly be operated. The danger
which threatens the country today is we
earnestly believe, no less grave than it was
then; and once again we. as railway men,
propose to respond TO our country's call
we appeal to YOU to stand DN We
appeal to YOU our friends and comrades
and as fellow citizens OF a land that we all
love. There IL no "encmy's country" I'm
the United States. We are all Cne people,
whatever state we live In or whatever our
call ON you've implore YOU to stand
shoulder to shoulder with us now. We ask
wages, our Livelihood and our homes We
your own business. in behalf OF ali the in.
dustries and commerce of the American
people. We appeal to, YOU to vote for sound
money, TOR honor and for prosperity
Ninety-two employees u. & NJ general
Twenty-eight employees II. & NJ. freight
house.
Three employees b. & NJ ticket office.
Thirty-four Chicago st. Paul Mnneapo-
lis 4 Omaha yard and engine men,
Minneapolis e. Omaha yard and engine men.
Thirty employees Fremont. Elkhorn & Mis-
souri, Valley general office.
Sixty employees Union Pacific general
office.
Thirty.three employees Union Pacific
freight depot.
Twenty-one employees Union Pacific sup
ply depot
Ten car repairers Union Pacific railway.
Seventeen yard and engine men Union Pa
ciic railway.
Thirty-eight machinists Union Pacific
railway.
Seventeen track men Union Pacific rail-
way.
A total of 5l6 voters In the city of Omaha
WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH BRYAN.