Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1896-08-20
TO RESTORE WAGES.
UNION PACIFIC EMPLOYEES
GO TO COURT.
A Petition Filed at Omaha which VIII
Bring n judicial Interpretation OF the
Wage Schedule and Code of Rules De-
clded Upon Before Judge Caldwell

OMAHA, Neb., Aug. IA suit has
court which is likely to demonstrate
just how great permanent benefits
the men on the Union Pacific are to
reap from the famous wage schedule
conference held before Judge Cald-
well in March, 1894. Among the
other results OF this famous confer
ence, in fact the result it was called
to accomplish, was the adoption of
wage schedule and a code OF rules
which was to govern the relations Of
the men and the receivers Among
these rules was ono which provided
that no man should be discharged
without just cause, and another was
that the schedule of pay fixed upon at
that time was not to be altered except
by order Of the court
The men in the telegraph branch OF
the service Sllege that both Of these
provisions have been violated, and
ON this the issue will be Joined in q
case which was filed in the United
States Circuit court. In this case j.
L. Weybright, L. M Tudor, l.. Rosen-
baum and N. A. Smith, representing
the Order of Railway Telegraphers,
members of the joint protective board
Of the employees of the Union Pacific
system appear as plaintiffs
The petition recites the order en-
tered by Judges Caldwell and Riner
at the conclusion of the hearing in
March, 1894, and the conference lead
ing up to it. They then proceed to
state that the following rates of pay
for telegraph operators were fixed by
the order: Rogers, So per month;
Benton, S67; Aida, S62; Boone, $45;
Rockville. S45. without notice 10 the
men or the court, and in violation OF
that order, the petition states, the
wages at these stations have been re-
duced as follows: Rogers to S35, BEN
ton to $25, Aida to S35, Boone to S25,
Rockville to SIS. They petition to
the court that the wages of the men
be restored to the amount named in
the schedule and the difference be-
tween that and the amount they have
received since the reduction be paid
to them.
BY far the most important portion
of the petition is contained in the
next paragraph. In it the petitioners
Rllege that the managing officials of
the company are hostile to organized
labor, particularly to the Order Of
Railway Telegraphers, and that sys-
tematic effort has been made to weed
out the leaders OF the order by sum-
marily discharging them without
cause.
The telegraphers have another
grievance which will be brought to
the attention of the court. 1t has
been the custom on the Union Pacific
for a long time to deduct from the
pay of each man on the system the
sum OF 40 cents per month for the
maintenance of hospitals on the sys-
tenn. The telegraphers allege that
they receive no benefit from the hos
pitfalls except in case of those who re-
side at the place where they are main
tanned. They complain that they are
not given any accounting Of the ex-
penditure of the money collected
for this purpose from the men,
which they allege amounts to about
SlOO,O0O per year, and that II they
must pay they are entitled to know
what becomes of the money. They
will also allege in the petition that at
the present time the Union Pacific
does not maintain any hospitals, sim
ply having the use Of small number
OF cots in hospitals conducted by pri-
vate parties or associations, and that
the expense attached thereto is not
sufficient to warrant the collection of
the amount of money that is at pres
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