Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-08

road as projected and surveyed was {,
traverse Douglas, Saunders, Butler an,
Polk counties and to cover territory no
then occupied by either the Union Pa
clhc or Burlington railroads. As a con
dltion precedent a bond proposition wa,
submitted to Douglas county for a sub
sidy to aid in the construction Of tn,
road.
This proposition was vigorously op
posed by the managers Of the Union Pa,
cihc and three days before election
notice was served on the people OF
Omaha that II the bonds carried the
Union Pacific shops at Omaha would be
abandoned, notwithstanding the fact
that the company had received more
than a million dollars worth Of property
as a condition for their perpetual main
tenance. Public sentiment rose to the
highest pitch of indignation and the
bonds carried Omaha by a very decisive
majority, but were defeated in the coun-
try precincts by railroad colonization
and wholesale bribery. In Saunders
county. corporate terrorism was carried
to the extreme. A gallows was erected
on the public square in wahoo and
notice was served on every voter who
favored the Nebraska Central project
that to do 50 would, he at the peril of his
|aife. While nobody; Was 4ctnAily, hanged,
.Ein1pdrted gangs of r~ntfians assaulted and
intimidated the people so that a free
election was impossible.
The defeat of the bond propositions in
Douglas and Saunders counties crushed
the enterprise and the Union Pacific fol.
lowed its victory up by the construction
OF the so-called Omaha a. Republican
Valley railroad, which has since been
Incorporated into its system.
A few years later Nebraska was
treated to another example of corporate
terrorism. While a bond proposition for
the construction of a branch line to con-
meet the Union Pacific at Columbus with
the South Platte country was pending
Jay Gould passed through the town of
Columbus and from the rear end plat
form Of his car served notice on the peo-
pie of that town that if they dared to
vote the bonds he would start a rival
town forthwith and reduce Columbus to
a mere hamlet. In the face of this high
handed threat the citizens of Columbus
voted the bonds. The Wall street mag
nate proceeded Immediately to carry out
his threat by establishing a new town
five or six miles west Of Columbus. but
Columbus was saved by %providential in.
terventlOn-a food in the Platte and
Loup rivers swept the new town from
the prairie and washed out several miles
of Union Pacific track, so that the entire
had to be abandoned.
These incidents are forcibIy recalled
by the declaration made by the superin-
tendent Of motive power of the Union
Pacific railroad that punishment had
been melted u to the town of North
Platte for c%ultivating a hostile senti-
ment against the company which pre-
vented 1t from giving proper protection
to strike breakers at its North Platte re-
pair shops. If this announcement had
emanated from the great s~washbuckler,
John n. Baldwin, nobody would have
been surprised and most people would
nave regarded 1t as a bluff. Coming as
1t does from a man who is not given to
1t merits serious consideration.
The Union Pacific Railroad ompap
undoubtedly has the right to maintain
and operate machine shops wherever its
management deems 1t most advanta-
geous. II the North Platte repair shops
a v outgrown their usefulness and
heir abandonment has peer decided
upon as a measure of economy, common
1ecency would have dictated that the
rue reasons for the change should be
given to the people of North Platte. If.
IN the other hand, the shops at North
Platte are to be dismantled and the
work transferred to Grand Island. Sid
ley or Cheyenne as a punishment to the
citizens of North Platte because. for
'ooth, they have exhibited active SYM
1athy with. the 200 workingmen who
we're locked out, or rather driven out.
II the Union Pacific shops by an order
hey could not comply with without
D NSANAN lhSlI ODLBdllOQb 10 the
n~achinists' and boiler makers unions.
'r, worse still, because the people of
Worth Platte would not allow themselves
o be bullyragged and insulted by John
\. Baldwin, the irreparable injury the
company is inhicting upon the town Is
in outrage that cannot be too severely
Thu 200 workingmen thrown out Of
employment by the arbitrary edict of
lr. Burt were for the most part old res
dents OF North Platte. They had helped
o build up the town n were Identified
With It's growth and prosperity. They
lad erected homes out Of their scant
reared their families respecta-
ly, educated their children in it's schools
md conducted themselves as law-abid- 3,
ng and industrious citizens. 1t. was
perfectly natural for the business men
nd men of all classes In North Platte
0 sympathize with these people Just as
t is with the great mass of citizens Of !
)maha to sympathize with the shopmen {
Ocked out In this city by Mr.. Burt's