Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-26
WILL SEEK REDRESS IN COURT
Fourteen Imported Men Want Damages
from the Union Pacific.
EMPLOYED UNDER FALSE PRETENSIs
Say They Were Falsely Imprisoned
and May Ask for Arrest of Pres
ident Burt TO Appease
Their Feelings.

The fourteen men from Indianapolis
whom the Union Pacific Railroad company
brought to Omaha Sunday to take strikers
place In the shops, and who complained to
County Attorney Shields yesterday that
they had been employed and imported
under false pretenses, have resolved to
seek legal redress for their grievances. II
10 probable, according to the mems state
ments, that they will appear In court this
morning and swear TO complaints against
President Burt. charging him with re-
sponsibility for their false Imprisonment
and asking for a warrant for his arrest on
that charge. The basis for such a charge
would be that the men were locked In the
cars at Council Bluffs and denied their
liberty until they reached the Omaha
shops Sunday.
Civil action may be attempted against
the company in order to restore to the men
money paid out as fees for the positions.
but the course is not definitely decided
upon as yet.
After laying their case before the county
attorney yesterday the men held a con-
sultation among themselves and decided
TO ask the company for redress. They APP
piled to the once Of the superintendent
Of motive power and asked that they DO
paid for what time they had lost In COM
ing out here and be given return passes
to indianapolis. They were offered passes
as far as Chicago and eight Of them ac-
cepted the passes, but these eight missed
their train last night, and as a result they
are all here to Join in whatever prosecu-
tion is undertaken today.
Several Of these men we're interviewed
as to the circumstances which led to their
presence In Omaha and they ali tell the
same story.
Tell same Story.
Eighteen Of us came to Omaha from
Indianapolis" they say. I'VE were all
hired by an agent in our home city. who
purported to represent the Union Pacific
Railroad company. Mr.. Arnett, general
employment agent of the company, whose
headquarters are in Denver, was present
when we were employed and he and the
other agent assured us that there was no
strike on out here, that all was quiet and
peaceable and that the reason the COM
pany was hiring men that far east was
that It was impossible to get enough men
to do the work out west. They said the
enormous harvest crop took a large num-
Der Of men, which cut considerable figure
IN their case. Some Of us were going
back and forth to this mans office for
three weeks ABOUT this matter. We looked
~ al thc papers IN luOldnaDOlS and could
see nothing Of any strike, and finally we
became convinced that there really was
no trouble and we would accept the offers
made us.
"Ali but two OF the eighteen men who
hired to the company were at work and
several OF us are married men. We had
steady Jobs and were getting from IL to
20 cents and hour. 1t seemed a big thing
to us when these agents OF the Union Pa
cshc assured US we would get from 80 to
30 cents an hour and our board. Packing
our things we came out with cur minds
made up to Identify ourselves with the
Union Pacific shops wherever we were put
to work. We were told by these agents that
II we wanted to bring our families out we
could do 80, at the expense OF the company
after we had worked two weeks CT longer to
give the company some assurance that we
meant business and the promise also was
made us that in case Of sickness we could
either go home or have our home folks come
to us at the company's expense. All this
seemed generous indeed and we trusted ths
agents. We got our first intimation Of the
existence OF a strike when we reached
Council Blufs. II came to us through the
action OF the company's own men.
Canada Takes Command.
imam kahaAot NulCl VI secret SERVICE
for the Union Pacific, boarded the train,
locked the doors Of the car in which we
were and ordered them kept locked until
the train reached the yards OF the Omaha
shops. His orders were strictly obeyed.
AZ our train pulled into the yards over here
a crowd of men. whom we learned afterward
were strikers, boarded 1t and were peering
In through the doors OF our cars. We asked
Mr.. Arnett who these men were and re-
marked that their presence and conduct
looked very bad for a peaceful state Of af-
fairs. We asked II they were not str kers
and were told they were not.
Our eyes were opened wide. however,
when we arrived at the shops and were
ushered into the eating house of the COM
pany. There We we're convinced OF the ex-
istence Of a strike. We were told to go
to work at IT cents an hour and our board,
instead OF 80 and 80 cents and our board,
and We rebelled. We not only were de-
ceived as to the wages. but also as to the
"a No.