Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1902-10-16
Saves North Platte Shops.
Omaha Bee. J

Omaha Bee
Reports from North Platte in
dictate that the Uuion Pacific has
at last broken the hostile barrier
which from the first of the strike
has separated tho people Of that
town aud the railroad company,
the former arrayed on the side of
the strikers as against the Union
Pacific. This victory, which the
company evidently has gained, is
believed to be direct result of
Mr. Burt's avowed determination
to close the North Platte shops
permanently and move the ma
chinery out of that town, thus de-
priving it of it's largest and most
important industry and throwing
out of employment 200 men.
President 10 lward Kennedy Of
the local and district lodges of
boiler makers is in receipt of q
letter from one of his co workers
in North Platte which gives the
details of this latest act in the
continuous drama Of industrial
warfare in which the arr Of co.
ercion apparently forms an inn
portant feature-on one side.
Kennedy's informant says that
the city authorities have dis
charged the old police force, ap-
pointing men who, it is believed,
will be less aggressive in behalf
of strikers and more favorable to
Union Pacific interests. This
change of policemen was made, it
lis said, upon the assurance from
certain sources that it would re-
strain the company from radical
action. Or, to put it as the cor
Respondent did, the theory was
that if the old police force was
supplanted by new one composed
LOT men satisfactory to the Union
Pacific, Mr. Burt's arbitrary edict
to remove the shops would be-
withdrawn. Whether the Union
Pacific actually did warrant any
such promise cannot be definitely
learned.
The matter is said to have been
called to the attention of the city
council by Jacob Smith, a Union
Pacific engineer who lives in
North Platte. Smith is said to
have appealed to the city council
for some action tending to check
or restrain the railroad in it's ex-
pressed determination of "wiping
North Platte off its map" and is
said to have suggested that some-
thing ought to be done to moder-
ate the sentiment of the people
there against the company. Smith
is said to have based his appeal
upon the fact that he had proper
ty in North Platte and would suf-
fer by the removal of the shops.
According to Kennedy's corre-
spondent the mayor Of North
Platte took the matter up and adj
vised the council that if the police
protection was numerically in
creased the Union Pacific would
not move its shops. And then the
council simply had a new force
appointed.
What effect this actually will
have on the Union Pscifc's plans
is not known. President Burt,
General Manager Dickinson and
Superintendent of Motive Power
McKeen all are out of the city.
| Mr. McKeen has been in North
Platte, it is reported, within the
week. The others are east.
Strikers contend. however, that
\ North Platte will continue to be
shop town and that since the shop
buildings there are delapidated
they doubtless will be destroyed
but new ones erected in their
places. The strikers regard the
attitude of Mr. Burt in this case
as blunt effort to coerce them
and their sympathizers, and since
the receipt of this news are in
clined to think the presidents
bluff has worked pretty we'll
thus far.