The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-04-10
COURT SAYS men
MAY NOW STRIKE.
Judge Adams Dissolves Tenn
porary Restraining Order
Against Unions.
is a SWEEPING DECISION
General Solicitor of Wabash Was "De-,
pressed" When 1t Was Announced
May Settle Differences
Without a Strike.

st. Louis, April 3.-In United States
district court Wednesday Judge Adams
handed down a decision dissolving the
injunction granted March 8, restrain,
ing the officials of the Brotherhood OF
Locomotive Firemen and Railroad
Trainmen and other labor leaders from
influencing in any way or ordering the
men employed on the Wabash system
to strike. The temporary Injunction
was granted by Judge Adams on allie,
cations made by the officials Of the
system hat DEFENDANTS were
conspiring to Interfere with interstate
traffic.
In his decision Judge Adams ANAL
yzed the bill of complaint and says the,
provisional restraining order was made
without notice to the defendants, un-
der stress of facts disclosed by the.
bill. and was fully authorized by the
revised statutes Of the United States
and ~imperatively demanded by the gen
eral principles Of equity jurisprudence
recognized and enforced in many sim
liar cases in the United States md,
England. Many authorities warrant
Ing a provisional restraining order In
cases of co~nspiracies to Interfere with
interstate III otherwise are
cited in support of this last proposi-i
ton.
Charges Not Sustained.
Continuing the judge says: "The
many a~ffidavits and exhibits filed on
both sides of the case have been ablyi
and exhaustively argued by eminent
The question now Is whether
upon all the proof before 1t the court
should award a preliminary Injunction
or set aside the provisional restraining
order already made. The court after
fully considering all the proofs finds
the statements OF the bill Of complaint
to the effect that the employees are sat
isfied with their wages and conditions
OF service, are not supported; that ir-
respective of the question whether the
men or the committee of the brother
hoods representing them first suggested
an increase of wages and change of
rules, the employees themselves for aI
long time prior to the filing Of the bill of
complaint were dissatisfied with their
wages and conditions of service, and a
real difference of opinion existed be-
tween the railroad and a large major
lty or Its employees, members OF the
p~rotherhoods, with respect to their
wages that defendants as officers and
committees of the brotherhoods We're
fully authorized, both by reason OF their
official relation to their members and
also by direct written authority, toll
represent them in the effort to secure
AoA13
tons OF service: and that the proposed|
strike, instead of being obviously or
dered by defendants, was the result of
a vote Of employees, acting without
coercion, and directly authorizing the
same"
No Conspiracy Shown.
The court further finds, after a fuI.l
examination of the evidence, that thet
charge of conspiracy to interfere with
interstate m of the United
states or mail service OF the United
States is not sustained. The court fin
ishes its opinion by stating its conclu-i
sions with a summary OF the situation
pertaining to the controversy.
F.. N. Judson, special counsel for the
brotherhoods, stated to the Associated
Press that he and Colonel Blodgett,
general solicitor of the Wabash, were
making efforts to bring all the parties
Interested together, and in his opinion
an amicable agreement would be arr
rived at n there would be no strike.
Colonel Blodgett was apparently de-
pressed by the decision. He said it was
too early to say IL an appeal would be
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