Omaha daily bee., 1906-12-31
THEY COULDN'T SCARE BIDDER
Upright UniOnist stood Pat for n
square Deal and Won
out.

Two years ago ! knew a quiet. wiry.
honest looking man. who will call Frank
Ridder. At Is Frank had come from the
far west 20 Chicago. with his wife and
baby, and had taken the only Job he could
fnd-driving a wagon. By cutting sleep
down TO five hours he kept up his old law
studies. because later on Il might come
handy" In two years his employer put
him In charge OF all the FIVE wagons at SIS
a week. He studied the business. Some
called him n conner.
But the teamsters had begun to organize
In some thirty branch unions. Frank
thought II over and decided that the union
would be good thing for the boys'-if
honest. He began to watch. He soon sus-
pected the leader of his particular union
and began slowly to "uplift" him; and
this he kept on, IN spite Of wholesale
threats and bricks in fists. until at last
the ignorant but fair-play-loving mass Of
toamsters gathered behind him and showed
And before Rdder knew It ne was che
local leader himself.
A year later, as his power grew, a GER
tain Chicago employer told him how foolish
he was 10 waste his time as a leader at
$40 n week when he might be making a
future that would give to his wife and
babies the things that all Of us like. He
ended by offering a position at &S5 a week
and promised an early raise. Ridder re-
fused the offer.
He refused all high Offices in the national
| organization, kept his old humble position
and raised wages in his small union, with
out n strike, from 81 to s16 a week And
meanwhile, day and night, in big meetings
in small committees. in hard talks with
men alone, he helped slowly to open the
eyes of the teamsters, until two years ago,
with an overwhelming majority behind
| them, his group went to the national con-
vention, ousted three-fourths of the ring
and put in their own men He himself
| took no office.
| But reform waves are as common In
unions as in politics. The old teamster
ring made last desperate effort. Helped
| las has been proved since) by some s., OK
! from huge Chicago concern, which wantei
a strike to be called on the house of It's
| rival, the ring rose and scattered money
far and wide and shouted speeches about
+, the rights Of workngmen and began the
| great strike of 1905, which threw Chicago
| 'nto chaos.
| Ridder spoke against the strike and told
the truth about it-and faced the storm
| one day on a crowded street he was met
| by one of the ring, who had offered him
money before. This time the man only
smiled.
Frank" he said, 81 guess you know me
pretty well. This is a big game, amt IT.
1t would be a pity to let one mans If,
stand in the way"
That's all right john" said Rider
comfortingly You know I spent fv,
years down in Arizona. And"-he put his
hand in his pocket-"one mans life dom
need pity"
When the long, useless, shameful strike
was over. the only teamsters allowed tC
retain their union buttons were the mem
bers of Riders little union. which he haC
kent out Of the strike. Then, little by
little, the man who had been cursed al
over Chicago as "the employers spy who
sold out his friends" was again restored t
power. Very slowly, for the ring wal
strong and rich, and the masses were sus
picious In the end Riders new homes