USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 57
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In June, 1877, S. H. H. Clark, superintendent of the Union Pacific Railroad. received instructions from his superiors to make a reduction in the wages of cer- tain employees of the company. An order to that effect was promulgated, but it met with such serious opposition that it was rescinded. Thus the Union Pacific averted a strike. The railroads east of the Missouri River were not so fortunate. On Saturday, June 23, 1877, a meeting of railroad employees was held at Council Bluffs. Resolutions setting forth the rate of wages demanded by each class of workmen were adopted, and the announcement was made that if the demands were not acceded to by noon of the following Tuesday they would strike.
At the appointed time, the demands having been ignored by the railway officials, a large number of men employed by the railroads in Iowa went out on strike. Rumors that the Union Pacific bridge over the Missouri River was to be destroyed floated about and a guard of fifty men was organized for its protection. For a time all freight cars belonging to the Union Pacific Company were kept on the west side of the river and the bridge guard was kept on duty until it was known that the trouble was over. Traffic between Nebraska and the East was greatly interfered with, but there was no strike in Omaha.
As is usual in times of industrial unrest, the great army of tramps that came to Omaha became such a menace that heroic measures were deemed necessary to deal with the situation. A vigliance committee of 200 men was quietly organized, very few having knowledge of the movement except those actually interested.
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These men were sworn in as special officers, each having full power to make arrests. They were then divided into squads, each in charge of a captain, and assigned to the various wards of the city. At a late hour one night this special force started out as a general "drag-net," and every man that could not give a good account of himself was placed under arrest. By daylight nearly four hundred men had been arrested. The city jail was soon filled, after which the others were locked up in box cars standing upon the railroad tracks. Some of the men were able to give satisfactory explanations of their presence in Omaha and were released, a few were given short sentences in jail and a large number were admonished to leave Omaha and never return.
Hardly had the last echoes of the great railroad strike ceased to reverberate when the Omaha Smelting Works reduced the wages of the men employed in the works to $1.75 for a day of twelve hours. On November 1, 1877, the men struck, but the matter was adjusted in a few days on the basis of $1.25 for a day of nine hours.
The compromise was not satisfactory to either side, but the arrangement continued until the spring of 1880, when there was another and more serious strike of the workmen. The company sent agents to Kansas City and other places to engage men to take the places of the strikers. About one hundred men, all negroes, were thus secured and while on the way to Omaha were supplied with arms and ammunition in anticipation of an assault when the strike breakers attempted to go to work. On the morning of May 21, 1880, the day the negroes were to begin, large crowds gathered around the smelter. The works were guarded by armed men, but the strikers offered no violence. During the day they managed to reach the negroes and present arguments that induced most of them to agree to return to their homes, provided their railroad fare was paid. They stated that they knew nothing of a strike at the works until the arms and ammunition were given them on the train. The strikers and their friends soon raised a fund of about three hundred dollars to send the colored men back to their homes, but the officers of the company called on Governor Nance for assistance to protect their property. Governor Nance ordered Capt. J. N. Lawson's company, of Columbus, and Capt. C. M. Copp's company, of Wahoo, to the smelting works and later ordered Captains Crager and Bolln, of Omaha, to report to the officers of the smelting company. In Captain Bolln's company were a number of young mechanics who were in sympathy with the strikers and they refused to obey the order, only about fifteen men reporting for duty. A few days later the strike was settled by arbitration and the militia were dismissed.
A great strike occurred in the spring of 1882, in connection with the improve- ment of the grounds of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in the eastern part of the city. The contract for the grading had been let to James Stephenson and included the removal of a large amount of earth east of Eighth Street, between Howard and Farnam streets, and the filling up of a pond. Stephenson started out by paying his men $1.50 per day, but in March served notice that the wages would be reduced to $1.25. A general strike followed the announcement and Stephenson then offered to compromise on $1.40. That proposition was indignantly rejected. Meetings were held in Jefferson Square in the day time and in the Academy of Music and other halls of evenings. One evening a large procession of the strikers and their sympathizers marched through the streets
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to Mr. Stephenson's livery barn on Harney Street, in front of which they hanged in effigy a man who was supposed to represent the type of laborer who would work for $1.25 per day. Public sympathy was largely with the strikers and a fund was raised for the support of their families until the strike shoul be settled. It was finally resolved by the strikers to demand $1.75 per day and to remain out until the demand was granted.
Mr. Stephenson was between two fires. On the one hand the railroad com- pany was urging him to hurry forward the completion of the work, and on the other the men refused to remove a shovelful of earth until their demands were granted. At last the contractor told a committee that he would pay $1.50 a day until the weather became more settled, when he would pay $1.75. He also agreed to pay the men every week. The committee reported in favor of accepting this proposition, but it was rejected by a meeting of the men.
The railroad company then undertook to complete the grading, bringing a force of men up from Plattsmouth in the morning and taking them back in the evening. As soon as it was learned that this move was to be made, the strikers declared that the men from Plattsmouth should not be permitted to do the work. James E. Boyd, then mayor of the city, was invited to address a meeting of the strikers at Metz's Hall on Tuesday evening, March 7, 1882. In the course of his address he referred to his own experience in earlier years, when he worked as a mechanic for less wages than the strikers had refused. He urged the men either to return to work or refrain from molesting the men employed by the railroad company. While the men listened respectfully to the mayor, it was plainly to be seen that his suggestions did not meet with their approval. Two days later a procession of some twenty-five hundred men marched down Farnam Street to the grounds where the men from Plattsmouth were at work, guarded by a de- tachment of special police. The force was insufficient, however, to withstand the sudden rush of the strikers, whose plans had been well laid and were now as well executed. Several shots were fired by both sides and three of the Platts- mouth men were injured. Shovels, wheeled scrapers and other utensils were thrown into the pond by the strikers, who returned to the city elated over their victory.
The evening before this assault was made, Superintendent Holdrege of the Burlington, accompanied by several gentlemen, went on a special train to Lin- coln to hold a conference with Governor Nance respecting the situation. On the 9th, immediately after the assault, Mayor Boyd and Sheriff Miller sent the fol- lowing communication to the governor : "A mob of three thousand or four thou- sand men drove laborers from their work on the Burlington grounds and seriously injured three men. We are powerless to keep the peace, and call upon you to enforce the laws and protect peaceable laborers from mob violence. We are of the opinion that United States troops are absolutely necessary to restore quiet and that the militia would be insufficient. We have just been informed that today notice is to be served on all manufacturers that their men must join the strike and remain idle until the difficulty is settled, and we fear danger."
Several business men of the city sent telegrams of the same general character to the governor, who immediately telegraphed President Arthur, requesting him to direct that the troops stationed at Fort Omaha be placed at the disposal of the mayor of Omaha and the sheriff of Douglas County. The President granted
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the request and the governor notified the companies of the First Regiment, Nebraska National Guard, to be ready to move to Omaha upon short notice. Two companies of the Fifth United States Cavalry came from Sidney, Neb., and on the 11th eight companies of the First Regiment of the National Guard arrived in Omaha, under the command of Colonel Colby. The militia encamped on the Burlington grounds, so as to be within call in case of trouble. Near by were the regulars, who bought a Gatling gun and a small howitzer.
The 12th being Sunday and none of the men at work, no trouble was antici- pated and the regular troops returned to Fort Omaha for the day. A large crowd assembled near the encampment of the militia to watch the regiment on dress parade. Some boys annoyed the soldiers by throwing stones and other missiles and Colonel Colby ordered (or rather requested) the crowd to disperse. Most of the people departed quietly, after which guards were stationed about the camp. \ little later George P. Armstrong, a man about sixty years of age, undertook to pass one of the sentries on Eighth Street and was ordered back. Either not understanding the order or ignoring it, he continued on his way and the sentry pointed a bayonet at him. Armstrong put his hand on the bayonet to turn it aside and a scuffle followed. Several guards hurried to the scene and a few minutes later the old man fell with a bayonet through his body. He was car- ried into the camp and again the crowd collected, but the excitement of the citi- zens was allayed by the surgeon's statement that the man's injuries were not of a serious nature. That night Armstrong died.
The presence of the soldiers in the city was displeasing to many of the citi- zens, and when it was learned the next morning that Armstrong was dead there was a general demand for the surrender of the guard who had mortally wounded him with the bayonet. Gustave Beneke, police judge, issued a warrant for the arrest of "John Doe," but when an officer went to serve it he was denied admis- sion to the camp. The sheriff and one of his deputies then went to the camp, but the man could not be identified and no arrest was made. Mr. Armstrong's funeral is said to have been "one of the most imposing ever witnessed in Omaha."
By Monday, the 20th, everything had quieted down and the last of the militia left the city. The railroad company then completed the work without further molestation. A special grand jury was called to investigate the raid of the strikers on the 9th (when the tools were thrown into the pond) and George (irooms, Daniel O'Keefe, John Quinn, Bernard Shannon, Edward Walsh and a man named Van Orman were indicted on the charge of "assault with intent to kill." The men were arrested, but were released on bail. At the next term of court their cases were continued, which practically ended the whole affair.
About 1879 or 1880 the telegraph operators of the country began the organiza- tion of the "Telegraphers' Brotherhood." By 1883 a large majority of the op- erators were members of this union and its officers demanded its recognition by the Western Union Telegraph Company, by asking that corporation to employ none but members of the brotherhood. This the telegraph company refused to do and the result was the great strike of the telegraph operators, which began at noon on July 19, 1883. At that hour the telegram "General Grant dropped dead," was sent out from the brotherhood headquarters. That message was the signal previously agreed upon. Operators who were not members of the broth- erhood knew nothing of its real meaning, but those who belonged to the
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THE BLACKSTONE HOTEL, OMAHA
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THE ROSE BUILDING, SIXTEENTH AND FARNAM STREETS, OMAHA
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order left their keys as soon as the message was received. There was no question of wages involved in this strike. Operators were making from $75 to $150 per month and the only question at issue was the recognition of the brotherhood. Twenty-three of the thirty-two operators employed in Omaha walked out, which somewhat crippled the service. The strike lasted until August 21, 1883, when the brotherhood gave up the fight. Many of the men returned to work, but the leaders of the movement were "blacklisted" by the telegraph company and were never afterward able to obtain a position with the Western Union.
The great railway strike on the lines of the Texas Pacific and Missouri Pacific systems in March, 1886, worked some inconvenience upon Omaha shippers, as the Knights of Labor refused to allow any cars to be moved upon the Missouri Pacific from March 5th to April Ist. The other roads centering in the city were not affected. In bitter sentiment and disastrous results, the strike equaled the great "walk out" of 1877. In Omaha there was no violence or destruction of property, but the tie-up of the Missouri Pacific was complete while it lasted.
Some trouble between employers and employees resulted from the enact- ment of the eight-hour law that was passed by the Nebraska Legislature in 1891, which declared eight hours to be a day's work for all except farm hands and domestics. The law went into effect on August 1, 1891, and immediately em- ployers began hiring their employees by the hour. Several strikes followed and, for the purpose of testing the constitutionality of the law, Samuel Rees, at the request of the Central Labor Union, employed men for more than eight hours a day. A test case was brought in the District Court before Judges Davis, Doane and Wakeley. The court held that the law was constitutional, though there was nothing in it to prevent an employer from making contracts with his employees, whereby they were to work more than eight hours per day. Where no such contract existed, eight hours constituted a legal day's work and any one working longer than that was entitled to reasonable pay for overtime. In a short time normal conditions were resumed, most of the men working by the hour for eight or ten hours per day, as occasion demanded.
On May 27, 1894, representatives of the different unions of railroad men met in New York and organized the American Railway Union, of which Eugene V. Debs was elected president. On the 13th of the following month, when the general convention of the Knights of Labor assembled in Chicago, that organiza- tion voted to cooperate with the American Railway Union in all matters relating to the welfare of railroad men. At that time the Pullman Palace Car Company was having some trouble with its employees and on June 22, 1894, the Knights of Labor and the American Railway Union ordered a boycott against Pullman sleeping and dining cars, to become effective at noon on Tuesday, the 26th, unless the differences were adjusted before that time. The trouble was not set- tled and the two great labor organizations ordered their members to handle no trains to which Pullman cars were attached. This was the beginning of one of the greatest railroad strikes in the history of the country.
Chicago, being near the Pullman shops, was the storm center. In Omaha the American Railway Union numbered about eight hundred and fifty members, only a few of them in actual train service, and the local organization decided not to strike on that account. On July 2, 1894, the employees of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad at Council Bluffs went on strike. They were members
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of the American Railway Union. The company promptly discharged the men and no attempt was made to run trains over that road for several days. At both Omaha and Council Bluffs the Knights of Labor waited for the word to strike, but it did not come. West of Nebraska the Union Pacific had some trouble, the rails being torn up at Rock Springs, Wyo., and Pocatello, Ida. General Brooke was ordered to protect the road and made Omaha the base from which troops were moved westward. By Monday, July 9th, soldiers were at all the strike points on the Union Pacific and some of the soldiers at Fort Omaha were sent to Montana to protect the railroads of that state. The result of the strike was the entire disintegration of the American Railway Union and the Knights of Labor.
The summer of 1894 was also noted for the "Army of the Commonweal," or the "Coxeyites," as the members of the army were commonly called, Jacob S. Coxey, of Ohio, first proposing that the unemployed men of the nation should march to Washington and present to Congress a petition "with boots on." On June 16, 1894, a contingent of the army from the West captured a train at Ogalalla, Neb., but it was released by deputies and several of the commonwealers were arrested. A large number of tramps gathered in Omaha during and just after the railroad strike, some of whom joined the Army of the Commonweal and others were ordered to leave the city.
When the whistles blew at 7 o'clock on Monday morning, July 30, 1894, to summon men to another week's work, 150 butchers in the beef killing department of the packing houses of Swift & Company and Hammond & Company at the Union Stock Yards refused to begin their labors until differences with the butchers' unions of Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago were satisfactorily adjusted. The strike soon spread to other packing establishments and on August Ist the ranks of the strikers were still further augmented by the "walk out" of the hog killers. The packing companies brought men from other cities to take the places of the strikers, the new arrivals cating and sleeping in the packing houses to avoid a conflict. Every street and alley leading to the stock yards was picketed by the strikers, who sought to hold interviews with the new men in hope of inducing them to leave Omaha. A proclamation was also issued by the strikers and printed in both English and Bohemian, warning men to stay away from the city, as a strike existed.
Notwithstanding this, the packers stated that they had more applications for work than they had places, though the number of animals killed daily showed that the plants were not running to the ordinary capacity. About 5 P. M. on August 8th there was some rioting on "Indian Hill," when some of the strikers and a party of the strike breakers chanced to come together. Clubs were freely used by both sides and revolvers were drawn, but only one shot was fired. Farther down Q Street about two hundred strikers, carrying a red flag at the head of the procession, started for the scene of the combat. They were met by some of the strikers who had been engaged in the riot and requested to proceed no further. The next morning the mayor of Omaha and the sheriff of Douglas County asked that militia be sent to the stock yards to preserve order. Lieu- tenant-Governor Majors at first declined to grant the request, but afterward reconsidered and ordered two companies to report in South Omaha early on the morning of the Ioth. Sheriff Drexel swore in 100 deputies and sent them to
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the packing house district until the troops could arrive. As the deputies marched through the streets they were greeted with cries of "Scabs," "Rats," "Hoboes," etc., but no actual violence was offered. The presence of the militia checked the rioting, order was restored, and a few days later the strike was settled.
There have been a few other labor disturbances at various times, but the strikes above enumerated were the ones that caused the most concern.
MURDER OF W. B. SMITII
From the time Nebraska was organized as a territory to the present day, the liquor question has been a subject of interest, and at times of political action. On March 16, 1855, Governor Izard approved an act of the first Terri- torial Legislature making it unlawful "for any person to manufacture, or give away, sell, or in any way, or by any manner or subterfuge, traffic, trade, exchange, or otherwise dispose of, any intoxicating liquors within this territory, to be used as a beverage."
The act was never enforced and on November 4, 1858, it was repealed by an act authorizing the county commissioners of the several counties in the ter- ritory to issue licenses, "to responsible applicants," to sell intoxicating liquors, the license fee to be not less than $25, or more than $500. Cities and incorporated towns were authorized to increase the annual license fee to $1,000.
In 1879 an effort was made in the Legislature to pass a prohibitory law. It was defeated, but the question came up again in the next session, when what is known as the "Slocumb Law" was passed as a sort of compromise measure. The law authorized the county commissioners to grant licenses for the sale of liquors "upon the petition of thirty resident freeholders of the town" (or precinct), but the board of commissioners had no power to grant licenses in cities or incorpo- rated villages, or within two miles thereof, and provisions were made for remonstrances against the granting of any license. Saloon keepers were made liable for damages sustained by any person as a result of the traffic, and there were other restrictions that were considered somewhat drastic by the liquor dealers.
At the time this law was passed there were 165 saloons in the City of Omaha, which then had a population of about thirty-two thousand. The city authorities fixed the license fee at $1,000, instead of $100 as it had formerly been, and this increase reduced the number of saloons. All attempts to enforce the provisions of the law were mnet by the most strenuous opposition on the part of certain liquor dealers.
Among those who were most active in seeing that the law was enforced was Col. Watson B. Smith, then clerk of the United States Courts. His activity nat- urally aroused the ire of some of the liquor dealers and he received a number of anonymous letters and postal cards warning him to cease his "persecution of a lawful business," as one of the letters termed his efforts to secure the enforce- ment of the law. It was Colonel Smith's custom to work in his office of even- ings, when there was anything that required his attention, and on several even- ings he was followed by one or more persons as he went from his office in the Federal building to his home. On the morning of November 5, 1881, his body was found lying in front of his office door on the third floor of the Federal
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building. He had been detained at the office until a rather late hour and from all appearances had reached the hall and was about to lock the door of his office when the fatal shot was fired. The body was lying in a pool of blood and upon examination a bullet hole was found through his head, while on the door casing was the mark of the bullet, after it had accomplished its fatal mission. Colonel Smith had been carrying a revolver since receiving the threatening let- ters. This weapon was found near the body, with one empty chamber, indicating that he had at least made an effort to protect himself, but in vain.
At the coroner's inquest it was shown that some one had noticed a light in Colonel Smith's office a few minutes after 10 o'clock on the evening of November 4, 1881, and the jury returned a verdict to the effect "that the deceased came to his death at the door of his office in the United States courthouse and post- office, in the City of Omaha, Neb., after 10 o'clock and fifteen minutes, on the night of November 4, 1881, by a gunshot wound through the head, inflicted by some person, or persons, unknown, and we do further find that the killing was premeditated murder."
In the afternoon following the inquest a mass meeting was held at the Academy of Music and $4,500 subscribed as a reward for the apprehension of the assassin. Additional subscriptions aggregating $500 were afterward taken, and an organization of liquor men called the Merchants and Manufacturers' Union offered a reward of $500. Still later Governor Nance added the $200 which the state was authorized to offer under such circumstances, making a total of $5,900 in rewards, none of which was ever paid and the mystery of Colonel Smith's death has never been solved.
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