Author: Gurdon W. Wattles

Publisher:

Published: 2015-08-05

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 9781332317028

Excerpt from A Crime Against Labor: A Brief History of the Omaha Council Bluffs Street Railway Strike, 1909 It is the purpose of this narrative to preserve in comprehensive form the history of the industrial crime that, in September, 1909, shook the city of Omaha and adjoining municipalities to their outermost environs; paralyzed for some days the business and social interests of 250,000 people; temporarily withdrew from 500 men and their families the means of livelihood; and ultimately left 150 of them to search elsewhere for new occupation. It is the story of the strike of the union operating carmen in the employ of the Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway Company, the service corporation operating the traction systems of the cities of Omaha, South Omaha, Council Bluffs, and the suburbs of Benson, Florence and Dundee. The facts herein presented are taken from authentic records. A large portion, relating to conferences held, first with a view of preventing a strike, and later with a view of settling the strike, is reprinted from the transcript of the court reporter who made a stenographic report of the proceedings at the time of their occurrence. A portion is reproduced from the editorial and news columns of the daily newspapers, while statements of some of the public officials and most prominent business men of the city, as well as of several of the striking and non-union employees of the company, are presented in order that the facts may be truthfully set forth without undue prejudice or color. It has been the effort of the historian to present the case on its attendant merits and demerits, chronicling the things that actually occurred and arranging them in chronological order, that the reader may be informed as to all the phases of the situation that developed, and reach the understanding that comes of accurate knowledge. Such knowledge is a prerequisite, if the blame or responsibility for what occurred is to be unerringly fixed. That a grave responsibility rests somewhere is evident, but it is for the future to call it to account, either at the bar of public opinion or to those misguided men who were most grievously wronged. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.