Labor troubles in McCook

The Burlington railroad first arrived in McCook in 1882. At that time McCook consisted of just a few sod buildings, doubling as the U.S. Post Office, general store, and hotel, going by the name of Fairview. When the railroad decided to make this the Division Point on the line between Denver and Lincoln, the community took the name of McCook, and McCook became a booming "metropolis" on the banks of the Republican River.

By 1892, some 516 men were employed in the passenger and freight departments of the Burlington in McCook, and their monthly pay amounted to over $22,000 -- the life blood for the new little city. There were five miles of track in the McCook railroad yards and 23 yard men were bustling -- handling 29,000 cars of freight for the year of 1892. This all painted a rosy picture of McCook and Father Burlington, but first the RR and the City had to endure a serious strike.

Signs of trouble began brewing in 1888, when a general strike of Locomotive Engineers and Locomotive Firemen had brought traffic to a complete stop on the CB & Q RR system in February, 1888. From that time until summer the strike was a disturbing factor over the Burlington Route, which caused the public much concern.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers was the strongest union, but also the most reputable of the railroad unions. In the past they had always been able to settle grievances through arbitration with the Burlington. This time the railway workers presented their demands: 1st, that their pay be governed by miles instead of by the day; second, they insisted that their average pay be increased, and that the classification system be abolished. A press dispatch from McCook stated that 200 Burlington Engineers and Firemen would be striking and all trains would be left at division stations. The men were determined the strike should settle their grievances -- but there would be no noise or display. But neither would the boys respond when called to go on their runs the next day.

The railroad responded by sending an agent to Reading, Penn., to employ all the trainmen he could hire -- men who had been idled by strikes in the East. The Reading strikers notified Burlington General Manager Stone in Chicago that they would send 300 engineers the very next day.

In McCook the excitement was intense, hundreds of people filling the railroad yards, watching every move made by the company and the strikers. Dispatchers emphasized that the Engineers' Committee stood ready at all times to carry Uncle Sam's (mail) business.

The company made an effort to start a train east, but it was stopped by the strikers, who ran a mile down the track, side-tacked it, and "killed it." The headquarters of the Engineers' Brotherhood wired $1,000 for the McCook Engineers disposal and promised more if needed.

On Feb. 28, the company announced its intention to start a train east and called upon the sheriff to summon several McCook Citizens to act as special officers of the law and protect the new men manning the train. Not one man responded to the plea. Furthermore, 40 McCook businessmen signed a protest against the order, saying there was no need for sheriff deputies, pointing out that there was no rioting, no danger to life, and no damage to property.

The day following this incident 50 Pinkerton agents arrived in McCook from Chicago.

Under their watch, the company was able to get out three passenger trains, one west, two east. The Pinkerton men patroled the yard and watched everyone who ventured near the depot. At the same time the Deputy U.S. Marshall and several other lawmen from Omaha arrived in McCook to arrest several strikers on the charge of interfering with the U.S. Mail.

A mass meeting was held in McCook denouncing the actions of the Company, and sarcastically reported, "If such be the case we think the company has good friends on McCook, which owes its very existence and prosperity to the same company."

The McCook Democrat reported, "Engineer McEnroy, of McCook, was seriously beaten by one of the Pinkerton men. He had refused to leave the platform when ordered and had made threats against the detectives, hence the beating." However, the Chief of the Pinkerton detectives reported that "Everything is peaceful, other than the putting of soap in a few engine tanks."

As the weeks of the strike wore on the strikers gradually abandoned the daily meetings. With no sign of a settlement many drifted off to take other jobs. By April the railroad was operating efficiently enough to get along with a normal operating schedule. The strikers weakened in their demands and a growing number were anxious to have their old jobs back---at the same pay.

In April George Ward Holdrege, the general manager of the B&M Railroad, in charge of everything west of the Missouri, visited McCook as part of his inspection trip. He said, "The backbone of the strike is entirely broken and our road is not feeling effects of it now, except in a desultory way. We have a full quota of engineers, firemen, and switchmen, and they are as efficient and in some instances a good deal more so, than the old men ... We are paying them good wages, about the average paid by roads around us. I think we have lost nothing ... We are in the right and I think the result has improved the general condition of railroads around the country. It has taught men that they cannot run the companies upon which they are employed."

In July, a delegation of Burlington officials stopped in McCook to determine the attitude of the strikers on the terms offered by the Company. Again, the strikers were cordial in welcoming the company officials to McCook. The strikers were receiving $40 per month during the strike. The total amount paid to Nebraska strikers was estimated to be some $60,000. Though cordial the strikers made it clear that they would continue on with the strike.

The strike was finally settled in January 1889. The Burlington dictated the terms, and they also agreed to hire men as needed from the Brotherhoods, and to recommend others to anyone who would give them employment.

The McCook strike was seen as just one incident in a great movement of unrest that was sweeping the nation, which especially affected relations between capital and labor. The strikers had suffered. They had lost much, and gained nothing, but the Burlington, while proclaiming victory, had suffered losses too. An editorial in the Omaha Bee News said, "A majority of the people who take an intelligent and disinterested view of the matter are favorable to the cause of the engineers. This unfortunate state of affairs could have been averted had the Burlington officials been willing to do what is being done by 99 percent of the railroads in the country."

Source: "Father Burlington," by Harry Culbertson, as quoted in Marion McClelland's "An Early History of McCook