page_title: Scranton general strike
section_title: Events of August 1st
hierarchical_section_title: Scranton general strike / Events of August 1st
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: strikerscommunis00pink (find matches) Title: Strikers, communists, tramps and detectives Year: 1878 (1870s) Authors: Pinkerton, Allan, 1819-1884 Marian S. Carson Collection (Library of Congress) DLC Subjects: Railroad Strike, U.S., 1877 Tramps Publisher: New York, G. W. Carleton &amp; Co. Contributing Library: The Library of Congress Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: e crowd then lifted I ather Dunn from thecrowd and bore him bodily away to a place of safety.• At this moment there was seen marching down Lacka-waima Avenue, from the companys store, a body of armedmen with repeating rifles and fixed bayonets. It was aposse which had been some time previously organized bythe Mayor, and the^^ were now coming to his assistance, athis request. They saw him bleeding at the street corner,as they crossed Wasliington Avenue. Just as they wereapproaching him for instructions, the mob attacked themfuriously. A large crowd had also followed them, andbegan firing pistols upon them from behind. The companyinnnediately wheeled about and fired. Some aimed overthe crowd, and others fired with fatal effect killing fourmen and wounding others. The mob broke and fled in every direction&#160;; but the com-pany kept on firing wherever they could see a threateningcrowd, and these volleys completely rid the streets ofrioters. The ghastly picture presented upon the streets as Text Appearing After Image: TROUBLES IN THE GOAL REGIONS. 333 the mob fled was horrible. On the corner near the drug-store where Mayor&#160;:McCune had his wounds dressed, lay aman with the top of his head torn off and his blood andbrains scattered on the sidewalk. Three others in Aemiddle of the street were strnggling in the last agonies 06death&#160;; and large numbers of wounded were being carriedinto di-ng-stores, or to their homes, by their friends. This ended the ))lo()dslied and riot at Scranton. On thenext day, General Brinton with three thousand troops, who,from their experiences at Pittsburg and elsewhere, we)-e in acondition of feeling which would permit of no trifling, ar-rived in the city, and immediate and effective measureswere taken to pnt down the tei-rible lawlessness and dis-order which seemed everywhere rampant. Notwithstand-ing the wounds of the Mayor, his bravery never desertedhim, and on Friday, the 29th, at the head of a posse, hecompelled tlie closing of the sahx)ns, though every mannerof threat a Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: The Scranton general strike was a widespread work stoppage in 1877 by workers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which took place as part of the Great Railroad Strike, and was the last in a number of violent outbreaks across Pennsylvania. The strike began on July 23 when railroad workers walked off the job in protest of recent wage cuts, and within three days it grew to include perhaps thousands of workers from a variety of industries.
  Many had returned to work when violence erupted on August 1 after a mob attacked the town's mayor, and then clashed with local militia, leaving four dead and many more wounded. State and federal troops were called to the town, and imposed martial law. Minor acts of violence continued until the last of the strikers returned to work on October 17, having won no concessions. More than a score of those involved in the shooting were arrested for murder, and later tried and found not-guilty of the crime of manslaughter. Two were tried and one convicted in libel suits related to published criticism of the militia. The militia would go on to be reformed into a battalion of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
context_section_description: On August 1, as many as 5,000 strikers converged on an open space between a hill and the city's iron mills at 8:00 a.m. They censured those in the companies who had returned openly to work, as well those working in secret. During the meeting, an activist showed a forged letter claiming that Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company would reduce wages to $0.35 per day. W. W. Scranton, manager of the company, later denied this, but the rumor spurred an angry protest. Men yelled, "Go for the shops!," and the crowd moved against the Lackawanna Iron and Coal facilities. They routed other workers and injured some.
  In response, W. W. Scranton (along with First Sergeant Bartholomew, as Captain Ripple was out of town) led an assembly of his own employees and the Citizens' Corps. The Mayor confronted the crowd and urged them to halt, but was struck by a man, knocked down, and badly injured. Cries went up from the crowd, "The Mayor is killed!" He escaped however, aided by Father Dunn, who was carried away by the throng.
   
  W. W. Scranton's assembly met with the group near Washington Ave, with Bartholomew passing into the crowd along with those following him.  As they went they were assailed with jeers of "See the damn vigilantes! We'll take their guns!"  Several were struck and knocked down by stones and clubs, with shouts of "Go for their guns, they have only blank cartridges; kill the sons-of-bitches." Pistols were fired and one of the posse was wounded in the knee.
  An order was given to fire, though it's doubtful it was heard, and three volleys were released into the crowd. which was quickly dispersed, leaving four dead or dying.  Estimates of the wounded vary from 16 to 54. Father Dunn returned to comfort the mortally wounded.
  Over 200 members of the Citizens' Corps were mustered and posted as guards along the streets. At 11:30 AM Mayor McKune issued the following proclamation:
  I hereby order all places of business to be immediately closed and all good citizens to hold themselves in readiness to assemble at my headquarters, at the office of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, upon a signal of four long whistles from the gong at the blast furnaces.
  He also wired the Governor, who informed that the National Guard brigade from Philadelphia, which had been on the way home from quelling riots in Pittsburgh, had been diverted and were en route to Scranton.
  The night passed relatively quietly. Two spies were apprehended hiding in a lumber box wagon, attempting to ascertain the strength and activity of the Corps. They were questioned and released with assurances that the Corps was well prepared for any attack. In the early morning an attack was attempted on W. W. Scranton's residence, but was averted by the patrols that had been dispatched.
caption: Attack upon Mayor McKune. Father Dunn is seen on the left attempting to restrain members of the mob.
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