The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-09-13
COST OF THE STRIKE.
The Losses of Property by the Railroad
Riots.

The Losses OF Property by the Railroad
Riots.
The following estimate of losses by the
recent railroad war is from the Milwaukee
Ne,OS:
The losses to the railroads by the re-
cent strikes and riots foot up an enor-
nous amount. They cannot be detailed
with accuracy, and nearly all the figures
given are estimates. These losses in
clude the following items:
Track, rolling stock, depots and other
property destroyed.
Perishable articles of freight, which
became valueless during the blockade.
some starved to death, by stoppage of
cattle trains.
Destruction of oil ON the Pennsylvania
road by wreck of trains.
Contracts annulled and the claims of
freighters for losses for non-performance
of contract.
Other items of losses and destruction
of property of all classes and variety not
enumerated in the above schedule will
greatly increase the aggregate, but these
details of losses by the various roads are
appalling in magnitude:
Baltimore and Ohio. lo...............p 3, $50, 600
PENNSYLVANIA Central. ............. 10000 0
Pittsburgh Ft. Wayne and Chicago 1000, 900
New York Central. Observation-Disclosures. 100000
Eric railroad. d....................... 1900, 600
Lake Shore railroad. ................ 1000, 600
Michigan Central. al................. 1000. 600
Canada Southern. n.................. 700, 900
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western 1000, 600
Delaware and Hudson. on.............. 1900, 900
Jersey Central. Observation-Disclosures. 100000
Chicago and Rock Island. ......... 800, 900
Total destruction and loss of rail-
road property. $21, $50 900
The railroads have lost S21, 750, 600 by
property destroyed and damages, which
| they have been or will be compelled to
pay on contracts. But beyond these
items the losses are immense. Business
men in the disturbed States are losers to
the amount of $6,000,000. Taxpayers
in the cities and States which by law
make municipal corporations responsible
for property destroyed by mob violence,
will be called on to pay in taxes $40,
100000 to $12, 100000. In addition to
this the NeaUs has heretofore estimated,
and the estimate is doubtless correct
one in the main, that 1, 10000 employees
of railroads, manufactures, mines, ETC.,
earning on an average $1.75 day, were
thrown out of employment for ten days,
making loss to each man of ST. SO OF
ST., 800, 900 as the total to the employees
for lost time and wages by the strike.
This makes the entire loss by destruc.
ton of property and annihilation OF
wages by the strike foot up the enor.
nous sum of $57, ,250,0O0.
The railroad men did not do all this.
The strike originated with them. But
such vast proportions. The greater
amount of the damage was done by
tramps and the desperate and criminal
classes who have no sympathy with
labor, OF it's srlfferings, or it's inheritance
of sorrow, but who are mere vagabonds
brigands and highwaymen, whose hands
are against every man, and who woult
rob at every opportunity the laborer o
the last cent he had in his pocket as thu
wages of his toll.
The destruction of property has made
the country so much poorer, and thu
losses of every laboring man will be som'
part of this amount.