The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-08-14
The Mayor Of Scranton. Pa, tells his
Story.

The strike at Scranton aud the inyesti-
cations that followed has brought ont the
following account from the mayor, who it
seems stood boldly up for law and order,
and now comes TO the front and shoulders
the responsibility for the shooting. A cor
respondent Of the Philadelphia Times
gives the following account as told him By
the mayor himself
up to yesterday morning Thursday,
August q was under the impression that
matters would be settled without the inter-
vention of the military. The Delaware,
Lackawaua and Western cars we're moving,
the pumps were going and from all indica-
tions l could gather | expected to have
had to say that the miners were going to
work to-day. About 10 o'clock l was In
my Office holding court when information
came that the mob were driving the men
away from the company's shop and
furnaces. In company with Lieutenant
Browne, of my police force, / started
toward the stores, and in passing Wash
ington avenue l saw a large and excited
crowd around the shops. Here also a
young employe met me with a request
from Mr.. Mckinney, saying that his
daughter, who was the telegraph operator
at the compsny's shop, was inside the
building aud should be rescued. walked
hastily down through the crowd some eight
hundred feet and found the door fastened.
The young man then said that it was all
right. As was going through the crowd
l ordered them to dispense, and when
found the door fastened l attempted to
return. had proceeded about fifteen
steps, when lot of half grown boys began
to jostle me, and one OF them struck me
in the face. Immediately, however. upon
this several of the workingmen whom ]
knew as personal acquaintance formed q
Gordon, as it were about me, but they, too,
were about becoming overpowered by the
pressure of the yelling mob when Father
Dunn came up. Immediately he threw
the authority of the priesthood about me
and ordered the men to stand back and do
me no harm. In this way we made about
hundred feet towards the avenue, the
crowd yelling and Footing all the time.
The leaders Of the mob then, seeing the
determined spirit Of the priest, made a
rush at him, caught him and took him
bodily away from my side. was then
about three hundred feet from the avenue,
every approach to which was damned with
a mob Of excited people. In the mean
while had been pressed by the crowd so
much that gave the signal to one Of my
men to ring the alarm bell, which was the
sign to the armed men under my orders to
turn out Before reaching the avenue the
Gordon Of friendly workingmen which had
protected me thus far from bodily harm
became disintegrated. and was atEtht
mercy Of the mob. But at this moment
also | saw my posse, armed with forty
rifles, marching down the street, headed
by Lieutenant Browne, an old confederate
soldier. The crowd then surged up agains
me with even more violence, and L wa
struck several times. When, however, TIT
posse was Immediately opposite me in thu
street, and within twenty-five feet of me,
got the worst blow of all on the back of m!
head. Shots were then being fred at my
men, and one of them dropped out of thu
ranks as though he was shot. Then
gave the order to FIRE as we'll as l could
l am perfectly willing to assume the re
sponsibility Of giving the order to fire. y
The mayors face looked as though b
had been at Donuybrook Fair and hat
gotten pretty badly beaten with shillalah