Litchfield enquirer., 1877-07-26
The Railroad War.


 even as far west as St. Louis. The principal disturbances have hither- to been on the Baltimore & Ohio, the Pennsylvania Central. and the Erie rail- roads.
 As far as we can learn the strike has grown out of general reduction on all the lines, of ten per cent. The lowest wages paid seem to be those on the Balti- more & Ohio road which gives its fremen and brakemen from S1.50 to $1.75 day, however, it should also be- understood, that the strikers claim that they get, at these rates, only three or at most four full days works in the week, and are much away from home and on expense. Hence the Pennsylvania strikers claim that they actually receive, at the reduced pay, but 75 cents day.. Whatever the fact may be about this, there can be no claim of right on behalf of the strikers to interfere with the passage of trains. It is out of this unlawful interference that such terrible destruction of property and such lamentable effusion of blood, have arisen.
 The affair began to assume serious pro- portions on Tuesday of last week. when the first blood was shed in collision be- tween the strikers and company of mili- tia at Martinsburg, West Virginia. The riot CTS were irritated instead of being quelled, and, the next day, especially when It ap- peared that the small force of militia at his command was utterly unreliable, Gov. Mathews. of that state, was compelled to call on President Hayes for assistance. The President at once responded with proclamation ordering the West Virginia rioters to disperse, and by sending on 25O government troops to Martinsburg, who overawed the rioters at that place and en- abled the company to start several trains. On Friday there was bloody affray be. tween the Sixth Maryland regiment and the insurgents at Baltimore, in which ten people were killed. The Governor of Ma ryland. however, called out more troops, and by prompt action and thorough SUD- port from the police of the city, seems to have substantially quelIed the riot. h. deed, although there seems to be no full resumption of traffic, as yet, the Baltl-. more & Ohio appears to have succeeded in recovering virtual possession of it's own road.
 The chief theatre of instruction, how ever, has been at Pittsburgh. The strike on the Pennsylvania Central did not be- gin till Thursday. The next day, inetfec- tual attempts were made to quell the dis turbance by the use of local militia, with little success, and finally troops were sent west from Philadelphia, to the number ot of about nine hundred, to operate against the rioters in Pittsburgh. There were many causes that combined to render the result of this expedition most disastrous. The people of Pittsburgh seem to have been in general sympathy with the strike; there were numbers of unemployed mill hands and miners in the city, increasing the number of it's dangerous class, always large; and hence when the instruction was fairly begun the rioters were able to paralyze all local efforts for the restoration of order, leaving the Philadelphia trnnra alone in their fight with half the popula- tion of Pittsburgh. No sooner did these troops arrive ill the city on Saturday, than they were received with hostile demon strations, and finally, on being assaulted by the rioters, they fired upon them, killing several persons. and among them, it is said, one of the local militia. This mis- adventure was made the pretext, by the two Pittsburgh regiments under arms in the city, for disbanding and leaving the Philadelphians to their fate. Then com menced the most terrific riot and destruc- ton of property by mob violence ever known in this country. The Philadelphia troops were driven into 6he Company 6 '.rouud house." Here they were repeat edlv attacked by the mob who finally set the building on fire. Several soldiers were killed and the rest finally forced their way through their assailants and leaving fifteen of their number to be burnt alive, escaped outside the city. For more than twenty four hours the rioters were in full posses sion of the city, and they occupied their time in destroying the buildings, burning and plundering the cars of the company thus left entirely to their mercy. The loss of life is said to have exceeded one hundred. One hundred and thirty-6ve engines were destroyed in the round house and property was destroyed and stolen to the amount of from -four to sig million dollars. Sunday night the respectable citizens of Pittsburgh began to organize into vigilance committee; the rioters, ,sa- ted with plunder and destruction, had re l tired to their homes and order was grad ually restored. a
 In New York the strike has as yet been confined to the Erie road, on Whicb traf.
 fic has been blockaded at Hornellsviile.
 A strike is now threatened on the New
 
 York Central, and Governor Robinson has ordered all the militia of the state to hold itself in readiness for immediate service Pres. Hayes has issued @ proclamation to the Pennsylvania rioters. and is gath
 ering the troops together as fast as possi'
 ble.
 In Ohio and Indiana the strikers have
 succeeded in stopping trains, and the mi
 litia ordered out seems almost as unrelia
 ble as that of Pittsburgh. t@.4 s l A letter from Major Montgomery il
 Saturdays Tribune seems to establish tht
 fact that Farragut actually dashed himsel
 to the rigging of the Hartford, during tn.