The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-08-02
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! The Railroad War. e.

@,'~>t - The koflrO4d War; s. : -
The excitement which had ragged IL
Pittsburg for the past two or three days cu1
minated in fearful scenes of hloodshed, fire and
pillage, on the night Of the 21st, and up to 8
late hour Of the ed, during which interval
the entire city was ut the mercy of moi
estimated to number 25,O00 men. The out
break grew out Of the arrival of the Phtladel
phia militia late in the evening of the 21st
when the mob attacked them and forced them
into the round house for shelter, after killing
Fife and badly wounding Gen. Brenton
commanding the militia. That night and
next day, over 5 600 cars laden with merchan.
disc, and railroad buildings covering twenty
blocks were destroyed. The soldiers being
driven from the round house which was
burned over their. heads, sought: safety by
| flight Late on the afternoon Of the ed the
! citizens formed vigilance committees and
guarded the town all night ahd restored com.
parative order. In Baltimore strong guards
of military and police patrolled the city and
preserved order.
From small beginnings the railroad
employees strike has assumed mammoth,
proportions and today is more or less cffec.
tually in force in every State from the Missis.
sippl to the ssaboard. Factory workmcn
miners and laborers in most of the large cities
are in full sympathy with the strikers and in
many cases, are giving the latter material and
| assistance. There is, however, among the
majority Of the strikers manifest indisposi.
ton to resort to violencc-the terrible scenes
enacted at Pittsburgh and Baltimore having
In this respect at least, borne good fruit.
Still the strikers are daily growing in mum.
bcrs. and as yet their avowed determination
to prevent the running Of freight trains is in
most instances strictly enforced In Pitts
burg since the terrible scenes of Saturday
night and Sunday quiet and order have pre-
vailed though the excitement still runs high
In Reading serious outbreak occurred on the
night of the ed, in which the Labanon Rail.
road bridge across the Schuylkin was fired
and burned as were also five or more cars.
The object of this wholesale destruction is
said to bc to prevent the passage of troops
through the city to Pittsburgh The strike, it
is reported, is now in force all along the Penn.
sylvania Road as we'll as its leased lines. In
Buffalo early on the afternoon of the 23d, 2,OOO
rioters attacked 200 soldiers who were guard
ing the Lake shore round house and captur-
ing the. building barricadcd it with cars.
Engineers of the Erie and Lake shore Road
have agreed with the flremen not to run with
green hands. In Cleveland the strike is gen.
eral and the blockade complete In Colum-
bus the strikers went through the city and
forced the closing of the shops and manufac-
tories. No violence was committed but the
embargo on the trains were strictly NAM
taincd. In St. Louis, the situation is about
the same. Most of the railroads centcring
there are involved in the strike and SO far all
efforts at compromise have failed In Chica-
go movements indicating possibility of a strike
have taken place. and the excitement is very
great.
The great strike still continues to
swell and at this time, ,25th inst involves nearly
every prominent road in the country Mail
trains alone are allowed to run without inter-
ruption but on almost every line a complete
embargo on freight and an almost entire sus-
pension OF passenger travel have been estab-
lished and strictly enforced. Scenes of vio
lcnce and intimidation have occurred at sever
al widely distant points, but as vet
nothing approaching the horror of
Pitsburg and Baltimore has been reenacted
except at Reading, Pa, where very serious
and unfortunate affair occurred on Monday
night, the 25th. Fuller details of this melee
show that as seven companies of State Nation
al Guards arrived at the depot, about p. m.,
they were assailed by the mob with stones
&C., when they immediately began firing into
the large mass of people in the vicinity
among whom were many respectable
citizens, ladies and children. Five persons
were instantly killed and twenty fvc wounded,
several mortally. Among the latter were
seven police, including Chief Cullen who had
narrow escupe, the ball having struck a
large memorandum book which he carried
in the breast pocket of his coat, which saved
his life. Great excitement then prevailed
The mob forthwith broke into the armory
of the Reading Rifles, carried of
all the guns and sacked other gun
stones. They threatened vengeance upon the
military, and tearing up the tracks soon c.
tablished complete blockade of all passenger
and freight traffic. Strong gnards were put
around the railroad machine shops and other
buildings, and several companies of U. 8
troops were expected soon to arrive. Later
reports show the number of killed to be 81, and
wounded 1.-THE latter being soldiers.
In Pittsburg, mob rule has run its course and
law and order have been restored This was
| accomplished by the vigorous measures of
the civil authorities aided by the citizens who
strongly guarded the city at every point.
Every thing is now running quietly, the civil
authorities having complete coutrol. Arrests
OF all suspicious parties are being made,
and the n0rfipa r1noa6 In Aro
ment. In making arrests. the strikers
areaiding the civil authorities, and these have
also been joined by the workmen from various
manufacturing establishments. In Philadel.
pllia, the Erie train men struck, on the night
of the 23d, and next morning compelled the
shop hands and machinests to follow their ex
ample. Great excitement but no disorder,
Police force has been doubled, giving that de-
partmcnt 2,4O0 men, and the Grand Army
have also offered to contribute from their
organization fifteen hundred veterans.
The strike has become general among all the
roads in the iron regions md also extends to
the miners. Considerable uneasiness is felt in
Scrntonaand surrounding county. The en-
ployes of the Central New Jersey and its bran.
ches have also joined in and the road is closed
to all but passenger trains At Buffalo, at
midnight on the 23d grcatexcitemcnt prevailed
prevailed and several collisions between the
mob and the military ended. The Lake Shore
Paint shop and a number of cars were burned
by the rioters. Several persons were killed
and many more wounded. At Indianapolis
the situation is very serious, none but ladies
unaecompanied being allowed to leave the
Union depot, Of which the strikers took
possession at midnight on the 2srd.
Passenger travel on all roads ccntering in In.
dianapolis, is interrupted. In Cincinnati all