Morning journal and courier., 1885-05-27
NOTES IN COLORADO.


 R. R. Shops-The Mystic Warning
 The Agitation and Excitement-
 Peaceful Measures Followed by Mob
 ViOlence-WOmen Drag . NOn-Strik-
 CT Through the Streets.
 DENVER, Col, May 20.-The wave of the
 ''strikers 3 agitation has just reached the
 base of the Rockies" and yesterday cul-
 minated in diminutive exhibition of moh violence. About two weeks ago the mana gers of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad men, giving as a reason that they had more men in their employment than they needed These were workmen in the "Burnham shops," located in Denver. The next morn. ing hundreds of notices printed in cipher
 thus: 0 5-9 2, 3,239) were found posted in all the shops of the railroad in Denver, Pueblo, Salida and elsewhere, which signifed that the workmen belonging to the Labor Union
 should simultaneously stop work on the fifth
 month. the fifth day, at o'clock a. m., and this order was signed ''3, 239, (which indicat- ed that it was an imperative command from
 the executive of the Knights of Labor" to strike. Nearly thousand men left their
 work, and, like Micawber, have since been waiting to see what would ''turn up."
 While the shopmen struck the Brotherhood of Engineers, with a sufficient number of
 men under their control, kept the trains moving, so that neither freight nor passenger
 trains have been in the slightest degree dis turbed in their movements. The engineers
 failed to sympathize with the strikers from
 the beginning, and there were enough non
 union men found to do the necessary work
 of the shops, so that the railroad suffered lit
 tie or no loss, while it saved 8 considerable
 sum of money it would otherwise have paid
 the strikers.
 The shopmen made an earnest effort to in
 duce the engineers to join them, in order to
 stop the running of the trains. In this they
 failed as the engineers could see sufficient reason for the strike, and they were satisfied with their relations to the railroad company
 But some of the strikers overstepped the bounds of legal propriety, in the use of lan- guage too earnestly persuasive, although they offered no physical violence. Three ot the shopmen were arrested for this conduct, and were arraigned before Judge Brewer in the United States District court for trial. The Denver and R. G. road is in the hands of receiver and by a process which places it under the authority of 8 United States court instead of the State or local jurisdiction. It was at once manifest that there would be t'no boys play" or trifiing with such 8 legal power.
 In the trial on the charge of contempt for endeavoring to stop the operation of the road, no reason could be given for the strike. It was intimated that the shopmen at Denver have grievances against the management, and particularly against unreasonable re- "bosses" The accused claimed that no Covert act" had been committed. But the three men were convicted. They were sentenced to the county. jail for ten days, thirty days and four months, respectively.
 Public meetings have been held on the two past Sabbath afternoons, at which seve- ral thousand workingmen were assembled and were addressed by number of excited leaders, who have very evidently misled their followers to take nasty and injudi- cious action. It appears that three or four men of quite ordinary thousands of laboring men absolutely under their control, and at their bidding these toil- CTS must, without hesitation question, their work on which their families al dependent for the necessaries of life. In this casesover $50, ,000 have been sacrificed by these men; and for what? No one can tell. And to-day the contest is ended by ab- ject submission of the strikers, many of whom returned to their work, while not few will not be restored to their position, but must seek employment elsewhere.
 On Sunday, after the decision of the court was announced, tremendous meeting was held at the rink, at which fiery denuncia- tions were uttered and great dissatisfaction was expressed with the action of the court and the state of things generally. But the assemblage was much smaller than on the previous Sunday and signs of collapse were apparent, except on the part of the noisy and obstreperous ones.
 On Monday morning between 6 and : o'clock crowd of some five 1rnI or1d dren gathered opposite the Denver and Rio Grande shops. It is said that not more than one-half of those who composed it were strikers, the remainder being made up of idle men present out of curiosity and the rabble generally present when there is probability of row. In the crowd were some forty or fifty women, many of them pushing baby carriages, whose husbands, fathers and brothers it is supposed were strikers, who brought their women out for the purpose of gaining sympathy. Speeches were made, songs were sung and a general of defiance was ex hibited. Men on their way aspect of the noisy crowd. Dep uty marshals were sent out to conduct them safely through the mob. Curses and abusive epithets and jeers were uttered against both the marshals and workmen, and the mar shals on their return were obliged to walk WlCn tnelr faces IOWaru the rdDDle lest they should be attacked from behind.
 One non-union man was attacked, beaten, kicked, cuffed and badly bruised. This was the first outrage since the strike began. The crowd then went up Larimer street and halt ed in front of the Rocky Mountain News office, where they groaned and howled, mak- ing pandemonium of jeers and yells of de- fiance in return for the good advice which that paper had given the strikers. The women caught one man, borrowed rope at a livery stable, and dragged him up to Santa Fe street, raving like so many maniacs crazed with excitement Warrants have been is sued for the arrest of the perpetrators of these outrages, who are known and against whom the evidence is very strong.
 Public sympathy has been strongly in favor of the strikers, because, until Monday, they had conducted with great propriety, making DO violent demonstrations. They went so far as to provide for guarding the road and shops, that no damage should be done for which they might be held accountable But the events of Monday have entirely changed public sentiment, and only condemnation of their folly is heard throughout the city.
 But the strike is ended, the shops are in operation and it is to be hoped that lesson