St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-07-05
SIDE LIGHTS ON THE STRIKE,
Scenes and Incidents of the Great Car
Drivers Strike at Chicago.
Everything that Runs on Wheels
Pressed Into Service
And Crowded by Merchants, Labor
ers and Pretty Women.
Corresnondence of the Globe.

Correspondence of the Globe.
CHICAGO, July 3.-The all-absorbing
topic of interest to jewellers in the city dur
ing the past week has been the trouble be-
tween the management of the West Side
Street Railway company and the drivers
and conductors. The details of the case
have already been outlined in the tele-
graphic columns Ut the GLOBE, and l shall
not enter into any statement of facts, other
than to say that the quarter of million of
inhabitants of that section of the city incOn-
venienced by the trouble are almost unani-
nous in expressing sympathy for the strik-
erS, and denOunce in unmeaSured terms the
management of the monopoly. The West
Side Street Railway company was conceived
in sin and born in iniquity, or words to that
effect Its projectors spent money iavlshly
on state and municipal legislators, securing
an exclusive franchise of all that portion of
the city now known as the ''WeSt Side"-
the most pOpulous section of the municipal
ity-and since that time the lines have grown
and extended until to-day there are more
than forty miles of the worst street railway,
and several hundred of the poorest, dirtieSt
cars in the country under control of this
company, whose daily gross receipts are
estimated at 81, 200, of which sum $4,000
is net profit. Such return on capital
stock of 81, 900, 600 is better than owning q
faro game, no limit, as
A LITTLE CALCULATION WILL SHOW.
Sngularly enough, nearly all of the pres
ent board of directors and heaviest stock
holders of the monopoly are oId-time friends
OF Gen. Grant. Years and years ago, when
Grant was working in his tannery, there
came from Galena a cOterie that soon be-
came known as 1.-The old Galena crowd"
and they purchased the West Division rail-
way. The COrwiths, who ran a bank and
worked salt mine i'll Galena, furnished the
capital for the purchase, and j. Russell
Jones, now president of the line, was put
forward as manager. Then there were f.
b. Washburne, w. 4. Bradley, Judge
DrummOnd, Ben Campbell and some 9TH
erS, none of whom were intimate with Gen.
Grant in his days of bad luck, but who were
diStresSingly attentive when he began his
career of honor. They were all favored by
the soldier president. Washbume went as
minister to France; j. Russell Jones repre-
scented the country in Belgium; Drummond
became circuit judge and Bradley clerk of
his court: Ben Campbell was made mar
shall. And all this was done through the
same influence. They were all
THRIFTY MONEY-NAKERS,
but Jones seems to have had either the
put the stock of his corporation up from So
before the fire to above 400 now; but it has
been at the expense of both patrons and
employees.
1t is almost impossible to conceive the in
convenience and positive money loss that
has resulted to patrons OF the lines and
downtown merchants through this strike.
State, Madison and other retail streets that
have heretofore been crowded with ladies
oraN p1tio Of hot
retail dealer remarked, From the appear
ance of our streets one would think that
most OF the shoppers live on the West side.
But | cannot blame the ladies for not COM
ing down town when the only means Of
conveyance Is heavy cart without springs
and rough board for Il seat
But it's an i'll wind that blows nobody
good, and the loss to the street car COM
pany has been q harvest of wealth to owners
OF drayS and 'busseS. The scenes on Mad
isOn street during the past few days have
been amusing in the extreme, and the good
nature of the crowd has III no way de-
tracted from the enjoyment of the spectator.
Everyone possessing dray or cart imme-
diately offered it 20 the public for slight
: remuneration, that is to say 10 cents head
for three-miIe ride.
THESE SAME FELLOWS,
while denOuncing the railway company as a
''grinding monopoly" ''sOullesS corpora
tiOn," etc., proceeded to double the price of
transportation, at the same time shortening
the line of accommodation. But that's hui
man nature, after all, and the eXpreSsmen
were anxious to make hay while the sun
shOne. The scenes reminded me of a road
leading from a country fair or some driving
park. In one rickety vehicle, bearing the
mysterious legend
| ''FAIR 10 WEST AVn
were two handsomely dressed ladies. a
young cOlOred man, four shop girls, several
young men and an elderly gentleman who
might have been bank president or stock
broker, if appearances counted for any,
thing. This is a fair sample of the hun
dreds of wagon loads of West siders that
have been content to put up with the incon-
venience, and earnestly hoped the strikers
would win the fight The weather has
been an element of strength to the strikers,
the July days being pleasant and cool,
with never cloud in the sky. Had there
been a rain storm | doubt much if the peO-
pie would have been 50 very gOOd-natured
and the trouble would have been decided
one way or the other in a very short time.
Whatever may happen in the future, it
must be said to the credit of the strikers
and police that thus far nothing has occurred
to cause hard feelings or incite mob to
action.
THE INCIPIENT RIOT
of Wednesday was not participated in by
any of the strikers so far as known. ''Our
Carter" as always in an emergency, has
come to the front, and by his counsel
both parties to the contest have shown
much fOrbearance. The mayor got blow
i'll the back from stone at the time of
Wednesdays outbreak, but the old man
never lost his temper and declared that the
stone wasn't meant for him, and he didn't
mind it. Taken all in all this is the most
stupendOus strike ever precipitated upon
Chicago, and it is to the credit of the strik-
ers that their demands are recognized as
just, and not in any sense have they been
influenced by the blatant mouthings of the
sOcialistic crowd, who are urging the assas-
sinatiOn of the railway directors and the
destruction of all their prop erty. CHENEY.
COnkIing and IngersOII.
We rather suspect Mr.. Conkling. who en-