Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-08-28
THE GREAT STRIKE.
RAILROAD MEN WANT MONEK
TO BUY BREAD.

The Employees Of the Queen g.
Crescent at Meridian Stop Work
.-The Company Nearly Three
Months in Arrears--The Strikers
Orderly but decentralization
VIII Stop all Freight Trains TIL
the Company do the Right Thing--
Sympathy of Citizens for the
Strikers.
Special to Commercial Herald.
MERIDIAN, Aug. 24.-The mechan-
les and laborers in the Queen & Ores
cent shops went on strike this morn
ing for their back pay, amounting to
two months and twenty-three days.
They likewise demand that the COM
pany shall fix regular pay day for
regular monthly payments. They no.
Lifted the officials Of their intentions
and as fast as freight trains come in
over any Of the lines Of the Queen q
Crescent system, they detach the
engines and run them into the round
house. The switch engine was allow
ed to remain in use until
10 o'clock when 1t also was
housed. -Four freight trains are
here now unable to move for want
Of engines. The mail trains will not
be interferred with, but it Is the ex.
pressed determination of the strikers
not to permit freight trains to be re-
moved until their demands are com
piled with.
The strikers number about two
hundred men and they have conducted
themselves with so much sobriety and
quietness that on the streets
away from the railroad, no one could
tell that anything unusual was going
on.
The men say that they were com
PEELED to strike in self-defense, man,
Of them having exhausted their credi
are now suffering for the necessarie
Of life. They have resolved t
keep themselves in the right and vii
prevent any lawlessness. Any Of thei
number getting drunk will be hande'
over at once to the police, and any al
) tempt to destroy or damage propert
; belonging to the company will be pros
} ecuted to the full extent Of the law
A squad of trusty men Of their ow.
! number are constantly on guard.
This afternoon Capt. w. H. Hardy
formerly vice-president of the NORTH
eastern was sent for, and he met then
on the grounds near the Gary com
press. He gave them some good advic
and expressed the universal sympathyo
the community with them so long Al
they kept themselves in the right. 1
was probable the company was pressed
for funds, but they were trying t,
make arrangements to pay them. HI
had no doubt, he said, but that it wa
a hard case all around. The compan,
did not have the money to pay, ant
they couldn't get along without II
President Bond was in London, but hi
believed Vice-President Schiff woul(
do the right thing.
| Capt. Hardy was assured that the
men would scrupulously guard tn
property from injury. lis understooc
that the men have been noti6eO
that the pay car left Cincin
natl this morning, and tina
it will come through direc
to this point and pay one month
wages at once and the company assur
the men that another month will b.
paid at an early day. There is stront
talk on the streets by the friends o
the strikers that this Will not be salts
factory; that the strike will not be or
dered off unless they are paid for tht
two full months due and time fixed
for regular monthly payments here
after. could not learn that this was
resolved upon. 1t Is hardly probable
that the strike will be kept up if one
month is paid and reasonable assur
ance given of another month being
paid soon.
Gov. Lowry has again reprieved w
,. Martin, the Jones county murderer
confined in Jail here, for thirty days.