Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-26
THE STREET CAR STRIKE.
What "Nym CrinlIle" Saw During the
Recent New York Riot.


What "Nym CrInIxIe" Saw During the
Recent New York Riot.
NEW YORK, April 23.-The Knights of
Labor have had entire possess on of this
city for forty-eight hours. They stopped
all surface travel by horse railroad on
Monday, and if you stop to think a mo-
ment how utterly dependent this longi-
tudinal metropolis is on horse car travel
you can imagine the effect of this on every
branch of business. Broadway and Fifth
averue and other of the great tributary
streets like Fourteenth and TWenty-third
wore Sunday aspect. The grand crowds
of women and children That are usually
seen around the big bazars In Fourteenth
street had disappeared.
All commerce, all the retail trades, ar
tisans, merchants, skilled labor of every
kind suffered, because the least skilled of
all labor had got it's grip on the means of
transit. came down Broadway, | stop
ped in at halt a score of the big shops. They
were deserted at what is usually the bust
est hour. | talked with the merchants.
They had but one opinion. Tney were
suffering, but one and all hoped the ral-A
roads would hold out and settle this ques-
ton OF trade tyranny and law and order
once and for all. do not rene mber ever
having seen so complete a revulsion OF
public opinion as these strikers have
| brought about within week. At first
public sympathy was heartily with them
! in what it believed was a fight against
heartless corporations, but now they have
succeeded in placing the railroads on the
side of law and order, and with one
voice the intelligent community is back
ing the corporations, simply because the
corporations do not insist upon inter-
fering with the rights of everybody else,
and in making threats Of violence.
1 saw the fight Oh Third avenue yester-
day. 1t was a small riot. 10 it were all
the deadly elements of the Commune; all
the incipient flames and fury OF the worst
Partisan days. Nothing saved that great
tborOughfare from massacre but the
p"Omptitude with which the police Tell
upon the mob and drove it back. W hen
the first brick was aimed at the poor con-
ductOr that was trying 10 take the car
through there went up a wild howl from
thousands of cruel, demOniac thrOats,
and in an instant the air was black with
missiles. The car windows were smash
ed, the light panels splintered. The
wrecked vehicle was surrounded in a
twinkling with maddened men and wOm-
en-. horrib e sound Of wells, screams
and groans filed the air. There seemed
TO be but one impulse animating this
mob, it was to get hold of the two men
who were on that car and tear them limb
from limb. 1t was a noble sight this brave
endeav0r of a thousand to clutch two fell
low-ceings and rain blows upon them and
Urample them into masses of undistin-
guishable flesh beneath their hOOts. AS |
saw bTawny arms in the air, caught sight
of the distorted faces and glarlng ewes
and heard the fearful din of sickening
Oaths and imprecatiOns, / asked my sell if
this was the advance guard OF the army
of Knights that was going to regulate
! labor.
1t only lasted five minutes, thanks to or
ganized power, to which alas, in these
| DAYS OF arbitration and moral suasion we
must come at last for dread adjudication
IN the streets. The clubs were coming.
| One double platoon came down Third av-
enue, another came suddenly out OF Fifty
ninth street as if it had been shot up a
! trap. Then commenced that most fearful
of all sights, a police attack upon a street
crowd. Supt. Murray's orders to his men
were 10 sstrike hard.v | turned my head
away VITA Sickening sensation, for |
had seen this before. You can have no
possible conception OF the terrible nature
OF such a scene unless you have encoun-
tered IL. / have witnessed charge of
cavalry that rode down gunners and
tramped infantry into the earth, but
there was "A mild redeemlng swirl to
it, and then there were no women and
children there, as there always will be in
a mob.
The one duty OF the police in such crl-
sis Is to break and scatter the solid mass.
II must 20 through 1t, and when the on
slaught 10 made with those dreadful
clubs it is too late, in the parOxysm Of
purpose, TO pick the innocent from the
guilty.
II ever you have heard the sound OF
NthOse clubs as they fall crushingly upon
Neads and faces you Will never forget IL.
y II by magic the scene changes. A few
} slNwart men stand up dehantly a mo-
men IN opposition. Then they fall under
the Vows. But panic seizes the great
2 mlNeNhrong of men and women. The
ar Is eddeuiy filled with screams. The
\ chalScle of the tumult Is sharpened In
a w u,sn,"! mad chaos Of desperation
Vhnf1u,e9, HMen are entangled by their
81 - ". 80, "u w, eNown down and trodden up
onVS 3p va, 'an mar the pitiiul cries OF the
chliCN en,1od ,@the din; il is the meeting
OF orEN zee with disorganized vlo-
lence. 49,,
1t do9ts not tst long. In fifteen min
utes theN ,ret Is cleared. But in lie bloody.
And thenl l',t dismantled car il agged
back 20 I've depot and "a score of misera.
bic wretcpes are behind the nolica bars
This is DE first tussle. But there on y,
Fiity-nintt street are the Reserves drawn
up irenDlJt hS9 Nteh 10 say. "Hpro We
are. quite feady TO COON. lfthisqnestion
OF labor IL NQ be "A question Of mere bruta
force. Shat's WHAT we are here for.S Ard
in IL and over ~ all there q. sad remind
er that the men Nho had rights aud pub
! lie Sympathy have thrown away Me- most
precious part Of their contest inNnaer-
! taking TO shift their tight from the \Drpo-
| ration TO the community. "
NYM CRINKL&
| I.adies' rlaing mats al Coilat Kro- "a.