Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-04-15
Blood and Fire at East st. Louis.

4
Friday afternoon fifteen men callet
deputies, but really men employed b,
the railroad companies, armed will
| Winchester rifles, fired into a crowd
killing four persons and wounding 9th
ers, not one of them strikers, but al
spectators in the street. One of thu
killed was woman. Some days before
the companies had advertised for "mer
of grit, who mean business" The mer
they got by this call seem to have beer
reckless desperadoes. Although none
of the strikers were hit by the murder
Gus volleys of the deputies, they
were fearfully excited and Immediately
ran for firearms In few minutes
they returned armed with shot guns anC
pistols But the deputies" had begun
retreat over the bridge to st. Louis
The strikers fired several shots after
them without effect.
About an hour after the shooting an
excited, angry mob gathered in the
square between the city hall and the po-
lice station. A man named Dryer, a
gambler, in no way connected with the
strike, became a center of crowd, who
cheered the incendiary statements which
he uttered. He urged the men to
chang and kill, and was in the midst OF
an appeal to the mob to follow him to
the Ohio 81 Mississippi depot to hunt for
deputy sheriffs when John w. Hayes, a
member of the general executive com
mittee, X: of L., NJ. ONeil and Brown
also Knights, arrived from St.
Louis. Mr.. Brown mounted the stairs
leading to the police station and yelled
at the mob for attention, but the infuri-
ated men answered him with chang the
curs!" skill them Turning to the moi
which kept up the cry to "kill, "hll
and @burn," Brown began an impassion-
ed appeal for quiet, law and order, and by
sheer force of his earnestness riveted
the attention of the crowd, but only fol
few minutes at time.
Turning to Dryer, who still KEEP
yelling, Brown asked if he was Knight
of Labor. Dwyer said he was not. q
knew YOU were not p" said Brown. "NC
KING t would talk as you do.
Whlle Brown was speaking commit
teeman Hayes walked excitedly up and
down the platform, exclaiming in de
spairing manner, ''Oh my Cod my God
| wish this had not happened" Hi.
eyes were watery. He was almost cry
ing, and when he addressed the mol
after Browns speech, his voice failet
and he was obliged to pause for utter
ance. Hayes speech was of the sam,
tenor as Browns, as was also that o.
Mr.. O'Neil who followed Hayes Cas-
per Heep, another prominent Knight
who had arrived in the meantime, wa
busy among the crowd, trying upon tn,
more excited individuals the argument
which the committeeman were urgin,
from the platform. After while tn,
temper Of the mob cooled down, and the,
dispersed with threats to avenge tn
deaths caused by the deputy "sheriffs
| A few moments before midnight fir
broke out in the Louisville & Nashvill
yards, several cars being fired at abou
the same time. East St. Louis has n
fire department, and in response to a
appeal from Mayor Joyce two engine
were sent over from St. Louis. Tn
strikers did nothing until the frcme
had got their hose laid and gone to work
Then they commenced cutting the hos
and intimidating the fremen. Thes
threats had the desired effect, and tn
!, fremen returned to st. Louis, leavin
the fire in possession.
/ Soon after the fire in the Louisvill
& Nashville yards had broken out fame
shot into the air in the neighborhood {
: the Cairo Short Line yards Sewers
cars had been fired in there and tt
flames had spread from them to til
Cairo Short Line roundhouse. Simu
taneous with the appearance of fam,
at this point fire broke out at three oil
err points, and it looked as though a
the railroad property in the town was
be destroyed. The strikers went aroul
carrying clubs and pistols and no OF
saw fit to interfere with them. The mi
tia were not visible at any stage of Il
proceedings
On Saturday there were thirteen cor
panies of Illinois state militia in Ea
St. Louis and all was quiet.