Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-11
RULE OR RUIN RIOTS.
Foreign Coke Workers Murderously
Assault Men at Work
AND DAMAGE LOTS .OF PROPERTY.
Two Very Ugly Outbreaks at the United
and Hecla Works.
THE SHERIFF COMES TO THE CALL.

A neatly-dressed, mild-mannered gentle
man-possibly. from his appearance, a
bookkeeper or agent of one of the firms
operating in the coke regions-came into
this Office last evening and said:
81 am no striker-not even manual
laborer or trades union man-but took a
passive part in a riot to-day; carried club
and kept in the midst of the mob; all be-
cause simply had to. 1t was coke
workers riot-an ugly affair before they got
through with it."
The gentleman went on to explain that he
was connected with one of the coke firms;
that he was at Calumet yesterday forenoon;
that mob of 200 or more Rungarians was
formed there; that he was told to pick up a
good big club and join, or take the conse-
quences, and that he avoided the latter.
The mob was formed, it seems, because the
men at several of the works had, of their
own free will, accepted the IL per cent ad-
vance in wages agreed upon three days ago,
and resumed work before the notices could
be posted or the Huns be gotten together to
resume at other works. Those still idle
persisted in believing there
MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG
in the others resuming, and made up their
minds to stop it. Hence the formation of
the Calumet mob shortly before noon. The
gentleman's own short story of the rioting
that followed may safely and properly be
given, without his name, for he was in the
midst OF it, carrying club, as he had to,
and saw everything:
"The infuriated foreign workmen from
Calumet were soon Joined by about $50
others from Mammoth, and proceeded to
stop the men who had at those places re-
sumed work. 1 had to 60 with them to
United; and what saw was rough in the
extreme. They assaulted two ash-cart driv-
ers, beat them over the heads till they
were all but unconscious, and almost killed
the stable boss. picked him up, and went
to assist him home; but they made me quit.
They smashed all the windows in the build
ings here and all the oven doors, and then
marched on, 300 or 400 strong, to Thaw &
Dorsey's Hecla works, where they raised
the worst and most damaging riot of the lot.
! know about what the results at Hecla are;
but If, as you say, you already have the
story of an eyewitness from there, you'd
better take up his account just here. where
mine leaves off. / was told the manager at
the United had sent for the militia"
Before the arrival of the gentleman who
spoke as above another, professional man,
had come into this Office to tell of what he
had seen at Hecla. 1t is obvious why nei-
ther his name nor that of the other inform
ant can be published-neither of them feels
that he would again dare to venture into
the region. The story of the gentleman
from Hecla follows in its order:
THE STORY FROM HECLA.
"The men who came over from Morewood
all foreigners, and mostly Hungarians-
drove over 500 men from the Hecla Works,
shut off the steam in the engine, clubbed
Chief Engineer Jack Green away and
nearly killed him. They were all armed
with clubs anu coke Stats, and Green was
beaten over the head and all cut up. Two
others were also dreadfully injured-one,
the blacksmith at the works, and the other
broke the engine valve, which
stopped the cars running up and down the
shaft, and began flooding the mine with
water. Three men in the mine, to escape
with their lives, had to ascend the shaft on
ladders. As they did so, one by one, they
no sooner got away from death by drowning
in the mine than they were belabored by the
rioters until laid aside, helpless. The mob
threw all the larries of the tracks,
dumped a bale of hay and lot
of wheelbarrows down the mine shaft
and choked it effectually for at least week
to come, smashed windows, broke oven
doors and finally cleared out, leaving evil
dences of the worst two hours work 1 have
seen in long while.
"You want to know the cause of all this?
Well, the II per cent advance had not yet
been given or conceded at Morewood, and
the foreigners wouldn't passively let any
nfher works eninv IL or its fruits %