Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-09-08
FORMAL STATEMENT.
lColinned from Fo,rth Pane. |

The two ears started up town from
/ Forty-third street about half-past six
o'clock, in charge of Superintendent
| Lotus and Fred. Stanton, the operator
! When Tenth street was reached the cars
were stopped, and stood on the street for
about an hour and a half or two hours, Il
crowd of people soon gathering around
them. Loftns and Stanton were guyed q
good deal, and as the crowd increased
there was a tendency TO be disordcrly,
which kept increasing, despite the presence
of two or three police officers, until a brick
was thrown, the missile passing over the
head of Officer George Gaus, and bounding
off the car seats.
About half-past nine Superintendent
/ Lotus, who had been at the Office of the
/ Company portion of the time, started the
cars down Main street, they being filed by
about rs many of the crowd as could con
veniently yet on them, while the rest ran
along the sidewalks and followed the car
| in the streets. As the procession of cars
and people progressed along the street the
crowd increased, until by tho time Four
| teenth street was reached there must have
/ been three or four hundred men and boys
about and on the ears. About half way be
tween Fourteenth and South streets a rail
road torpedo was exploded by the wheels
of the car. and Immediately afterwards
there was quite a rattle of exploding
/ tOrpedoes some boys having placed the
contents Of several boxes of the latest
patent dynamite "celcbratOrs'' on the rails
/ The explosion of the railroad torpedo
sounded like a revolver, and the crowd
which had been, for the most part, yelling
at the top cf its voice. gave u sort of shud-
der, while several excited individuals eX-
claimed
"Who fired that revolver"
XIII the - who fired that shotn
Look out for bullets"
For half a minute the crowd kept quiet,
| but at the expiration of that time the boys,
| hearing the fusilade of small tOrpedoes,
caught on TO the situation, and the yell
! ing was rodOubled. So thick did the crowd
become in front OF and around the ears,
that their rapid progress was impeded,
while the boys on the cars slammed the
movable seats backs, rang up fares. pulled
/ the bell-cOrd, and made all the racket they
well could.
At the B. x O. railroad crossing, on Six
teenth street. the ears made a momentary
| halt, and then shot down the grade towards
the north end Of the Main street bridge.
| When the front wheels Of the forward car
struck the new railroad switch they left
the track, and turning a little TO the east
J the two cars were soon entirely of the rails
ana brought up with resounding whack
against a telegraph post at the northeast
corner of the bridge, almost completely
blOckading the bridge 10 pedestrians and
quite closing il to wagons.
Just about the tine the ears paused at
the crossing of the b. X .. track some one
in the street threw brick, which struck
Stanton in the back of the head, cutting Il
small cash and raising a lump. Stanton
was good deal dazcd for a moment, but he
jumped on a seat and exclaimed: "Well,
good night boys, - and jumping from the car
he started of up Main street alone. He
was Joined in a moment by Superintendent
Lotus, after the latter had talked for a
moment with Onicer Moran, who was on
the scene almost as soon rs the ears struck
Sixteenth street, and the Superintendent
and Stanton went of up Main street, fol-
lowed for a short distance. by a portion of
the crowd. Just above Sixteenth street
Stanton, who was carrying the brick which
struck him. in his hand. was accOSted by
two reporters, but he refused 20 talk. aside
from giving his name, saying: II can't say
anything 10 you" He was laboring under
a good deal of excitement, and was soon
lost to view in the crowd
Almost as soon as the two cars came 10 a
halt the crowd grew quiet, readily obeyed
the orders of the police not to get on the
cars and aside from an occasional pull al a
bell rope, those present gave no indi-
cation of the lo9st desire 10 do mischief In
fact, those present seemed 10 have nothing
but idle curiosity TO CRAFTY, and soon left
the scene by scores, leaving an officer or
two on guard
II was stated at the time the cars left the
trick that the line was blocked below the
Main street bridge bya cross tie or other
timber and a biz stone, and had the cars
not been stalled where they We're, they
would have made at least a temporary halt
"A little further along.