Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-06-07
ECHOES OF THE STRIKE.

~
Little Excitement and Carryaiis and
Street Cara oaietiy Ranaing.
The strike, which has east an odsum
OF dlsFepute over the city for the past
four weeks. u nearly thing OF the
past. The only point in connection
with il which has a tendency To mar
the serenity and quietness which has
always been the proud boast of the
Valley City, Is an occasional outbreak
on the part OF some miscreant, who. IN
most cases, l. aot striker and has no
connection with them whatever. In
spite OF the fact that ample warning
has been given that no violations OF
the Law IN any manner Will Dc
tolerated, there Is occasionsiiy one Who
does not cast 10 heed II. Now that lt
hos been emp. .atlcally decided that the
word "scab'' 10 not proper express
SION, II would seem that those who have
the interest o. the strikers and the well
fare of the Gag at heart would refrain
from using II. During the past few
davs there have been small number
of arrests for disorderly conduct and
obslructlng the street car tracks, 5at
otienses u tEss kind are on the de-
crease, and tue people are resumnng the
usual equilibrium. Al irregular inter-
walls ..earry-a Is" can be seen iaborlug
up the street With loads of people, who
are IN sympathy with the strikers. An
effort has been made 10y the union men
/ to furnish good transit on all the streets
upon which tracks are laid, but the
! class OF yel les IN their possession
makes ii q sac sfice on the part of per-
| sons riding IL ihem. AS "A usual thing
the horses are good, but their gait
disgustingly SOW. There is notice
able scarcity o. people in the street cars
1 but the numis is constantly on the IN
/ crease and it >predicted that in "a short
time the diff ent lines will be doing as
! much bnsine as formerly. j. j. Odell,
one of the Chicago stockholders OF the
| company, %as IN the city the
other day and SAID what
/ he was most interested IN
was getting tae electric line IN opera
ton. He saI1 that while he greatly de-
| plored the fast that some OF the people
| OF Grand Rapids had seen fit TO with
draw their patronage, 1t was their prlyl-
| lege. He ais) said that the members of
the street car company believed IN con-
| ducting their own business, and should
reserve the right to do so at all times.
Secretary Duty, of the Central Labor
union, has been in Chicago Tor the past
| few days making all endeavor to secure
| enough careits to enable the strikers TO
hold their own against the company. 1t
Is said that a stock company Will be
formed to peipetuate the enterprise. A
few donations have been received by
the strikers from business men and
| kindred organizations, but not sufficient
10 keep very large number OF men IN
idleness. T!se receipts OF the "carry-
alis" have been as large as possible, but
even at that IL does not seem that they
can pay, as the number OF trips they
make IS considerably less than Il street
car can make. The men who are out
seem us reluctant to give in as does the
! company, but as the latter has every
thing its favor the probability Is that
the men will get the worst of 1t.
There Is one incident connected with
the trouble which should not 60 un-
published. Peter ORiley was arraigned
III the police COURT the other day on the
charge of shouting the word "scab,
but nothing was said about the clrcum-
stances surrounding the case. If the
story is true, and there seems to be nc
doubt about 1t, the Superior Court, tC
which he has appealed his case, should
have no more pity on HIM, or as much
as did Judge Westfa!l. The story goes
that Miss MalvIna Francisco, a very es.
unable lady, residing with her sister
Mrs. Ross, sol Scribner-st., took street
car and rode out to the cemetery, where
she decorated the grave of Mrs. Ross
husband. After spending portion OF
the day ut the cemetery, she returned
10 the city on Canal-st- car and
aiighted near the SlXth-st. bridge with
the intention of crossing II. beng on hei
way home. She had no sooner stepped
TO the ground than she was approached
10y said O'Rlley, who commenced 10 cal
her 'sCab," prefiXing the word with
an exceedingly ribald eplthet. lie did
not stop with addressing her in thl:
manner once, but followed her from
Canal-st. TO the incline leading up &c
the bridge. Byron l.. Pierce. who has
been superintendlng the repairs on the
bridge, heard the language used. and
gazing in the direction from which they
came saw the lady was an acquaint
ance and immediately went 10 hel
assistance. 1t is not 10y such action as
the above that the union men can nope
to gain favor with the public.
Several OF tire prominent officials oi
the street railroad company were seer
yesterday. including Ben Hanchett and
Fred :. Clark. The first g entlemar
said: "As far as the company is con
cerned there IS no strike. There ar,
plenty of men to operate all the cars
and the full number IS running at reg.
ular intervals. The officers of tn,
company were asked to meet com
mittee of the strikers for the purpose
of arbltrating the difficulty, but as ther,
is no difficulty existing AS far as the
company is concerned there was notp
ing to arbitrate. There has been nC
concessions made by the company anc
there will be noue.r
Fred 5. Clark said: "Thcre are
plenty OF men 10 do the work aud quit
number of the strikers have asked L
be taken back. Five old men hav,
been Installed in their places, and hav,
willingly signed the contract rcnounc
ing tnelr connection with the union"
There have been no new development
and the company say there Is nothing
for them to say or do but pursue thei
business as is their right.