St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-04-03
BRIEFBlJTBL-00 -00DY
Actual War Breaks Out
Among the Pennsylvania
Coke Strikers.
Seven Men Instantly Killed
by the First Fire Of the
Guards.
Two Others Reported to Have
Subsequently Died in
Strikers Houses.
The Mob Fired the First Vol
ley, Which Was Instantly
Returned.
At Present the Entire Coke
Region Is a Scene OF
Excitement.
The Foreign Element Driven
Frantic by Their Signal
Failure.
Gov. Pattison Orders Two
Regiments Of Guards to
the Scene.
The Foreign Element Driven
Frantic by Their Signal
Failure.
Gov. Pattison Orders Two
Regiments Of Guards to
the Scene.

MOUNT PLEASANT,Pa., April 2.-Oln-
inous signs of the gathering of a storm
in the coke region have been observed
by experienced strikers here for some
time, and o'clock this morning they
focused and burst with sudden fury at
the MOrewood plant, which has proved
such bone of contention between the
strikers and their employers. The fight
was brief and deadly. Two rounds of
cartridges were fired by band of sixty
five guards and seven Of the charging
mob of strikers fell dead, while at least
forty others were wounded, how badly
cannot be definitely stated,as they were
taken away by their companions. The
strikers killed instantly by the fire
were:
Creszo Bitero, Italian, of Tarrs. shot
through the breast. John Eudora, of Stand
ard, single, shot through the brain. Antonio
Rist, Pole, single, OF Standard works shot
through the head. Jacob Schucaskey, Pole,
of Tarrs. shot through the brain. married.
wife i'll Poland. James Prochte, Pole. sin
gle, of Tarrs, shot through the head Valeu-
tine Zeidel, Slay, of Donnelly single shot
through the jugular. Paul Dohannis, Slav,
OF Standard, shot i'll the head, single.
The Attack.
The attack on the MorewOOd plant
was NNll PlelIIiiCi tiIN COlCtlNtu. anu
headed by men determined evidently TO
intimidate the men working there once
for all. At u o'clock small bodies of
strikers began to gather on the hills.
AS usual during raid, they were armed
with revOlVerS, stones, iron DaTS and
everything obtalnable. Headed by
their drum corps, they marched first to
the Standard works, where they delib-
erately destroyed both telephone and
telegraph wires, so that word of their
coming could not be sent 10 MOrewood
While at the Standard works they Incl
dentally destroyed anything movable
they might find. The strikers created
all the noise possible from the surround
ing hills, intending to apDriSe those of
their fellow strikers in the vicinity of
their intentions Of raid. Their march
to the Standard works had been but a
helter Skelter affair, each man of the 500
in line merely making all the noise pos
Sible in order TO increase their number
for the more desperate RAID on More
wood. where it was known slXty-live
guards had been placed, with orders to
fire if necessary. Some time after 2
o'clock this morning The guards at
MOreWO0d heard from the Standard that
raid was imminent. The now fright
ened men left at the Standard had
plucked up courage enough TO repair the
wires, and the warming reached the
MoreWood plant none too soon. As the
Noisy Band Of Strikers,
now numbering fully 1900 men. ap-
preached that plant. their Outcries
ceased, their drum corps was silenced,
and the ugly crowd gathered in a bunch
on the black hills overlooking the plant
for a moments parley before attacking
plant they knew TO be well guarded
by determined men. There was a hest
fancy, but the fact that they were
twenty to one strong encouraged the
strikers, and they quietly separated,
one large detachment advancing on the
works by the main road, while the
others scattered over the brOws of the
hill, and shortly after o'clock, at a
given signal, all moved down on
the works. The night was of inky
backness, but the guards were
appriSed. of the movements OF the at
tacking party by confused mutteringS
III foreign tongue. or Snbdued orders
from the leaders. Under the orders OF
Capt. LOar, the siXty-fve guards stood
quietly in line before the works, their
Winchesters peacefully "at rest Sud
denly break was made by the advanc-
ing mob towards the fences of the com
pany. 4 stern order to halt was given.
but the only attention IL received was
the firing of three shots by members of
the mop, which whistled warning close
to the heads of
T'he HlsEpassive Guards.
each one of whom was well drilled and
was simply there to obey orders. After
the shots were fired by the strikers they
turned and made dash toward the
stables of the company. Without firing
shot the guards were ordered to fol-
low. and the command again given the
strikers to halt. They only relreated
further down the road and answered
the order with yells and threats. Again
was the command given. and again
came the mOcking answer, and the
order to fire was given by Capt. Loar.
The volleyS from the WinchesterS were
well directed, and but a few rounds
were necessary to drive the frightened
rioters back into the hills, where hum
dreds of their fellow strikers had
gathered in anticipation of assist
ing in the raid, but not in
battle with such deter
mined band of guards. The firing Oh
both sides continued hardly three min
utes. The volleyS from the guards had
terrible effect on the compact mass of
strikers, while the latter made an at
tempt to return the fire with what few
weapons they possessed, but without
effect. The dead were left lying in the
road while the wounded, estimated at
between forty and fifty, were either as
sisted or bodily carried away into the
hills by their fellows. All day the en-
tire coke regions have presented scenes
of the widest excitement. The foreign
element especially has been driven
frantic by this woeful result to their an
tlcipated victorious raid on the Frick
works at MoreWood. Always turbulent.
sulien and ready for
Desperate Measures
as they are, not one was cowed by the
death Of several of their number, while