The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-07-08
LEVELLED THEIR GUNS.
Locked-Out Men Would Have Fired to
Protect the Prisoners

AoCCCb O1l6 II1SOnorss
HOMESTEAD, Pa, July 7.-Homestead
this morning was one of the quietest
places in the United States. The locked
cut men, many of whom had not closed
their eyes in sleep for As hours, retired
early last night, and few of them put in
an appearance this morning. Fearing
that perhaps another effort would be
made to land workmen and deputies at
the works last night, the workmen de-
tailed strong armed squad to guard
every approach to the immense plant
None of the leaders have put in an ap-
pearance this morning, and just what ac-
ton they have decided on cannot at this
hour be aseertained The complete
routing of the Pinkertons yesterday
evening put the men in high spirits. and
the more radical boldly declare that
should another attempt be made by the
company to obtain possession of it's prop
erty the enemy will receive even worse
treatment than that accorded the detec-
tives brought here on the barges.
Hugh O'Donnell and other conserva-
tive labor leaders denounce the action of
the mob after the surrender of the detec-
tives as having been brutal and cowardly.
To the credit of the great majority of the
men who are locked out, it can be said
that they had no hand in the assault upon
the defenceless men. They did all in
their power to protect the men who had
thrown themselves upon their mercy.
But they were pOwerless to control the
angry mob of foreigners, especially the
female portion of it. When the second
squad OF deputies, many of them weak
from loss of blood, nealed the entrance
to the rink, the angry crowd, urged on
by women of foreign birth, closed in.
One man, evidently a Pole, grasped one
of the prisoners by the throat and struck
him terrible blow in the face with his
fist, while stout woman began belabor-
ing the unfortunate man with a club,
One of the guards succeeded in rails
ing his gun to his shoulder, and with
look indicating that he meant business
shouted: "Stand back and let the men
pass by, or I'll shoot the next man or
woman that raises hand against them.
We have promised to protect them and
we will do it, even if we have to use our
guns" This declaration was greeted by
howl of derision and cries of ''kill the
murderers." Instantly half a dozen
guns were brought to bear upon the mob.
eeIo uoo hOo ClIO LILY iOdNAOlo 4hIlcu UdCk
the men who had pledged themselves to
protect their vanquished enemies from
violence would have done so at the cost
of life. The situation was becoming very
serious when Burgess McGluckie APP
peared in the doorway of the rink. At
ter commanding the crowd to fall back,
he said:
''Fellow citizens-I call on you and
each Of you to act in an orderly manner.
We will not permit any further unlawful
demonstrations. All the men will be
locked up and not one of them will be
allowed to escape. Each one of these
buns and beats who came here to shoot
down honest workingmen will be charged
with murder. We will see if the poor
people have not equal rights with
monopolists who employ and send to
their place a gang of murderers and cut
throats.' -
AS may well be imagined this address
was cheered with enthusiasm. But it
had the desired effect and the mob be-
came more orderly,