Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1892-07-28


The employment all over the country
by banks and private people of watchmen
is referred to, and then the subscribers
to the statement affirm that their coun-
sci assure them that they have violated
no law, federal or state; that they had the
stead to act as watchmen; that if they were
attacked, they had the right to kill
If absolutely necessary for self-de-
tense; that they had the right to bear arms
on the premises of the Carnegie company in
order to protect life and property, whether
or not they were deputized by the -sher.
if OF Allegheny county, that they had
to the Carnegie yards at Homestead
for the purpose of arming their men,
if they were deputized by the sheriff;
that in view of the attack on the
barges their men had the right to bear arms
and to defend themselves, and that all their
after the attack on them were legally justifable
under the laws of the United States and the
state of Pennsylvania.
In answer to the questions which had
been prepared by the representatives
of the knights of Labor Robert Pinker-
ton replied as follows: The Pinkerton
agency owned about $50 rifles, about
400 pistols and an equal number of
clubs, and they were deposited in Chi
cago. In all it's branches the firm never
had at one time more than 500 persons
in their employ. The men employed
were advised exactly what they were
to do and understood that they were at
perfect liberty to refuse any employ
ment to which they objected.
The barges were not constructed for
the purposes of protection and were
not lined with iron or steel and could
not resist small arms. The men would
never have been allowed to start on the
expedition if it had been known
that they were to be attacked
before landing. The barges were
employed because it was believed
that the men would be enabled to
land without breach of tho peace and
the landing was made at night for the
reason that the sheriff's force had been
resisted in the daytime, and it was ex-
pected that the strikers would be in
bed. The sole desire was to avoid
by all means breach of the
peace. Otherwise the men would
not have been permitted to go un-
1883 uoUlo1 AHCO ny c1C SOSClu OI OI
deputized by the sheriff. The only
purpose was to put the men upon pri-
vate property and then protect it from
attack. The men would not have fred
except as matter Of self-defense It
was understood that the Carnegie COM
pany had applied to the proper legal
authorities and that the men were
going to Homestead with the approval
Of the sheriff.
He thought that if the detectives had
fired to kill many more lives would
have been lost and the works could
have been taken at that time, but not
without great loss of life. Mr.. Pinker-
ton stated that he was a sworn peace
otficer-a deputy sheriff and he made
it a rule always to swear in his men ex-
cept in the case of railroad service.
Mr.. Oates asked witness what he had
to say of the statement that fifty good
soldiers could have scattered the Home
stead mob and that cowardicc was
shown by the Pinkertons. Witness re-
piled that he had talked with his men.
They said that they could have taken
possession of the works almost
at any time before 10 o'clock;
that seventy-fve men could have
taken possession of the works,
but they would have had to kill mum
Der of people, men, women and chill
dren, and they concluded not to do any
thing of the kind. The first firing, his
men told him, was over the strikers
heads. His men were armed with Win
chesters. At the start not over twenty
of them were given arms and afterward
arms were given to about forty in all.
At one point in the testimony of Rob-
ert Pinkerton he arraigned the meth
DDS of the Knights of Labor with such
vehemence and graphic detail as to
create sensation in the committee
room. He had been asked by Mr.. Boat
ner if it was true, as the Knights of Labor
and amalgamated ironworkerss as
serted, that organized labor always
sought peaceable means for settling
strikes. Mr.. Pinkerton smiled disdain-
fully at the suggestion, and then bend
ing forward and looking directly at
Messrs. Hayes and Devlin, he said:
II have seen Knights of Labor kick mems
faces until they were jelly. have seen
knights Of Labor throw men off the tops of
moving freight cars. have seen them knock
men from cars with stones and rocks I have
known Knights of Labor to place distractions
on railroad tracks for the purpose of derailirg
trains. have known strikers to place dyna-
mite under freight cars I have known them to
put explosives inside molds so that when
molten metal was poured in it would explode I
charge these men with doing these things and I
defy them here now to deny its