The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-07-09
BLOODSHED AT HOMESTEAD
A Fight Between the Pinker-
tons and Workmen.
The WOrkIlGn Lose Il Men and the Pink
eTtOHS 9, Besides 100 Wounded,
Cannons Used by WOrkmen Compel
the Pinkertons to Surrender.
Great Excitement in Pennsylvania
and Throughout the Country.
ORIGIN OF THE TROUBLE.
STATEMENT OF BOTH SIDES.

between Carnegie Iron and Steel Company
and their employees, at Homestead, eight
miles east of this place, eliminated today IN
pitched battle between the employees ana a
force of 300 Pinkerton men, armed with
Winchester rifles, taken there to occupy the
works of the company. After bloody con-
test. lasting about twelve hours, during which
number we're killed and wounded on both
sides, the Pinkertons surrendered, leaving
the workmen masters of the situation.
ORIGIN OF THE TROUBLE.
About month ago the Carnegie Company
submitted scale to govern their workmen IN
the steel plants md announced that II was
their utimatum. The scale made a sweeping
reduction in the wages of skilled men, and it
was officially announced that unless the terms
were complied with before July the places
of the workmen would be filled by others.
This was followed by peremptory refusal on
the part of the company to recognize the
Amalgamated Association of Steel and Iron
Workers as such, or to confer with any com
mittee of the workmen short of an acceptance
of the terms offered. The men stated that
they would never submit to the proposed re-
duction and announced their determination
to resist any effort on the part of the Carnegies
to start up their plants with non union men.
As both sides were determined both proceed
ed to prepare for the contest which culmlnat-
ed in such deeds of violence and bloodshed
that were witnessed today in the big hive OF
industry on .Monongahela river.
The contest was precipitated by the work
men at Homestead hanging Mr.. Ii. c. Prick,
manager of the company, in efigy, and in
retaliation the company ordered an imme-
diate shutdown of the big works, two days
before the time provided by the contract
under which the men were working. The
employees at once began to organize for the
defensive, and the company erected high
board fence around the entire works, giving
them the appearance ofan immense stockade,
the sides being pierced with portfolios.
Yesterday the Carnegie Company announced
their intention to proceed to get ready to
make repairs. and the officials asked the
sheriff to appoint deputies to protect the pro-
perty. The sheriff sent small squad OF men
up to the works, but the workmen assembled
in force and notified them to get out OF town,
as no disorder was intended and that no dam
age would be done TO any property. They
even offered to be sworn in as deputies and
to give bonds for the faithful performance of
their duties as conservators of the peace.
When this offer was declined the advisory
committee, which had been directing the
action of the workingmen and which had been
keeping turbulent spirits among the men in
check, was Immediately dissolved and all the
records of the committee promptly destroyed.
THE rINKERToN MEN ARRIVE.
The developments today showed that the
application made for assistance of the sheriff
was merely for the purpose of covering what
was intended to be coup de main on the
part of the Carnegie Company in clandestinely
introducing n body of Pinkerton detectives
into the mill Enclosure. The detectives had
been rendeZvoused some five or six miles be-
low the city on the Ohio river, at which point
two model barges had been prepared for
them. The barges were of the best build and
were used in shipping rails down the river
from the Carnegie mills at Braddock. The
holds were filled up with hunks, cooking ar
engagements and other accommodations, and
as an extra protection, as if in preparation
for the siege to which they were subjected to-
day, were lined with heavy steel plates on the
inside, while the whole back deck was protect
ed in similar manner. 1t was the intention
that the men should reach the works about 3
O clock this morning, but the guards which
were on duty along the river got word of the
threatened invasion of the hated Pinkerton
men, and prepared to receive them. The
barges were towed up the river by towboat,
but long before the Pinkerton men reached
Homestead thousands of workmen had gath.
cred on the banks of the river ready to give
them warm welcome. When the boats at
| tempted to land the workmen broke through
the fence surrounding the mill, and entrench-
ing themselves behind piles of steel billets pre-.
| pared to resist the landing of the detectives.
TIE FIGHT BEGINS.
| BY clock in the morning an effort was
| made to land the detectives, but the working
men met them and fierce battle was precip-
itated, both sides exchanging heavy v0lley
of shots. The detectives were all armed with
| Winchester rifles, but at the point where the
attempt to land was made there was steep
| embankment aud they were compelled to go
| in single file and were soon driven back to the
boats by the steady fire from the shore. The
noise of the battle spread about the borough
| like wildfire and thousands of men, women
and children thronged to the river bank to
witness the fight in progress. The Pinkertop
men were determined to land and they poured
volley after volley into the ranks of the work
men many of whom were stricken down by
the bullets, some of them being fatally injured
and others killed outright.
| As the battle progressed, the workmen took
up position behind breastwork, hastily
constructed of steel rails and billets, and from
| this place of safe refuge were able to pick off
\ the detectives as soon as they appeared on
the deck of the boats.
In the meantime Captain Hynd and Super
intendent Kline, of the Pinkerton men, were
disabled, and the fire was so fierce that the
crew of the tow boat hastily cut loose from
the barge and steamed up the river, carrying
as many of the wounded as they could reach
to Braddock, from which point they were sent
down to the hospitals for treatment at Pitts
burg. Seven of the force were thus cared
r. sI,N Ill I,,l
were carried to their homes at Homestead,
the dead being taken to the morgue and under,
taking rooms in the town.
The news of the riot reached Pittsburg as
early as 6 clock in the morning and thous-
ands of millwOrkers, all of whom are now idle,
pending the conference on the scale, congre-
gated in the streets while hundreds of others,
armed with guns and revolvers and well sup
piled with ammunition, took up the line Of
march to reinforce those engaged in the battle.
cANNoNs BROUGHT To BEAR.
As soon as day broke the workmen secured
small brass ten FOUNDER cannon and planted
il within steel billet emhrasure so as to
command the bargcs, which were mooFed at
the bank of the river. At the same time u
force of more than a thousand men took up u
position on the opposite side of the river and
also planted cannon which they protected
with q hreastwork Of railroad ties. The fire
from both sides was kept up, the barges having
been pierced along the sides. Shortly before
9 o'clock the cannon was trained on the boats
and for several hours an awful bombardment
was kept up. The stout oaken timbers form.
ing the sides Of the boat were splintered, but
the heavy steel plates ON the inside prevented
the balls from penetrating the interior Many
of the workmen, however, were expert marks
men and they sent shot after shot into the
port ho,es in the bows and inflicted terrible
injury to the imprisoned men,
ATTEMPT TO BURN THE BARGEs.
When it was found that little impression
could be made by the cannon on the boats,
an effort was made to fire the barges, and
thus compel the detectives to leave the YES
sells or suffer the terrible fate of being burned
alive. Hose were procured, and oil was
spouted on the decks and sides of the barges
While this was being done barrel after barrel
of oil was emptied into the river above the
mooring place, the object being to allow it to
float against the boats and then ignite it.