Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1892-08-20
DISORDER AT BUFFALO.
Bwitchmen Strike, and Resort TO violence
-Aconsed of IncendInrlsm.


BUFFALO, N. Y, Aug. 15-There Is
no further Disgusting the fact that the
strike of the Erie and Lehgh Valley
switchmen is serious matter. Whether
it would have proved so very serious to
the railroads to have $50 or 200 men
leave their posts of duty without warm
ing is not now the question. Property
belonging to the railroad company
has been destroyed by incendiary
fires; men engaged in the peaceful per-
formance of their duties have been as
saulted and sent to the hospitals; the
movement of trains has been seriously
interfered with, and the lives of inno-
cent persons who were in no way con-
nected with the strike and had not
even heard of it have been endangered
by the derailment of passenger train
on one of the roads.
There had been more or less trouble
Saturday between the strikers and
their sympathizers and the men who
were doing the strikers work, and
few desultory assaults had occurred.
Things began to put on
more serious aspect at 2 o'clock
Sunday morning, when series
of incendiary fires broke out
simultaneously in the Lehigh valley
yards. Eighteen or twenty freight
cars, filled with wool, cotton, hay and
various other merchandise, two pasSen-
ger coaches and two watchmen's houses
were burned. The fires occurred at
places where the firemen could not sue
cessfully stay the flames on account of
an absence of water, besides the diff
Guilty of access to the fires The water
tank adjacent to the coal trestlcs was
smashed and an engine that was taking
water there was wrecked by string of
runaway coal cars that had been turned
loose from tho trestle.
Fire was discovered in the east-bound
yards, east of Dingen street. Here
little Office building and two or three
freight cars were destroyed. AT this
time Yardmaster Mead discovered
flames in two passenger coaches used
for the conveyance of workmen and
turned in an alarm from William and
Dingen streets.
In the yards east of Dingen street
fire ragged among the cars of merchan-
disc. 1t took the hose from three carts
to reach the flames from the nearest
hydrant. The tiremen, however, pre-
vented the destruction of great
number of cars and the loss of
perhaps hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth of property. The cars
destroyed were in the midst of a great
number of other cars. The fremen un-
coupled number OF cars and removed
them from danger. A dozen or so cars
were thrown from the Lehigh tracks
and a similar number from the Erie by
misplaced switches.
The first intimation of anything
wrong was when the coal cars were set
loose and demolished the water tank.
Then the fires broke out simulta-
neously. Capt. Wurtz, of the Eleventh
precinct, put a force of n dozen officers
in the yard as soon as the alarm was
given. The officers were unable to find
any suspicious characters.
Three men are at the hospital badly
hurt. One was assaulted at 3 o'clock
Sunday morning, two others at IL and
another at Sunday afternoon. The
man who was assaulted at the West
ern New York x PENNSYLVANIA
crossing was on his way for the
wreclSer at the time and was turn
ing n switch. The strikers had turned
switches and thrown six cars from his
train before that. He was struck or
the head and when he was taken to the
hospital was completely dazed and die
not know what had occurred. One o.
the men was assaulted at the passenger
station and two ut William street.
One of the most cowardly things done
passenger train No II at William stree
at 1880 o'clock Sunday night Two
passenger coaches were thrown from
the track, but the conductor does no
think anybody was hurt, though man.
We're badly frightened,
Fifty men boarded passenger tSail
No. 8 at II o'clock Sunday morning ant
molcsted the employees, driving then
off. The crew finally succeeded in get
ting the II ain to the station. The mo
took possession of the Seneca stree
switches three or four times during tn
day and drove off the signal men.
Two trains of freight cars standin
on sidings at Cheeltowaga, the raj
road suburb of Buffalo, were burpe
Sunday night The Lehigh Valley ha
called on the sheriff for protection. II
sent six deputies to the scene and wi
swear in more this morning The pC
lice have yards in seven out of eleve
precincts in the city to guard and a
the reserves are called out.
The strikers say they are determine
to win the fight and they assert tn
roads are losing heavily by not havin
men to perform the work of til
strikers. They say the Erie is tho
oughly demoralized on account of til
strike and that every side track on tn
Buffalo division is completely bloclSec
ELMIRA, N. V, Aug, 15.-The stril
of switchmen inaugurated at Butfa.
on the Erie and Lehigh Valley linz
has extended to Waverly and Sayre c
the Lehigh and all freight trains {
that line are at standstill. A ira
of beef stands on an Erie siding ther
the switchmen refusing to allow it
ba switched TO the I,ehirh tracks