Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-15
|..
SW|TCHMEN ON A STRIKE,
The Erie and Lehigh Valley
Roads Tied Up.
The Strike Liable to Extend to
Other Railroads.
Cars Burned, Switches Opened and
other Depredations.
The Strikers Deny Completely in ANY Of
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Delay Of
Traffic Nom Union Men
Employed.
By the Associated Press. /,


further disgusting the fact that the
strike Of the Erie and Lehigh Valley
switchmen is a serious matter. There
had been more or less trouble Saturday
between the strikers and their sympa.
thizers, and the men who are doing the
strikers work. and few desultory as
saults had occurred. Things began to
put on more serious aspect at 2 O'Clock
this morning, when series of incen-
diary fires broke out simultaneously
in the Lehigh Valley yards. Eighteen
hay and various other merchandise, two
passenger coaches and two watchmen's 4
| houses burned. The water tank adja-
cent to the coal trestles was smashed,
and the engine taking water there was
| wrecked by string of ten runaway coal
cars that had been turned loose from
| the trestle. A little Office building and
two or three freight cars were first de-
stroyed in the south -bound yards.
Flames were next discovered in two
passenger coaches, used for the convey
ance OF workmen. In the yards east of
Dingens street the fire ragged among cars
of merchandise. The firemen, however,
prevented the destruction of great
number Of cars and the loss Of property.
A dozen or So of cars were thrown from
the Lehigh tracks, and q similar num-
Der from the Erie, by misplaced switch
es. The officers are unable to find any
suspicious characters. The strikers, or
sympathizerB, have pulled pins, turned
switches and driven off the crews. Three
men are at the hospital, badly hurt.
The strikers assert that the roads are
loosing heavily by not having men to
perform the work of the strikers,
Two trains Of freight cars standing on
sidings in Cheektowaga, a. railroad SUI
burb of Buffalo, were burned t0niRht,
The Lehigh Valley called on the sher-
iff for protection. He sent Hix deputies
to the scene, and will swear in fifty more
tomorrow morning, At l O'Clock fire
broke out in three places in the Lehigh
yards again, simultaneously. The fire
department seemed unable 10 quonch Is
The New York express iEfie) ID
held two miles out, because It cannot
pass. The New York express, No. A,
has not been sent out for the same rea-
| son.
One of the most cowardly things done
was the throwing of the switches under
passenger train No. IL, at Williams
street, at 7:30 o'clock tonight. Two
passenger coaches were thrown from
the track, but the conductor
does not think anybody was
hurt, though many were badly fright
ened. Fifty men boarded passenger
train No. 8 at II O'Clock this morning,
and molested the employees, driving
them off. The crew finally succeeded in
getting the train to the station.
A mob took possession of the Seneca
street switches three or four times dur
ing the day, and drove off the signal
men. In Lehigh yards, at Cheettowaca,
tonight, the scenes of last night were
repeated.
tits plainly intimated by the Erie
officials that workmen from the east
have been engaged to take the places OF
the strikers.
BUFFALO, Aug. 15, 2 a. m.-Word has
just been received that train Of forty
two cars on the Erie road, filed with
fine merchandise, q mile east of William
street, is now burning fercely, with no
protection.
At the same time the switch lights on
the Erie, between Smith street and the
Western New York and Pennsylvania
target, were stolen. At 2:25 a. m. the
passengers on the two'trains on the Le-
high Valley and Erie, which were
ditChed at Williams street, were brought
into the station. Nobody was injured,
but the passengers have had an unpleas-
ant time, and Superintendent Brunn re-
ports fire still raging among the cars OF
merchandise in the yards at Cheekto-
waga, and says the sheriff. seems power
less to interfere, though he called on
him to protect the railroad property.
The strikers deny that any Of their
number had any thing to do with the
fires or the throwing of the coal train
down the trestle. A significant Incl
dent in connection with the work OF the
firemen, when they arrived at the yard
and began to couple the hose to the hy-
drants, ia that they were approached by
number OF men who told them not to
hurry that they had plenty of time.
The action seems to have been con"
certed, for the engineers of the steam
ers were told by other men to take it
easy, as the hosemen had trouble with
the hydrants, and they might as well
ahut of steam.
just what the exact damage will
amount to is not known as yet, and can
not be learned until all the bills are re-
ceived. The loss TO the companies in
the destruction Of their cars and build
ings by fire, and the smashing Of big
water tank and coal cara, which were
let down the trestle, will amount
to more than $4,000, as near as
the men in charge here can estimate.
All the burned cars were loaded, 60
their contents must be large. The con-
tents of the cars which were not burned,
are soaked with water, and the fruits
and meats in the Refrigerator cars were
almost baked by the intense heat, and
of course, will be loss.
New YoRK, Aug. 14.-The strike OF
the Hwitchmen and train hands on the
Lehigh Valley and Erie railroads at
Buffalo may extend to the yards OF the
various railroads in Jersey City. The
men in those yards receive the same
pay and work just as many hours as the
switchmen in Buffalo.
A switchman in the Lehigh Valley
yards said today there would be meet
ing held some day this week to consider
the question Of ordering general strike