Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-22


passengers and running at high rate Of speed.
was thrown down Q steep erbanhment IN an
| other instance during the came strike the
| strikers attempted to wreck the Chicago ex-
press going down steep grade into West
Albany, and would have succeeded in killing or
of the railroad ties with which the
obstruction was made had not been
rotten. In the city Of New York
during the stonecutters' strike strikers in or
| der to kill non-union men unwound q part of
the rope Of a windlass, and during the night
poured acid on the rope and then rewound IL
so that the next day non-union men might be
KILLED in ascending with the stone or by the
falling stones. These f1endish acts were done
by members Of labor organizations in the pro-
motion OF their strikes and the only grievance
which the men had was that the employer was
seeking to hire men who were perfectly willing
and eager to take the places Of the we'll paid
strikers. These are but a few instances where
strikers. controlled by secret labor orders,
nave sought to murder and destroy
property. 1t was morally certain from
the threats of the men themselves that
the strike at Homestead would result In similar
violence and to attempt to destroy the prop
erty Of the Carnegie Company If any attempts
were made TO supply their places by non-union
men. At the present time Thousands Of men
would 60 to Homestead, attracted BY the high
wages paid there, If they were assured of pro-
lection In the right to earn their living.
THE BUSINESS OF WATCHING PROPERTY.
The business Of watching and guarding pri-
vate property h now extensively carried on in
large cities in this country, not only by our
selves. but by many other reputable concerns.
Thousands Of banks, residences, warehouses,
ohoes, storeA &C., are thus protected and
guarded by private watchmsn. II men can
not lawfully act % private wstchmen in Q
large manufacturing plant then IL must follow
that the bank or the private house orofice can
not be protected or guarded. II would, we
think, surprise the community Il It should be
declared by Congress that the right to protect
ones property and to hire servants and agents
to assist In 80 doing no longer exists in this
country.
NOT vIOLAToBs OF LAW.
We were advised by our counsel, Messrs.
Seward, Guthrie and Morawetz Of New York,
that we were not violating any law Of the
United States or Of the state Of Pennsylvania,
that our acts were lawful; that we had the right
to employ and send men to Homestead to act
Is sso, vat chm that L they were attacked
solutely necessary for sslf-defense; that
they had the right to bear arms on the premi-
ses OF the Carnegie Company in order to pro-
tect life and private property, whether or not
they were deputized by the sheriff Of Allegheny
county; that we had the right 10 ship arms from
C,ioo6o W sio OafHe6ae yaro6 al homestead Tor
the purpose of arming our men if and
after they we're deputized BY the sheriff;
that in view Of the attack on the barges our
men had the right to bear arms and to defend
themselves, and that all their acts in firing in
seh-defense from the barges after the attack on
them were legally justifisble under the laws Of
the United States and of the state Of Pennsyl-
wanna. Yours respectfully,
WIZ. A P1NxERroS,
ROBERT A. PINKERToN.
ROBERT A. PINKERToN EXAMINED.
The Judiciary ubcommittee investigating the
Pinkertons met again this afternoon and ex-
amined Robert A. Pinkerton. The Pinkertons
were iate In arriving and the committee did
not get to work until some time after O'Clock
The list Of questions which had been pre-
pared and furnished the committee by the
representatives Of the knights Of Labor
was read and followed by the chairman
in the first part of the examination. It had
previously been submitted to the Pinkertons
and their answers were returned in writing,
Robert Pinkerton reading them from the
prepared statement. After the examina-
ton bad proceeded in this way for some
little time Mr.. Boatner objected that this was
to conduct the examination. He said that the
committee was quite capable Of asking its own
Questions and that he did mot think that
they should permit any outsider to come
in and outline the extent and scope Of the
inquiry. 1t would be proper enough, he said,
they wanted to then if the Knights of Labor or
any other party to this investigation had any
additional questions they wanted asked they
might make the suggestion, but he thought It
entirely improper for the committee to step aside
and act as merely interrogatories for outsiders.
There was some little controversy on this SUBJ
ject and IT was explained to Mr.. Boatner that at
the morning session the committee had adopted
these questions many of them being such as
they would have asked anyhow. Finally Mr.
Boatner withdrew his objection and the ex-
animation by the rest of the questions was con-
tinued.
PURPOSES OF THE AGENCY.
Mr.. Pinkerton described the purposes Of his
agency and said that they had probably 800
men employed in the United States, and he said
that he did not believe that at any time they
had more tpan 500. BE said that the arms
belonging TO the Pinkertons were stored at
Chicago at the time Of the collision be-
tween his men and the strikers were sent for
and mat the arms on the barges did not belong
to them. He said that they had some men in
most of the principal cities Of the United States
whom they used to protect property, &c. The
men sent to Homestead, he said, came from
Chicago. Philadelphia and New York and that
Q majority Of them had been in the employ Of
the Pinkertons before. They embarked on
board the barges at Ashtabula, but the barges
were not armored in any way by iron or steel
and the guns and pistols were in boxes and were
not taken out until the Pinkerton men had been
fired on and some of them wounded They did
not expect, he said, to have any collision with
the strikers before the landing. If they had
anticipated any such thing the men would not
have gone. The purpose Of arming them was
for sef-defense and defense Of property. He
said that his men had at no time shot any one
except in self-defense and that none had ever
been convicted in the courts
Nominations by the President.
III -