Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1892-08-16
TROOPS ON GUARD.
Strike of SWitchmen a
Serious One.
A SPIRIT OF LAWLESSNESS
Exhibited by the Strikers in and Near
Buffalo.
Special To tho Tribune.

Special To tho Tribune.
BUFFALO. Aug. 16-The Sixty fifth regi.
ment has Just been sent to Cheektowags
to guard the IIehigh Valley and the Erie
yards.
The Seventy regiment has been
called out to protect the Central and
West Shore property, 1t being feared that
switchmen on these roads may 60 out
BUFFALO, Aug. i6 - An Erie train
consisting OF forty-two cars lying on the
main tracks was set on fire at midnight,
and up to l o'clock fifteen cars were
burned. At ! o'clock message from tho
operator at the William street station says
that the fire had Jroken out at three diff
ferent places In the yards Nothing could
DE done by the engines attached to the
trains, as the crews were driven from tho
engines The fire department was unable
to do anything on account of the absence
of hydrants.
At 2 O'Clock in the morning train OF
coal cars on the Lehigh Valley caught
fire Mt each end and burned fercely. Here
and there at intervals OF a few minutes fro
broke out all along the line, and as many
. as a dozen different blazes were seen al
one time and the sky was lurid with the
reflections of the n mes. At about this
time the switch lights on the Erie
between Smith station and the Western
New York and Pennsylvania, were stolen
and the switches left I'm darkness.
The fire department complain that the
work OF the men at tho freight car fires
was much impeded by the cutting OF hose
by unknown parties Twelve lengths of
hose were cut nd.rendered useless during
the night. The number of Erie and
Lehigh Valley freight cars destroyed by
fire Is variously estimated at from 100 to
600.
Police the Alert
At every point whore the trouble is
likely to occur police are stationed. The
reserves from all tho precincts in the city
are at East Buffalo ready for duty. When
Lehigh Valley train No 32 arrived, IL had
car of switchmen who had been picked
up along the line of the road. The train
was an hour late. Before tho train had
reached Williams street number of the
strikers jumped on to the platform, but
the guard soon drove them off the train
and they disappeared All the way
through the yards and until the train
pulled into the Erie station the passengers
in the cars were constantly expecting an
attack would be made upon the train.
Reliable reports received from East Buff
falo and Cheektowaga showed that the
Lehigh Valley had lost seventy-two cars
by the fire and the Erie fourteen. All the
railroad men profess TO be utterly unable
at present to fix an estimate of the loss.
They are acting very cautiously on this
point for the reason that claim will be
made against the city and county for
damages, and the amount, Of course, has
not yet been figured up
Forty seven special deputy shcrifrs left
for Cbeektowaga aud more will be sent
out. IF the sheriff finds he cannot preserve
order he will appeal to the governor for
military aid.
In Southern Now York.
ELMIRA, N. Y. Aug. 10. Great excite
ment prevails at Waverly. and Sayre,
Pa. Just over the state line, on ac-
count of the strike Of the Lehigh Valley
switchmen. Fifty-one Lehigh men are
out. Only four Of the Erie switchmen at
Waverly are union men, and these had
not been ordered out. Two Lehigh freight
trains slipped out, the trainmen doing
aheir own switching, but with these ex-
ceptions no trains have gone through
Sayre since Saturday night. Between
$500 and 5000 cars arc tied up there.
Sheriff Geer of Tioga county, is at
Waverly with twenty-five deputies sworn
in, md Sheriff Powell OF Bradford county
Pa, Is Mt Sayre, with n large force OF
deputies.
Great excitement resulted from the at
tempt To run an engine and caboose out OF
Sayre. Tho men surrounded the engine
and refused to let IL proceed. Sheriff Pow
ell turned the switch himself but it was
Immediately turned back by the strikers
A start was made, but the strikers pulled
the coupling pin between the engine and
caboose and caused another delay. The
sheriff tried to arrest some OF tho men
but they were Immediately rescued by
their comrades. Superintendent Stephen
son and the sheriff mounted the pilot
but could not Ike ~ the men away from the
engine. At nooa, the engine had gone
about 200 yards and the strikers were in
command of the situation. No trouble
has occurred at Elmira or Hornellsville.
The alterations between the sheriff's
posse and the strikers have been conducted
so far without any serious results A
special from Sayre says that sixty men
were ordered TO report TO Superintendent
Stephenson yesterday to take the places OF
the strikers. They reported, but the men
refused to work.
About 4:30 p. m, engine No. . was pull
ing freight train into the city, when
about thirty striking switchmen boarded
the train. set the brakes,
pulled the coupling pins, threw pins and
links into stagnant pools Mt the side OF
the track, and disappeared. The engineer
got new supply OF pins and links and
hauled the train In with n policeman on
about every fifth car. This event at.
tracted very large crowd. The only Le-
high valley train that moved past the Buf.
falo Creek junction yesterday was coal
train, which went out to Williams street
guarded by eight policemen.
The Nickel Plate moved thirty-two cars
Of live stock from the Lehigh 90 the Lake
Shore tracks, but when the men learned
OF II, they refused to make the cars up for
the Lake Shore trains bound over the Cen.
trail for New York. Then IL was learned
that 1877 cars OF live stock, belonging to
the Erie and Lehigh were standing on the
West Shore tracks. The men thereupon
refused to handle them. Each man was
asked separately 10 go TO work upon these
cars. and each, upon refusing. was dis
charged. In consequence, the Lake Shore
switohwen stood In hourly expectation all
day Of ..E ordered out bY tho union