The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1892-07-28
THEIR STORY.
Tho Pinkerton Brothers Declare Their
Men Did Not Shoot at Homestead Until
Forced to-EVidence Before the Con-
kressiOnal Committee.

Men D1d NOT SnOOt at HOmeSteaO Ontn
Forced to-Evidence Before the Con-
kressional COMMITTEES.
WASHINGTON, July 23.-The Pinker-
ton brothers were given an opportunity
to explain and defend the working of
their system by the special committee
of the house which has been engaged
In an investigation of the labor troubles
at Homestead, and of the operations Of
the Pinkerton system. Messrs.
Hayes, Devlin and Wright,
of the knights of labor, were present
to watch the proceedings. Mr.. Devlin
said they had prepared questions they
desired the committee to ask the Pink
ertons Robert Pinkerton took the
stand and laid before the committee a
statement that had been prepared. A
synopsis is as follows:
The statement urges that the Pinkerton men
did not go into Pennsylvania as IAN armed
force" The arms and ammunitions were
shipped from Chicago and were ordered not to be
given the men unless they were deputiZed by the
sheri1. AS matter Of fact the boxes were not
opened until the strikers had opened fire and it
became matter of life and death.
The employment all over the country
by banks and private people of watchmen
is referred to, and then the subscribers
to the statement affirm that their coun.
sci assure them that they have violated
no law, federal or state; that they had the
right to employ and send men to Home.
stead to act as watchmen; that If they were
attacked, they had the right to kill
if absolutely necessary for sclf-de-
tense; that they had the right to bear arms
on the premises of the Carnegie company in
order to protect life and property, whether
or not they were deputiZed by the -sher-
If Of Allegheny county, that they had
the right to ship arms from Chicago
to the Carnegie yards at Homestead
If they were deputized by the sheriff
that in view OF the attack on the
barges their men had the right to bear arms
and to defend themselves and that all their
acts in firing in self-defense from the barges
after the attack on them were legally justifable
under the laws of the United States and the
state of Pennsylvania.
In answer to the questions which had
been prepared by the representatives
of the knights of Labor Robert Pinlser-
ton replied as follows: The Pinkerton
agency owned about $50 rifles, about
400 pistols and an equal number of
clubs, and they were deposited in Chi
cago. In all its branches the firm never
had at one time more than 500 persons
in their employ. The men employed
were advised exactly what they were
to do and understood that they were at
perfect liberty to refuse any employ
ment to which they objected.
The barges were not constructed for
the purposes of protection and were
not lined with iron or steel and could
not resist small arms The men would
never have been allowed to start on the
expedition If it had been known
that they were to be attacked
before landing The bargcs were
employed because it was believed
that the men would be enabled to
land without Il breach Of tn peace ,anl
the landing was made at night for the
reason that the sheriff's force had been
resisted in the daytime, and it was ez-
pected that the strikers would be in
bed. The sole desire was to avoid
by all means a breach of the
peace. otherwise the men would
not have been permitted to go un-
less authorized by the governor or
deputized by the sheriff. The only
purpose was to put the men upon pri-
vate property and then protect it from
attack. The men would not have fired
except as a matter of sclf-defcnse. 1t
was understood that the Carnegie COM
pany had applied to the proper legal
authorities and that the men were
going to Homestead with the approval
of the sheriff.
He thought that if the detectives had
fired to kill many more lives would
have been lost and the works could
have been taken at that time, but not
without great loss of life. Mr.. Pinker-
ton stated that he was a sworn peace
officer-a deputy shorthand he made
it a rule always to swear in his men ex-
cept in the case of railroad service.
Mr.. Oates asked witness what he had
to say of the statement that fifty good
soldiers could have scattered the Home
stead mob and that cowardicc was
shown by the Pinkertons Witness re-
piled that he had talked with his men.
They said that they could have taken
possession of the works almost
at any time before 10 o'clock;
that seventy-fve men could have
taken possession of the works,
but they would have had to kill num-
ber of people, men, women and chill
dren, and they concluded not to do any
thing of the kind. The first firing, his
men told him, was over the strikers
heads. His men were armed with Win
chesters. At the start not over twenty
of them were given arms and afterward
arms were given to about forty in all.
At one point in the testimony of Rob-
ert Pinkerton he arraigned the meth
DDS of the Knights of Labor with such
vehemence and graphic detail as to
create a sensation in the committee
room. He had been asked by Mr.. Boat
ner if it was true, as the Knights of La Dor
and amalgamated ironworkers as
serted, that organized labor always
sought peaceable means for settling
strikes. Mr.. Pinkerton smiled disdain-
fully at the suggestion, and then bend
ing forward and looking directly at
Messrs. Hayes and Devlin, he said:
II have seen Knights Of Labor kick mems
faces until they were jelly. I have seen
Knights of Labor throw men off the tops of
moving 1rc1gnt cars. nave seen them Knock
men from cars with stones and rocks have
known Knights of Labor to place Instructions
on railroad tracks for the purpose of derailing
trains. 1 have known strikers to place dyna-
mite under freight cars. have known them to
put explosives inside molds so that when
molten metal was poured in it would explode. 1
charge these men with doing these things and
defy them here now to deny it,
Deaths from Sunstroke.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo, July 23. The wealth
er has been hotter here than for several
years. Many cases of sunstroke have
been reported and two laborers named
John Mcnamara and John Loscher
have died from the effects of the heat.
FORT WAYNE, Ind, July 23.-Friday
was the hottest of the season, and many
cases are reported of workmen leaving
their work. Noah Pyle while walking
across Hamilton's fields was sunstruck
and died before help could reach him.
RAYMOND, ILL.,, July 2s.-Patrick Alb
bott, farmer residing near here, was
found dead in the road near his home. It
is supposed he was overcome by the heat.
It Left Her Bald.