Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-08-18
UtLY STRIKERS.
Buffalo Switchmen Go Out and
Resort to Violence.
Incendiary Fires Destroy Much Valuable
PrOperty-Trains BIockaded - Nom
Onion Men Assaulted aud
BADLY Used Up.
pIsoRpER An RuFFALo.

DISORDER AT BUFFALO.
BUFFALO, n. Y, Aug. l5.-There is
no further Disgusting the fact that the
strike of the Erie and LehIgh Valley
switchmen is a 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-
Torrance 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 a 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 . o'clock
Sunday morning, when series
of incendiary fires broke out
simultaneously in the Lehigh valley
yards. Eighteen or twenty freight
cars, filed with wool, cotton, hay and
various other merchandise, two passcn-
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 trestles was
smashed and an engine that was taking
water there was wrecked by string of
runaway coal cars that had been turned
loose from the trestle.
Three men are at the hospital badly
hurt. One was assaulted at o'clock
Sunday morning, two others at II and
another at Sunday afternoon. The
man who was assaulted at the West
ern New York a. Pennsylvania
crossing was on his way for the
wrecker at the time and was turn
ing a switch. The strikers had turned
train before that He was struck on
the head and when he was taken to the
hospital was completely dazed and did
not know what had occurred. One of
the men was assaulted at the passenger
station and two at William street
One Of the most cowardly things done
was the throwing of switches under
passenger train No II at William street
at $50 o'clock Sunday night Two
passenger coaches were thrown from
the track, but the conductor does not
think anybody was hurt, though many
were badly frightened.
The strikers say they are determined
to win the fight and they assert the
roads are losing heavily by not having
men to perform the work of the
strikers. They say the Erie is thor
oughly demoralized on account of the
strike and that every side track ON the
Buffalo division is completely blocked
BUFFALO, n. Y, Aug. 16.-Just after
midnight the striking switchmen set
fire to a second train of sixteen freight
cars lying alongside the Cheektowaga
trestle. Again did the fire depart
ment respond, and about three-quarters
of an hour later two engines were en-
gagged in fighting the flames, but the
strikers soon cut the hose and the
steamers were rendered powerless
The Lehigh Valley officials then APP
pealed to Brig Gen. Doyle for imme-
diate aid. The general at once ordered
out the Sixty-ffth regiment and it hur-
Cd nv, .. 4,nf 81, fIa
The Sixty-fifth reached Cheektowaga
about 1880 o'clock, but the strikers were
invisible. They had been appraised by
their pickets of the coming soldiery
and scattered like so many ants. The
regiment encamped for the night in
damp field.
The Seventy-fourth regiment reached
the yards at 2:15, and the yards were
at once placed under military com
mand. There are 500 soldiers there,
and the yards are surrounded with
men. A guard with fixed bayonets
protects every entrance point
During the day incendiarism and
violence were resorted to and indi-
vidual attacks on the so-called 'scab"
workmen made The outlook is
melancholy and no one can predict
the end. More than 200 cars
have been burned, and train
load of passengers had miraculous
escape with their lives. Freight
trains have been boarded and train
men compelled to desert their posts
Switches have been turned and cars
thrown into the ditch Gondolas were
released from coal trestlcs and all
lowed to crash down into the yards
wrecking locomotives and cars and
creating general havoc with railroad
property.
Drowned in Turkey River.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia, Aug. IA pic