Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-16
THE swIrCHMEN.s STRIKE.
Regiments of Militia Called Out to the
Buffalo Yards.

| Buffalo Yards.
THE rTE-uP or FREIGHT TRArSs-rHK VERSION
OF THE TROUBLE GIVEN BY PRESIDENT MLEoD
| OF THE READISa-DEPUrIEs WHO oAyR Up
| THEIR CLUBS
As stated in The STARS dispatches yester-
day the strike OF switchmen at Buffalo has
seriously impeded freight traffic, and it's effects
are felt in New York
Great excitement prevailed yesterday at
Waverly, n. Y, and Sayre, just over the state
line. on account Of the strike Of the Lehigh
Valley switchnen- Fifty-one Lehigh men are
out. Two Lehigh freight trains slipped out,
the trainmen doing their own switching. but
with these exceptions no trains have gone
through Sayre since Saturday night. Between
$500 and 1000 cars are tied up at Sayre. Sher-
III Geer of Tioga county, N. Y, was at Waverly
with twenty-five deputies sworn in, and Sheriff
| Powell Of Bradford county, Pa, is ut Sayre
with barge force OF deputies. Great excite
ment resulted from the attempt to run an engine
and csboOse out Of Sayre yesterday morning
The men surrounded the engine and refused to
! let 1t proceed. Sheriff Powell turned the switch
| himself, but il Immediately turned by the
strikers. start made, but the strikers pulled
I the coupling pin between the engine and ca
boosc and caused another delay. The sheriff
tried to arrest some of the men, but they we're
Immediately rescued by their comrades. Super
intendent stephenson and the sheriff mounted
! the pilot, but could not keep the men away from
| the engine At noon the engines had gone
about 200 yards and the strikers we're in CON-
mand Of the situation. No trouble has occurred
at Elmira or Hornellsville. The alterations be-
| tween the sheriff posse and the strikers has
been conducted SO far without any serious re-
/ suits. A meeting of union trainmen held
| yesterday afternoon at Sayre and it was decided
that trainmen would not do switchmen's work
north Of Sayre.
sheriff admitting his powerlessness, but moro
| trouble is threatened when he undertakes to
make the promised arrests with larger force.
One striker, VIM. Jones, was hurt in one Of the
melees with the sheriff 8 force.
! The only event that relieved the daylight mo-
notony of events on the Buffalo and South
western was little episode which occurred
yesterday afternoon next to Taylor & Crates
lumber yard just east Of the Elk street cross
ing. About 80 pm. engine No. was pulling
! freight train No. 1873 into the city, when twenty
or thirty of the striking switchmen camo up
! from behind the lumber yard, boarded the
train, set the brakes, stalled the train. pulled
the coupling pins, threw pins and links into
the stagnant pools at the side Of the track and
disappeared. The engineer ran down to the
Seneca street crossing. got o new supply Of
pins and links, and at about $50 o'clock hauled
the train in, with policeman on about every
| fifth car. The event attracted a large crowd Of
men, women and children at the Elk street
crossing. patrol wagon was also stationed at
that place.
NoN-UNIoN MEN KEEP UNDER COVER.
About forty non-union men, brought from
Philadelphia by the Philadelphia and Reading
to take the places of the strikers, reached Buff
falo Yesterday morning and we're quartered at
the United States Hotel. No attempt was made
to work them, aud all remained at the hotel in
charge Of Phillip Krsnz, detective employed
bv the road. Last evening the men were ad-
vised to go to their rooms. SO in case any Of
the strikers came around there would be no
trouble. Most Of the men acted on the advice
and retired.
The air was full of dark hints Of coming
| trouble. which was said to be deferred until
after dark. The specials, who had been brave
- lions on the train and INDUCED in tall talk
about wha. they would do in the region Of
CheektOwaga, now felt their courage oozing
away as soon they landed, and finally, in re-
Spouse to the appeals Of the men, one after an
other threw away his club or handed it to the
powerless hands OF the sheriff. while at each
conversion cheer went up from the strikers,
and soon all that remained Of the sherif's brave
posse could be counted on the fingers Of one
hand. Sheriff Beck bowed to the inevitable
and came back to Buffalo to call out the militia.
No disturbance was reported up TO IL O'Clock
last night at the Cheektowaga yards, except the
burning of one empty Lehigh freight car at
$50 p. IN.
THE MILITIA READY.
The seventy-fourth regiment and sixty-ffth
regiment were assembled at their armories
ready to move at a moments notice, though the
amateur soldiers do not much relish the idea Of
repetition OF the fight of 1877.
The first battalion of the sixty fifth regiment
left at o'clock for the Cheektowaga freight
yards. They will be followed in the morning
by the second battalion and both battalions Of
the seventy-fourth regiment.
PRESIDENT M'LEoD's STATEMENT.
A Philadelphia dispatch says that the switch
! mems strike on the Lehigh Valley railroad,
while viewed with becoming seriousness BY the
Reading management, occasions no apprehen-
siors to the outcome. Men in numbers
more than sufficient to fill the places of the
strikers have been secured. they say, and thus
far there has been no absolute stoppage Of
traffic. Three freight trains we're moved this
morning. None Of the perishable freight has
been stopped.
In an interview President Mcleod furnished
some exceedingly interesting information re-
garding the strike.
ITO intelngently understand the situation at
Buffalo" he explained, ''you must know that
Buffalo is the dividing line between the west
ern roads and the trunk lines. Both concen-
trate there and that point forms the geographic
cal line between the western and eastern rail-
way systems. 1t likewise supplies the line Of
differing conditions between the eastern and
western roads. The roads west of Buffalo get
higher rates eor traffic, the classifcations are
higher, everything is on a higher scale, and the
cost Of living to the railway employees is also
higher, hence they are paid higher wages than
are paid in the east.
'Some years ago the labor organizations,
starting at Chicago, inaugurated a movement
for higher wages along the western lines mo "
ing eastward in their work Of agitation. One
by one they took in the various railroad yards
until Buffalo was finally reached. Here the two
systems meet, and here, as a. Chicago, the en-
ployes Of the western roads get higher wages,
because the western roads, receiving better
rates, can afford to pay the difference. The
walking delegate jumped at the opportunity and
urged equalization Of wages, notwithstanding
the widely differing conditions. When the de-
mand for an advance was made to the eastern
roads at Buffalo all declined to accede except
the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, which
granted the advance, although in so doing it
exercised manifest discrimination against its
other employees in the east.
Although the Lehigh Valley declined to
meet the demands Of the men when the road
was separate organization. they renewed them
when the road was leased by the Reading. per-
sonaily Investigated the matter and decided
that we could not grant the advance without
raising the wages of our men In New York,
Philadelphia, Reading and everywhere else on
TX Al.