Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-24
AN ANGRY POPULACE
Lines the Streets of Allegheny
to Shout at the New
Street Car Men.
A MOT0RMAN ATTACKED.
His Assailant Escapes to the Ohio
River in a Boat,
FROMPITTSBURG fOTHECARROUsE
Solid Rows Of Men, Women and Children
Line the Pavements.
A MOTORMAN ATTACKED.
FROM MPITTSBURG rOTHEC CARHOUsE
CHIEF MURPHY FEARS TROUBLE TO-DAY

Like an army waiting for the command to
charge the friends of the striking employees
of the Pittsburg, Allegheny and Manchester
Traction Company lined up the streets of
lower Allegheny last night, and needed
only the word of a leader to break out in
opposition. Blue-coated policemen pa
trolled the streets at intervals of two or
three minutes, but they had no work to do.
The crowd was sullen and angry, but rea-
sonsblv quiet except when a car in charge
of the new men passed, when all would join
in concerted yell of ''Scah.'
The word was used as frequently and
vociferously as "liberty" in revolutionary
times More than once it was thought the
road would be blockaded and the cars de-
stroyed, but cooler heads prevailed, and,
with the exception that stone was thrown
through the cab of one car, there was no
violence The efforts of the police were
confined to, suppressing occurrences that
might drive the crowd into mob At the
request of Chief Murphy every saloon along
Beaver avenue was closed at 6 o'clock and
as a result there was little drunkenness.
There were loud demands for liquor, of
course, but the dealers were loyal to the re-
not even open their back doors. Several
brass bands appeared on the streets to ad-
vertise themselves OF small entertainments,
but they were corralled by Chief Murphy at
the first beat of the drum. Tt was feared
the excitement a word would produce would
excite the crowd and lead to riot.
Tried to Hit the Motorman.
The throwing of stone through a cab
window occurred shortly after dark. The
car was coming down Rebecca street, near
the gas works, and while passing through a
crowd, Young fellow stepped out and threw
the stone directly at the motorman. The
latter happened to see it coming,
and jumped back Just in time to
escape it. Two policemen chased
the man who had thrown the stone, but he
escaped past the gas works to the river, and
jumping into a boat, cut a small rope that
fastened it to the shore, rowed out into the
middle of the stream. Before the officer
could get another boat TO follow, the man
they were following was out of sight. He
was not known. While the officers were
giving chase the motorman attempted to :
start his car but the crowd rushed to the
track and refused to let the car proceed
For few moments it looked dangerous
but at last the crowd stepped back and
with a howling cheer and cries of scab, al
lowed the motorman to go ahead.
A ride on a Rebecca street car from Pitts
burg TO the end of the line last night was
both dangerous and exciting. Just as soon
as the Allegheny side of the Sixth street
bridge was reached a crowd commenced
gathering, and from that time until the car
barn was reached nothing could be heard
but ''scab" in all the various tones of voice
of Young and old humanity. 1t seemed as
if the city had emptied its houses to show
sympathy for the striking employees, and
that men, women and children were vieing
with each other to see which could make the
most noise.
Pushed Into the Crowd. |
AT Federal and Rebecca streets a crowd |
Of men and boys pushed in ahead of car No. |
IL, but they did not offer to interfere. The |
motorman grew a little nervous. He |
looked anxiously at the policeman with him |
in the cab, and when response was given |
turned on the current The car moved on |
and the crowd moved away. 1t followed a |
few rods and with a parting yell returned |
to the corner to await another car. From |
there to Frazier street there we're few stops |
and no incidents. The populace stood on
the pavements on either side, lined up |
like soldiers on dress parade. 1t bore
resemblance to spectators watching pro- /
cession, but instead of cheers of approval,
there were howls of disgust directed at the
mOtorman and conductor who had come to /
the company S assistance. Both were young
and seemed inexperienced. The conductors
hands indicated that be was not used TO
work and that he might have been some
clerk or agent in hard luck, who had taken
the only employment he could find. He
bore the filings directed at him with little
evidenced ANNOYANCE until the car reached \
Beaver avenue, when two police
men boarded the ear and took
positions on either side OF the con-
ductor All the passengers except one |
had previously got of, number of them
stating that they preferred to walk. On
the run from Western avenue to the car
barn the hum of the electrical machinery
could not be heard.
Women Prove the Most Noisy.
The crowd pushed out to the street and
lined the tracks, but did not get in front of
the car. The men did not saw as much as
the younger boys. and the latter scarcely as
much as the women. AT the car barn 10 or
1j policemen kept the streets cleared.
The new men are principally young and
inexperienced. A few are the men dis
charged bv the Duquesne Traction Com
pany since the consolidation with the Fifth
avenue. The feeling toward the men who
are taking the places of the strikers is so
intense that it is almost il possible for
them TO get boarding places in Allegheny.
Restaurants are closed to them and they
practically live in the car barn.
Yesterday afternoon several attempts were
made TO throw cars from the track BY turn
ing switches and placing nuts and bolts on
the rails None of the efforts were success
fUl. After dark, the motormen had orders
10 run very slowly and watch ahead for OBJ
At Ridge and Allegheny ave-
nues in the afternoon, the windows of car
124 was broken, but no one was
hurt. Car 11S had a similar experience
at Woods Run. No cars were run farther
than Beaver avenue after dark. 1t was paw
day at the Penthouse Mill in Woods Run,
and, at the request of the police the COM
pany concluded not to make any effort to
keep the road open. A big crowd was wait
ing all evening for the cars to start, and if
they had there would undoubtedly have
been trouble. There were 80 cars out
yesterday out of about 50 that are usually
run. The men were compelled to work from
s O'Clock in the morning until IL at night
Some of them played out before that time
and were taken out To-day each crew will
be out only eight hours.
Mostly Boys and Children.
In speaking of the strike last night, Chief
Murphy said: SIT is boys and children that
are making all the trouble. The strikers
have nothing to do with it. All / am
afraid of is that tomorrow afternoon, if it
is a nice day, all the mill-workers will
come out, and if they do there may be
trouble. Our policemen are doing good
work, however, and / think they can pre-