Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1892-07-21
MI GREAT srRIKE OF 1877.
Hundreds of Lives l. osf and NH lions OF
Property DESTROYED.

Inc present LABOR troubles AT Tome
stead cali to mind some incidents of
the great strike Of 1877, which spread
from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
lasted from the middle of July that
year until the middle of August.
Hundreds Of lives were lost and dam
age from Ere to the amount of many
millions was caused by the rioters
before the trouble was finally ended.
1t was the greatest strike this
country has ever known.
The trouble began on the Balti-
more and Ohio railroad through a
strike of brakeIlcn and conductors
because of a reduction. lin wages.
There had been talk of destroying the
property of the road unless the
demands of the strikers were com
piled with, but no special attention
was paid to the threats until the
morning of July II, when a freight
train on the Baltimore and Ohio at
Baltimore was thrown from the
track, damaging the engine and
some of the cars and injuEing the
engineer and fireman.
The next day the mobs at Martins
burg, near Baltimore, were increased
by the arrival of between 400 and 500
men from the small stations neal at
hand. Gov. Matthews, of West Vir-
ginia, telegraphed to President Hayes
that the strikers on the Baltimore
and Ohio had become so riotous that
he was unable to quell the disturb
ance with the forces at his command
and requested that United States
troops be sent to the scene to aid in
putting down the riot. President
Hayes issued a proclamation order
ing the rioters to disperse and retire
%peaceably to their respective abodes
before moon. of the following day,
July 10, or suffer the consequences.
To make the proclamation more
effective he ordered the Second
artillery, with twelve officers and 200
men, and eight officers and 1l2 men
from Fort McHenry to Martinsburg.
At Baltimoret the strikers continued
in their defiant attitude, and the
road sent orders to all the agents to
refuse perishable freight at all points
along the line.
All this was but by way of a start
for the giant strike that followed.
On the morning of the 10Th of July
all brakemen and conductors on out
going freight trains at Pittsburg, on
the Pennsylvania railroad, left their
posts and gave notice that no new
men would be allowed to take their
places. C~ongregatlng to the number
of 200 at the outer depot at Pittsburg.
the strikers stopped all freight trains
and compelled the enginees and the
firemen to abandon the locomotives.
The superintendent of the road and
a squad of police attempted to run a
train, but the strikers turned a
switch and let the train go down a
side track.
The strikers continued persistent
On the Baltimore and Ohio. The
presidents proclamation was posted
upon the street at Martinsburg searly
in the morning and had the, effect for
a time of quelling the strikers. BY
Friday morning, July 81, the, situa,
ton at Baltimore and at other points
along the line of the Baltimore and
Ohio had become more serious than
ever. Gov. John Lee Carroll, OF
Maryland, issued a proclamation
much the same in purport as that
issued previously by the president,
and ordered the Fifth regiment to
] Cumberland to aid in the suppression
Of riot and lawlessness. The Sixth
regiment was ordered ont q few hours
later, and as it was passing down Balti,
more street to the Baltimore and
Ohio station it vas met by a mob
which opened fire. The fire was
returned with the result that four
men were killed and a. number
wounded. Almost Immediately after
the first attack the mob, which
had beef increased largely inn umbers,
opened fire again and chased the
troops down the street. More than a
dozen people. were killed during the
night.
At Pittsburg the strike on the
Pennsylvania had also Increased in its
terrors. Two thousand strikers were
gathered about the ''outer depot
while at East Liberty, a short dis.
lance out on the line, 5000 more men
were gathered, preventing trains
from passing that place.
Two thousand troops were ordered
from Philadelphia Saturday after.
noon and they arrived at Pittsburg
at 3 o'clock Half an hour later they
left the Union depot for the scene OF
the. disturbance, preceded by the
sheriff and a posse of deputies. When
the Black Huzzars were ordered to
clear the crossings at Twenty-eighth
street a number of them were injured
by stones thrown from the crowd of
strikers. Their. companions: began
firing,. the first shots. being aimed
above the heads of the crowd, but as
the shower of stones continued, the
order was'gfven to fire straight into
the ranks. Fourteen persons were
killed and as. many wounded on the
first volley. Three of the killed and
many of the ,unded were women.
As soon as the strikers reached the
roundhouse they opened fire with a
cannon they had captured from
Knap's battery. and while they were
firing on the imprisoned soldiers
someone set fire to an oil train stand
ing In the yard near by. The fire
approached the roundhouse and the
l,50o soldiers became frantic, threat
ening to cut their way out. AT 1870
o'clock the next morning the Union
depot was set fire and from that time
on until daylight the flames spread
throughout the railroad properbys
until more than 1000 ears had been
burned, the larger proportion OF
which contained merchandise. The
flremen were unable to cope with the
fire and before it was ended property
valued at 5000, 900 o'had been