The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-10-06
Coach Bearing Deputy COnstables and
NOnunionists Stoned by Crowd
of SympathiZers.
STOKES'S EVER READY PISTOL
Fired at Random, Bringing Down
James Pitts, a NOncOmbatant.
Indignation Among Friends of the In
jured Men-POlice Decline to Make
Arrests-StOkes Escapes.

Two people were shot at Indianola, across
Four labor trouble, and James Pitts, a fire.
man on the Peoria & Eastern, will die as
result of his wound. The Indignation in the
neighborhood Of the shops ran very high
last night, as the shooting in both cases was
unnecessary, that i'm the case of Pitts SEEM
ing very cold-blooded and deliberate. John
G. Stokes, who has charge of the special
deputies guarding the nonunion boiler max
ers, is the man who shot Pitts. Stokes is
the man who fired yesterday into Alfred
Traub's grocery store, and one of the rail-
road men says that Stokes boasted of his
feat yesterday morning. Bernie Stamm, a
small boy, was shot in the knuckle III the
morning by ]. L. Vaughan, another of the
special deputies. His injury is very slight.
The shooting in the morning was about IL
o'clock, and that later in the day between
$50 and o'clock. Pitts was an innocent
spectator At the time Pitts was shot he was
standing behind q crowd of small school
children. and it Is somewhat remarkable
that a number of these innocents were not
killed by the deliberate shooting Of the spe-
cial deputy. Stokes fired from a COACH in
which were half dozen or more nonunion
boiler makers and J. w. Riley. superin-
tendent of the Peoria & Eastern division of
the Big Four. A fusillade of fifteen or more
shots followed, but no others were injured.
1t was claimed by the people in the neigh
borhood last night that there were not as
many as three strikers about the shops
throughout the day.
DESULTORY SKIRMISHES.
All the special police who were In the
riot of the preceding day, except two, re-
ported for duty at the shops yesterday
morning. These two surrendered their
badges and said they had had enough of
that kind of duty. The boiler makers who
had taken the places of the strikers were
brought to the shops in a train from Dill
lon street, and the arrangements were to
take the men back in a train after the
whistle blew in the evening. After the
police, or special deputies. took their sta
tions, crowd of small boys gathered on
the outside of the shops. None of these
boys were of age They amused themselves
by throwing stones over the freight cars
that were drawn up around the shops.
Now and then one of the deputies would
come from behind a car, and some small
boy, more venturesome than the rest,
would hurl stone at the man wearing a
star. The appearance of these men seemed
to excite the boys. When the deputies
kept out of sight the 5oys were rot so OBJ
streperous. About 1880 o'clock the cars In
front of the roundhouse were taken away.
and the boys were careful not to break
any of the glass in the roundhouse. The
cars were afterwards brought back TO
their original position. The boys crept up
closer to the cars, occasionally throwing
rocks and pebbles.
SHOOTING OF STAMM.
Vaughan, one of the deputies. took UNI
bragg at this, and pulled out his revolver.
He poked the revolver from behind the end
of a car and fired. The bullet took the
skin off the knuckle of Bernie Stamm,
and lodged in the drug store of Charles
Taub Stamm fell back to where his COM
panions were gathered, and showed them
where he had been hit, A young man,
named Ellis. cried out that such coward
ice was too much. He wanted to lead
crowd to make an attack on the deputies,
but, most of the people on the scene
were lads, he could not get enough TO fol-
low him. The deputies went behind the
cars. At noon there were very few men
about the shop The police were informed
of the shooting of the boy, and Captain
Dawson and Sergeant Hyland went out to
see young Stamm. He gave a description
of the man who fired at him. The police
brought Vaughan to the boy, and he iden-
titled him as the man who had shot at him.
The police, however, refused to put Vaughan
under arrest without Stamm swearing
out an affidavit. The police made no fur
Their efforts in the case.
From the statements of diSinterested
spectators, it seems that this morning af-
fair cowardly There was not a boil
er maker in the crowd, it is asserted. The
merchants and residents in the neighbor-
which they are exposed by this reckless
target practice of the officers. The fact
that the deputies generally men of un-
savory character lends nothing to allaying