Democratic messenger., 1894-07-14
fire AND BLOOD !.
Chicago Strikers Burn Cars
and Government Troops
Shoot to Kill.
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND ACTS.
4 Terrible state of Affairs i'm
the Great West.
THOUSANDS QUIT WORK.
Laboring Men OF all Trade.
Called Out.

The Chicago strikes, reference la
which was made in our last issue.
reached the climax last Saturday ami
the following report from Saturday :
daily papers will give our readers
some idea Of the desperate deeds
resortcd To by the strikers: Fires are
raging in every direction in the south
half of Chicago ainong the numerous
railroad wards. Hundreds of cars and
tens OF thousands of dollars's worth OF
merchandise have already gone up in
smoke or been carried off by the now
frenzicd mohs OF rioters. Imcendiarism
is rampant, alarm after alarm has
followed in quick succession all day,
and the glare reflected from the
heavens shows the dastarily pastime
continues unabated. From early morn
ing until this hour (midnighD reports
of fresh outrages. and fires followed
each other with startling rapidiiy.
being confined. however principally
TO railroad rolling stock aud buildings.
against which thus far the greater part
OF the mob,' fury has been directed.
Eariy tins morning blaze started
among some overturned ears at Ken
sington. quickly communicated To
other tracks filled with long line, q!
cars. many containing valuable mer-
chandise, which were soon blazing
iuriously. Famed by strong winds.
there was at this point total OF eighty
cars wiped out.
At the >tock-yards one blaze after
another was reported. and from the
OUTLYING districts came urgent calls Tor
police protection, increasing in ire,
quency.
But with the falling shades of night
came the climax of the fiery festival.
The Pan Handle wards from F'iitv-tiith
street to Sixty-third street, eight blocks.
are mass OF fire. Ten tracks contain
ing from 1000 10 1000 cars, half of
them loaded, will he total loss.
About / o'clock in the afternoon
the violence Of the NIB broke out
anew and in short time flames were
cracking in the Illinois Central Rail.
road wards. half Il mile north OF the
town of Pullman. Ii is believed the
sudden burst OF anger on the part OF
the strikers was inspired by the ap-
pearancc about , p. IN. OF Company
+, thirteenth infantry. \ general
alarm of fire WAS sounded and Fire
Marshal Kenyon responded with the
kensinston and Pullman companies
aud companies Is and j3 There WAS
much trouble in lighting the fire.
When the department arrived there
was talk of cutting the hose The
total damage To ears and freight by
this fire is estimated at SSO,000.
\ mob of rioters applied the torch TO
thirty Pittsburg and Fort Wayne
freight cars on the tracks near the
Fiily.iirst street crossing. Within ten
minutes the whole train was blazing
iuriou>Iy, and the rioters were dan
cling madly around the fire. shoutin.
irantically with rage and triumph
Some one turned in an alarm, and
Chief Swenie sent four engines to the
scene. The iiremen were unable To
approach nearer than hundred yards,
for the mob stood firm and stopped
the horses. The firemcn who were
few in number, saw that il was hope
less To attempt to use force, and were
compelled to stand idly by while
thousands of dollars worth OF proper.
tv was consumed.
The aggregate of the losses to the
railroads will be enormous. Miles of
their tracks have been ruined by the
fierce heat; hundreds Of switch and
signal towers with their expensive me-
chanism are utterly ruined. Thousands
of cars and untold quantities of mer-
chandise of every imaginable descrip-
ton have fed the flames and gorgcd
the larlers of thieves; valuable loco
motives have been wrecked and dis
abled; miles of tangled wires and
poles are on the ground. Telegraph,
electric light and iire-alarm wires are
now the special object of attack. the
plugging OF fre-alarm boxes consti,u-
ting new and doubly dangerous ele-
ment in the tremendous wave of in
cendiarism now sweeping over the
southwest section of the city, preven-
ting. a> it does notice being received
of the starting of fires until, with the
poor water supply in these outlying
districts, a fire has attained such head
way that it cannot be stopped except
through lack oi further material on
which Ia feed.