The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-07-19
BIG STRIKE OF 1877.
UPRISING WHICH ENDED IN AN
ARCHY AND DEATH.
1t RSpon a., the Ii. & On rtinshur:-.
w. Va. Was the Scene Of First Violence
PITTS burg Experienced II Reign Of Ter
ror-ChicaSo Put Down the Mobs.
Involved Last and West.

man contr ,versy recalls wildly The
Il eds of violence OF the year 1877,
when the whole country was Involved.
the strike of =. occurred also in July
and had its b ~ inning in the East. On
the III tn of the month engineers and
tircmen on the Baltimore and Chi,
at Martin burg, w. Va, lief, thei.
posts. and in IS than twenty hours
the whole Baltimore and Ohio system
was IDLE. The Pennsylvania and Erie
line sooa became involved. and within
week the ST. ike was inaug urated in
thi teen states. BE ere Aug. !. $1,000
III N had resisted constituted author
ity. blood had been shed in Maryland.
Fenns ylvaaia. West Virginia. O.io,
New York. New Jersey, Indiana, Mich
igan. Illinois, Kentucky ;ni Mi ssouri
the President Of the United States had
le,ortcu to proclamation. calling forth
the Federal troops. thirteen Governors
had exercised similar powers TO sum-
mon the militia: ira ie and comm .rce
were paralyl ed and scenes of devasta-
ton and murder unequaleu in America
since the evil war had been enacted at
| lit sburg and other cities.
The strike of :. was eau cd 10y re-
revenues was the excuse fOr 4 cut OF ~
pr cent. and at it the workmen re-
volted. H. IT, uble 1T Martin ,burg
WAS DON 10 lowed 10y b oodshed and
the overcoming of the State troops
sent to the scene by Gov. Matthews.
The Governor appea,c F.! IT, President
Kaye, who ord~r>d regular soldiers
to Mart in ,bu e and issued a proclama-
ton commanding the strikers to di
per-e. No attention was given to this
proclamation. and in ,umberl nj.
Grafton, Parkersbury, and Camden
violence prevailed.
The entire line Of the b. & O.. be-
tween Chicago and Baltimore. soon be-
cane Involved and the latter city was
in "a state OF riot 10y July 20. State
troops used their guns on the mobs.
and AS a consequence twelve persons
wer. killed. Three were resi- ectable
citizens who had been drawn into the
crowd By curiosity. The others were
rioters and foreigners. Most of them
! wer. memb rs of the "WOrkinTnen's
Party of the [ nited stat the Amer
lean ranch of the IN .ernatiOnalS.'
and as events proved this society WAS
largely instrumental in fomenting
the riot. The movement was at that
time new in America, having cen ili-
ported 10y Johann Most and III tus
Schwah. TIE movement was destined
I" >prea and grow until it received its
quietus in the Cock Co INT; Jail ten
years later on the scatfo.d OF Spies,
Iars ms. Engel an Sclwab.
y second PROCLAMATION was issued.
\ , law-ahiding citizens enrol cd tn. m
selves against anarchy. The Ba timorc
X Ohio Company made formal an
inf I..t 4 IL
further ehO I t. run trains.
! Meantime Il SYM athletic" strike
had raraly zed the Pennsylvania Gem
pany. and the st rm-center hOwlcd
Ovei. ittsburg. The Sheriff of AL
lrgheny County was detjcd, and three
regiments of militit We're staff ned on
the ira *. The PRESENCE of the
military only in.lamcd the III ID. VIII CHI
grew in numbers and violence as the
hour, passed.
Iittsburg's Reign Of Terror.
AS the nj. hi Of July p. 1877, fell in
Pitt burg. the streets of The city in
the vicinity of the Pennsy lvania sta
ton and tracks were thronged with a
mob that outnumbercd the militia
three to one. Besides the strikers
were the lawlesS com nts of the scums
and the still more perniciOus agents of
the Inter. atiOnalists." Women min
gsed with the men. vying with them
IN the violence OF their words and acts.
1t proved a night of terror to Pitts
burg and to the state OF Pennsylvania
Violence began. even before nj htfal!,
at the Twenty-eighth street crossing,
the principal rcnde zvOus of the strik-
ers The sheriff of Allegheny County
repaired thither t. read the riot act.
r.. sx,l
re enforced by a brigade of militia
I'm Ter command of Gen. Brint N. The
strikers hootcd tie sheriff. and when
he attempted TO a rest enc Of their
lumber oIcrcd resistance. The mill
ia at once opened fire on the crowd.
and sixteen persons fell dead.
This blOodshed was but the begin
ming Of a street war that ragged through
the ght. Not .ess than .u.UO' people
surscu about the Twenty-eighth str. ct
crossing. the scene of the first fusil-
lade. Tn " surrounded the militia.
hurting bricks and paving stones into
their ranks. Special violence was dis
played against the companies from
Philadelphia. At o'clock the mob
broke into u number of hard ware stores
and procured arms and ammunition.
Thus re-enforcei they returned t. the
-tuIIuIIotSC III " IlCtl Tue we're
intrenched. swearing to eXternin mate
ttem.
All night long the battle ragged. At
] o'clock the fire bells sounded to an
Dounca the union station was in flames
1t had been fired by me strikers, who
with their allies were pillaging the
freight houses and robbing the cars.
The fire department responded. but
was not allowed to pla.: upon the
flames. \ spirit of fury assessed The
mob Men ran about with torches set
ting fire to the railway property.
Barrels OF OIL were emptied Upon cars
of coke and set into disastrous blaze.
The $50 militiamcn nov found the :
selves surrounded by flames and forced
TO fight their way out. BY a fortunate
ov~ r,ight the Philadelphia com: ami =
were able to MAKE their way into Penn
avenue. but here their escape was dis
orered and thes were at once charged