The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-07
FREIGHT CARS FIRED.
a Total of $50 Burned in Two Hours
Last Night.

Chicago, July 6.-Two hundred and
twenty-five freight cars on the Pan Han
die tracks between Forty-ffth and Fifty
ninth streets-a distance of about one
mile-were totally destroyed by fire be-
tween the hours of 6 and S o'clock TO-
night.
Shortly after o'clock p. m. an immense
crowd of men, women and boys were seen
coming from the stock yards toward the
network of tracks at the crossing of
Forty-scventh street The mob was aug
mented every minute by a seemingly
never-ending string of strikers and their
sympathizers, and about 6 o'clock fully
1900 people were massed along the
tracks from Forty-fifth street south
They were the stock yards crowd
and intent on repetition Of
last nights destruction. and the few
police who remained on duty were utterly
powerless. They were not even noticed
by the strikers, who went to work at
once. Down the tracks was the cry,
and with rush the mob started south
ward Bunches of waste were stolen
from switchmens shanties and, soaked
with the dope" used in oiling the cars,
made excellent torches.
STARTING THE FIRE.
At Forty-seventh street five cars stand
ing on the Grand Trunk line were the
first to meet destruction. Some of them
were loaded. This did not deter the
frenzied crowd from their work and the
seals were broken and the doors slid back
A bunch of the burning waste thrown in
side quickly ignited the contents and in
less than three minutes the five cars were
blazing tiercely. Without waiting to see
that their work was complete the crowd
surged on. They kept to the Pan Handle
tracks, and at Forty-ninth street came up
on six more cars. These were fired in
twinkling, and on went the crowd In the
Garfield boulevard yard of the Pan
Handle four tracks were full of freight
cars, more than half of which were
loaded. At this crossing is located
switchman'S S tower. and this was first
fired Then the mob turned its attention
to the cars on the sidings. but for some
reason fired but one of them-a car of
dressed beef, which had been started
eastward several days ago.
TORE UP THE SWITCHES.
They suddenly stopped their incendiar-
ism and turned their attention TO tearing
up switches. After a number had been
rendered useless, they kept southwark
At t'ifty-eighth street is situated the
station house Of the combined roads
This was fired and quickly destroyed. A
strong wind was blowing and the flames
were quickly spread across three or four
tracks which were filled with cars The
railroad people say there were fifty cars
there forty of which were loaded. All
were soon a mass of flames. About thirty
Of the cars were filled with coal and the
heat was intense. Fifteen of the cars con-
tanned meat from the big packing houses
of Armour, Swift and Nelson Morris.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OUT.
BY this time the fire department had
been advised of the fires further north on
the tracks and had sent their forces
there. But on learning of the serious
ness of the situation at tifty-eighth
street. they abandoned their fight fur
ther northward and came to the scene of
the conhagration, which promised to be
serious. Upon the approach Of the fire
and police departments the mob turned
about and started for the city On their
way to Forty-seventh street they
set fire to all the cars that they had
missed in their hurried trip southwark
No water could be obtained near the
Garfield boulevard yards, and the cars are
slowly burning up. 1t was noticed that
the leaders of the mob were mostly for
eigners, and as they retraced their steps,
few Of the leaders, accompanied by
hundreds, started off in the direction Of
the stock yards.
There are $50 cars in the district now
in possession of the mob, and it is prob
able all will be destroyed by midnight. A
number OF hoodlums were in the gang
ana they seemed especially proficient in
the use Of the torch.
SHOT BY A DETECTIVE.
This evening while gang of about
twenty men was engaged in tipping a
car onto the Illinois Central track at
Kensington they were fired into by Spe-
cial Detective Stark OF the Michigan Cen
tral road Two Of the men were hit, but
not fatally hurt. Stark was protected by
the police and taken 10 the Hyde Park
station
The crowds have burned about 200 cars
this afternoon at kensinRton and Burn
side. Company 4 Of the Thirteenth reg