Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-01-22
Mob RULES BRIDGEPORT
Rioters Block the Tracks, Mob workmen
Brought From Other Cities and Wreck q
Car Which the Company Tried to Run.
Stolen Dynamite Feared.

SAE w men Ghe company 1rIeu 20 rum
Stolen Dynamite Feared.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn, Jan. ga most
exciting day in the history of the city of
Bridgeport has just passed. Not since 1861,
when marching volunteers ON their way to
the front filled the streets, have the resi-
dents been so aroused. All day excited
crowds thronged the streets, and mob law
has prevailed. The police have been set at
defiance, and a crowd of angry men have
ruled the town.
The rioting was one of the results of the
discharge of five employees of the Bridge
port Traction company and the strike
which followed. Aboute 100 employees of
the company stopped work Saturday after
noon, completely tyingsup the road. They
held numerous meetings and sent COM
mittee to the managers of the road in an
effort to bring about settlement. In this
they were unsuccessful.
Fifey men came up from Jersey City to
take the places of the strikers, and it was
announced that the company intended to
run its cars. The men then held long
consultation and decided that they would
not allow the company to run the cars.
They concluded, however, to give the COM
pany another chance for settlement and
agreed to send committee to Colonel
Heft, the owner of the road, and to the
managers.
Refused to Treat With the Committee.
Accordingly the representatives of the
strikers sought the railroad officials, but
they were denied an audience, the mana
gers refusing to meet them as committee
or to give reasons for the discharge of the
men. They announced that they would
meet the dissatisfied ones individually, but
would not recognize them as an organiza-
ton.
The men withdrew, and the strikers held
a brief session, at which it was decided that
they would not return to work and would
prevent the company from running cars if
| possible. Meanwhile the company was
preparing to start the service, and at 9
o'clock Sunday morning nine cars were
run out of the sheds. They were in charge
of the new men from New Jersey, the sta
bic hands and about a dozen of the old men
| who reported for work. The report that
the company was to start cars and that the
strikers would try to prevent it spread rap
idly through the city, and in Il short time
all of the strikers and hundreds of sympa-
thizers gathered at the main stable on
Main street and along the streets through
| which the road runs.
AS soon as all of the strikers were in.
| formed of the refusal of the owners of the
road to arbitrate they proceeded to block
the tracks on every street. The yards of
the New York, New Haven and Hartford
railroad were raided, and railroad iron,
ties, coupling pins, boxes and barrels were
taken and piled on the tracks at various
points. Some of the cars were moved out
of the sheds. but were able to proceed but
short distance. They were surrounded
by the strikers and their friends, and the
crews were compelled to leave them in the
streets Police We're summoned from
headquarters, and several cars were started
with three railroad employees and guard
of three policemen.
The crowds quickly drove the policemen
from the cars, together with the conductors
| and drivers. Sticks and stones were thrown
and the windows of the cars broken. The
policemen and railroad employees were
slightly injured, but the crowd showed nc
disposition to injure them if the attempt
to run the car was abandoned.
Entire Police Force Out.
Main street in the vicinity of the stables
was the center of the trouble. Here a
crowd of nearly 5000 gathered and encour.
aged the strikers. The men themselves did
not take such an active part i'll the rioting
as the young roughs in the crowd.
The demonstration of the crowd became
SO threatening that an alarm was sent out
from police headquarters, and all of the
officers and specials who could be sum.
moned were brought in. This force was
stationed along the tracks, at the stables
and on the cars. The crowds near the stables
and along the road increased in numbers
until nearly 5000 people were in the street
The presence of the police did not how
ever, deter the mob, and Instructions of all
kinds were piled on the tracks as rapidly
as they were removed.
AT intervals attempts were made to move
the cars and about noon several proceeded
a short distance from the stable. At g
O'Clock car in charge of five policemen
and several railroad employees was at.
tackled at the corner of Congress and Main
streets. Here a mob of about 1900 men
and boys was gathered.
Set "a Car ON Fire.
They bombarded the cars with stones,
breaking all of the windows and injurina
several of those in charge. The crowd then
sWooped down on the car and after unfas-
tening the horses and driving their occu.
pants out they overturned it in the street.
Some of the more excited cried, set it on
fire!' and in a few minutes straw, boxes
and shavings We're ignited inside. An
alarm was sent to the police station in East
Bridgeport, and a large squad of officers
arrived in time to eXtinguiSh the flames
and save the car.
AT William street, in East Bridgeport,
500 men and boys raided the yard of Jones
& Hoffman, contractors, and piled lumber,
trucks and other distractions on the
tracks. AT O'Clock the company succeed
ed in getting one car, strongly guarded by
police, over the entire line, but this was
the only one to make the circuit during the
day.
AT 6 o'clock a patrol wagon filled with
policemen and three wagons with railroad
the wrecked car at the corner of Congress
and Main streets. On arriving there they
were surrounded by a mob and a lively
row ensued, i'll which Il hostler employed
by the company had his nose broken, and
another employee was badly bruised about
the body. No one was seriously hurt. The
police and railroad men retreated and
abandoned the car.
Meanwhile the mayor summoned the
police commissioners, sheriff and city Off
Gals, and a conference lasting three hours
was held with the owners of the road. At
the conclusion of the meeting it was an
nounced that the company had agreed to
re-employ the strikers with the exception
of nine men and that they would give good
reasons for the discharge of these.
Fear Stolen Dynamite.
There was another exciting scene at the
depot. Thirty men arrived from New York
to take the places of the strikers A mob
of nearly 2,0O0 was expecting them ans
surrounded the newcomers, who, realizing
their danger, attempted to escape through
. the crowd. Some got off with nothing
worse than few cuffs, but others had
their clothing torn and were seriously in
jured by being kicked. Only four succeed
ed in reaching the Traction company's de-
pot. Nine of the others were furnished
with money by the strikers and sent back
to New York. The rest are too badly scared
to put in an appearance.
The car which was upset and set on fire
at the corner of Main and Congress streets
still lies on its side under police guard.
1t is completely wrecked.
President Heft, Superintendent Radel,