The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1894-07-13
THE GREAT STRIKE.
A SATURNALIA OF ARSON AND
BLOODSHED AT CHICAGO.
CLEVELAND GIVES 1T A sTAGGER-
ING BLOW.

|
ING BLOW.
About Dcbs, the Drunke N Lcader-Wors
Peril now In IdahO-Cleveland's Brav
Message to AItgeld-Full and Graphi
Account OF Strange Operations In thi
Land or FreedOm-Facts and Figures o
i What the Strike has Done.
The great strike, whose storm center ha
been Chicago, reached its climax of violence
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and since thel
owing to the vigorous action of Presiden
Cleveland and the Federal government, ha.
been on the wane, though desperate effort il
being made by the trades unions of Chicago
and the national organization of Knights o
Labor to sustain it by ordering sympathetic
strikes in its support. The area of disorder
has embraced the whole country, except thu
extreme east and the SOUTH For the first
time in her history, Chicago. was unable tt
unload, for several days. single car load OF
live stock. So complete was the boycott that
not one steer, not sheep, not solitary hog
arrived by means of steam transportation.
Wednesday of last week there was but one
DAVIS supply of ice in Chicago. Coal was SO
! scarce that most of the manufacturing estab-
lishments had to be shut down. The tie up
caused a loss on fruit from southern and west
ern points estimated at 100000 day.
/
hands without moments warning, and one
| train loaded with passengers was left in vii.
derness many miles out of Chicago, and all
| night the victims of labor's villainy were
forced to inhale the fetid and poisonous odors
of a swamp in which they were left. On the
train were many invalids EN- route to Califor-
mia, who were obliged to suffer for hours in
that horrible locality. IN another instance
train load of passengers from California was
abandoned within ten miles of Chicago, and
the people had to be transported TO the city in
teams.
The strikers had everything in Chicago
completely tied up on Thursday They broke
the glass in every train which attempted to
force passage, stoned the engineer and fire
men and forced them to leave their engines
and blocked the tracks by tearing up switch
es and overturning cars. A train carrying
two companies of soldiers arrived at the scene
of trouble on the Rock Island tracks that
morning and as soon as the soldiers formed
on the tracks the mob started for them. The
soldiers drove them away at the point OF the
bayonet. but without firing shot, The
strike reached the climax of excitement and
peril on Friday, when.the mob begun to wreck
and burn ears and stone engineers. They
were fired upon by the police with fatal re-
suits. For the "a hours ending at midnight
Friday, there were So fire alarms in Chicago
from burning railroad property, nearly all
being on the south side. Several times the
railroad shops were on fire. Miles of their
track were ruined by the fierce heat; hum
dreds of switch and signal towers with their
expensive mechanism were utterly ruined.
Thousands of cars and untold quantities of
OF every description fed the
flames and gorged the larder of thieves: valu-
able locomotives have been wrecked and dis
abled; miles of tangled wires and private
poles litter the ground. The railroad COM
o,,io will 10 n CHICAGO
ages, claiming that their property was not
protected by the authorities as It should have
been.
The most serious trouble occurred on Sat-
urday. A wrecking train was at work clear,
ing away the debris Of some cars which had
been fired by the strikers, and was gnard ned
BY Il company of militia. mob OF 1000
people, composed largely of Poles and Bone
mans, gathered in the vicinity, and content
I'd itself, for while with hurting impreca-
ions at the soldiers and police. Becoming
,mboldened at the pacific attitude of the
tricks, coupling pins and anything that could
,e used for missiles. 1t became evident that
tern measures were necessary, and the sol 1
liers were ordered TO fire. They did 50 and
ollowcd It up with the D4yofiet; sske mob
i them ! woman, were injured, md several
# them fatally.
The women, mostly foreigners, have been
prominent in the riOting, and have urged the
men to excuses which they might not other
wise have committed. In the thlckest OF s .ne
rouble they have been found, setting fires
and urging the men to every kind
i outrages.
After the shooting the mob increased great
v and further trouble was feared. but there
vas no occasion for another volley, though
he police had to charge the crowds frequent
' with their clubs and the soldiers with bay
nets to restrain them.
A young woman who was watching the con-
ict was killed by stray bullet desperate
tempt was made to burn the packing houses '
t the stock yards. Waste soaked with oil
vas thrown into cars in the yards and set on {
re and the police and firemen were stoned ,
vhen they arrived. Marshal Fitzgerald was
eized and thrown into pond of water. But ]
ucceeded in driving the rioters away and
the flames. All day long the I
roops were kept busy guarding railroad c
roperty and the mob surged from one point $
D another, creating trouble everywhere they e
ppeared.
It was evident that the mob was acting UNI i
Ell intelligent direction, for several times u
hey would go to some point Il mile distant o
rom the police station and cause an alarm,
My to return and set fire at the point the po- Q
ce had just left. Firemen worked under the I
reatest difficulties, the mob cutting hose as b
ist as it could be laid until enough policemen ?
Tere present to prevent them. By night men a
nd horses had become so exhausted that Il
hey could only move at slow walk to ans y
'er the most urgent call. There were fire. p
uent threats to burn the town of Pullman. t
nd soldiers were sent out to guard the place. 0
very railroad station in the city is now in n
he hands of troops. g
On Sunday there were many small demon
rations by the strikers, but they had become q
" Inv no mil 1.
'rce, and the day was much more quiet. ),
BY Friday it had evidently became the duty o
Uncle Sam to interfere and on the repre- d
ntation of the post office department that Il
e transmission of mails was being interfered u
18th and of the officers of the United States al
'urts that the ordeC of the courts against
terfering with the mails and interstate COM L
cree were defied, the president ordered st
oops to the scene. This action was necessary st
cause Gov Altgeld with his anarchist SYM e
thies was not doing his duty. Though the IL
oh had accumulated about the railway sta
ms and the stockyards, Gov Altgeld took CT
optimistic view of the situation, telegraph W
g President Cleveland that there was no pl
cason for the use of federal troops. as the ia
ilitia was abundantly able to suppress any q
sOrder. Hitherto he claimed there had been tie
violence: the cars were not obstructed by bt
rec but for want of men to operate them. to
precautionary measure, President Cleve- I'll
nd sent forward 200 federal troops under hi
IN Miles. besides the 5000 National Guards.
ne Governor, nettled by this movement Of n;
pops without his request. telegraphed again 60
the president asking for parley; but the aJ
esident briefly replied that the exigency re- IN
ired action rather than words. The gov 70
nor then telegraphed long argument -,
out state rights, TO which the president n,
lde this reply: r.
While am still persuaded that | have neither err
nscended my authority or duty in the emer IN
lcy that confronts us, il seems to me that In IA
S hour of danger and public distress discus ~. ua
n may well give way to active efor ON the w