The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-31
THE STORY OF THE STRIKE
is Told Before the National Labor
Commission.

His Police and Says He Was in Sym
pathy With the Pullman Strikers
Uims .lf-Ee Contradicts the Report
that He Asked Debs' Permission to
Move a Train.
OF the national labor commission said
this morning that up to the last of this
month the board will have expended
only 81 800 of the s., 900 which is allowed
for expenses.
I Charles Stewart Wade, in the legal en-
ploy Of the Rock Island road but At, the
time Of the strike a reporter for Chicago
/ morning newspaper, was the first witness
called at the morning session. Mr.. " Ndde
carefully examined switches which had
been tampercd with and declared from a
previous knowledge of railroad business
that none but railroad employees could
have so manipulated the complicated
switch system. which was an interlock-
ing one. Mr.. Wade testified that he
asked man his employment, who was
| melting mob to violence, and was told
! he was vice president OF the carpenters
union. In several instances he saw cars
overturned and witnessed acts of violence.
/ The police often stood idly by and
| watched these things without interfer-
/ ing, showing evident sympathy with the
/ strikers. The witness related the case OF
a striker who pretended TO be wounded
| by the troops in order to work up feel
/ ing against them, but on examina-
| tion by the witness it was found
! the man had not a scar or scratch on
/ him. Afterward Wade was made a cap
/ tain of deputy marshals, and his men
! made numerous arrests of men engaged in
! rlOtiug. Some of these he recognized as
railroad men. He testified that on one
T ~
/ dating workman by a deputy marshal
within few yards of a policeman, who
/ would not make the arrest himself. Nu-
/ merOuS instances were related Of dis
| turbances in some of which non-uniOn
men were beaten BY strikers. Names and
/ dates were given. On one man police
mans CLUB and a pair of brass knuckles
were found This man said he kept these
"to tickle" "scab's" heads with. Mr.
| Wade scored the police force unmerci-
/ fully, and asserted the deputy marshals
/ he commanded would certainly compare
favoranly with the city police, the worst
two on hls force being eX-members of that
force
Richard Mooney followed He was
present at the meeting of Rock Island en-
ployes at Blue Island when a strike was
declared on that road. He testified that
neither Debs nor Howard advised the
| men 10 strike. Both were out of the hall
when the vote was taken. As a reason
for striking Mr.. Mooney said "Well,
struck because the rest struck. When
they quit, quit" Mr.. Mooney related a
case where a deputy marshal was as
saulted by a mob while nearly 500
marshals stood by and did not interfere.
He also saw marshals stand by while cars
were overturned, and told of instances
where nOn-uniOn men being assaulted for
working by acquaintances who were rail
| road strikers.
Deputy Marshal Davidson" -" said Mr..
Mooney Dragged before me of setting
cars on fire and said he would do it again.
Another deputy sat by and heard him but
did not say a word"
The witness said that beer and tobacco
were furnished in the yards to any men
disposed to be riOtous and intimated that
the railroads furnished them
He himself had been threatened with
violence by two men, one of whom wore
an American Railway Union button, un-
less he left his engine. He also heard an
engineer forced to take an oath not TO
work on pain OF having violence done to
him.
W. F. Guyon who was reporter for the
United Press during the strike, told
what he saw of the destruction of rail
road property He did not think railroad
| employees were engaged in this work He
claimed to have been asked by either
Debs or Howard to help them apprehend
rioters. He had often heard the two
heads of the American Railway Union
counsel against strikes. Mr.. Guyon did
not believe the larger roads kept black
list.
Vice President George w Howard of
the American Railway Union was re-
called in rebuttal, in regard to the meet
| ing at Blue Island, at which it was
alleged by witnesses yesterday that he
used abusive language in regard to
! George NJ. Pullmans and counselled
violence. Mr. Howard admitted that he
! applied an obscene epithet 10 Mr.. Pull
man, but said the epithet was in common
use among railroad men. He also testi-
fed that he said that he thought Pull
man such mean man that he ought TO
| be hanged, but he did not mean by this to
counsel violence. He simply wanted TO
/ show his contempt for the mans methods
AS quoted by himself Mr. Howard's ex-
act language was: THAT old - ought
/ to be hung" He told the crowd on that
| occasion TO beware of railroad sleuths
who tried to break up LODGES by arraign-
ing the Catholics in them against
the Protestants. and he hoped that
| if anybody caught any Of them
at their work, they would tap them on
the head with the round end Of roll
! ing pin" The witness submitted a list
! of questions which he wished to have put
to some Of the general managers. These
questions related to the hauling Of mail
trains with Pullman cars attached. He
also wanted Pullman recalled. it is
| probable that the commission will have
chance to put his questions. Mr.
! Howard declared the General Managers
! Association during the strike sought
/ only to crush the American Railway
| Union.
Secretary Keliher Of the American
| Railway Union was called at the begin
ming of the afternoon session. He tcsti-
! red as to sending certain kilograms.
! He was followed by Vice President
| Howard, who was asEed If the kilograms
/ in the possession of the federal authori-
/ ties were substantially correct. He said
/ they were.
/ Commissioner Wright will leave for
! Washington tonight TO attend 10 impor-
tant business Of a public character.
POLICE DID THEIR DUTY.
! Mayor Hopkins, the next witness, said
| in answer to a question about the con-
/ duct Of the city police, that so far as he
! knew they had done all that was re-
! quired of them He described his visit
10 the scene Of the mob's work on the
! Rock Island tracks in company with
| Corporation Counsel Rubeus and officers
| Of the road. He observed many
| overturned cars and other signs Of
/ disorder. He ordered all the police on