The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1895-03-21
HALF A DOZEN DEAD
AS THE RESULT OF A RACE RIOT
At NEW ORLEANS.


Laborers ON the Levees.
New ORLEANS, March 1S.-The thick
Eg in the early morning was the veil
behind which desperate white levee
laborers gathered, and which they pene-
trated with Winchester rifle balls aimed
at the co.ored non union men at work
ON the ships. The attack was made at
points several miles apart, just before
the arrival of the police, and, as re-
suit there are half dozen corpses and a
dozen or so wounded men. The police
saw the attack, but no arrests were
made, they claiming they were too few
to cope with the unexpected outbreak.
The day before the mayor said all was
quiet and the governor saw no grounds
for interference, but now the business
men are denouncing these officials
the militia is in readiness to move, an
appeal to the federal government has
virtually been made and even the for
Sign consuls have decided to join in the
move for peace at any price. The causes
which have led to the trouble have been
of long standing and grew out Of the
attempts of ship agents and others in
terested to reduce wages. The white
screwmen claim that the colored men,
who were given a share Of the work I'M
der an agreement, made secret cuts and
violated the agreement in order to OBJ
tain more work and gradually crowded
the white men off. The white associa-
lions then severed all ties with the
blacks and refused to work with them
or for the men who employed them.
The white 'longshoremen joined the
screwmen in this. Since then the steam
ship lines have been gradually
Going Over to the Negroes.
Lately the white screwmen quit work
on the lines still loyal to them, stating
that they would not work until the
whole affair was Strengthened out. Sew
eral more lines then took On negroes
from necessity. The whites finally de-
termined to retaliate on the stevedores
by Offering to reduce rates and deal
with the ships direct. Ships in haste
accepted the offer but the agents stood
by the stevedores. The latter offered
to pay more than the screwmen asked
but the screwmen refused to deal with
them. The agents offered to pay the
screwmen their wages and place the
stevedores over them as superinten-
dents, but the screw,nen again de-
clined. Then the stevedores began inn
porting colored screwmen from Gal
weston, and the whites, growing desper-
ate, broke loose in riots.
The trouble occurred on the levee, at
the landing of the Harrison line OF
steamships, opposite jackson square. In
the fog which prevailed, a mob Of 100
armed men got through the guards of
the police and opened fire on the negroes
who were at work. They fled in terror,
some jumping into the river. Those
who ran across the levee in the direction
of the square were subjected to deadly
volley. The shots seemed to come from
doorways, windows, galleries and street.
Look where they would the negroes saw
pistols and heard the reports as revolv-
ers were discharged.
Each man then ran in different di-
rection, and the poor devils seemed
panic stricken.
Those in the crowd of whites who
were not armed with revolvers, picked
up stones, clubs and other improvised
weapons, and attacked the crowd Of
negroes. Even the most venturesome
of the blacks could not stand this and
they fled.
Was Premeditated.
Calmly reviewing the happenings OF
the morning everything would seem to
indicate the attack to be a prearranged
affair. It is rumored, and there is every
reason to believe the rumor to be cor
rect, that a secret meeting was held
last night and the bloody affair care
fully mapped out. The men assembled
somewhere in the vicinity of Nun
street and in dense fog proceeded up
the levee. It seems to be generally un-
derstood that the guns used by the men
who went down town were taken to
some place in the vicinity of the sugar
refineries in wagon and then were
placed away until such time as they
were required.
CLINT Eo0h AMollCL