Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-01-10

.as BEGINNING e -aily frc,- Il. elects II TIE
cal strike or-e Il It's .Iost cztcEsiTe railroad
b-g,n- The operatives Oh almost every Isil
road in thu Mississippi Valley simultaneously
ne really ali Of the great rairast u p Hh t
daily operation III. welfare of oar people de-
pended Illinois l.rii,- she greatest railroad
state s'd tiii'sgo the greatest Tsilrusi center
in the union. ;,e effects ..f the strike felt
more severely ih.r. than any where else The
railroad sns-sgcrF soon cniesvcroi 10 replace
fa@ir obi men with now ones Tho Old rfn.
pl'ycS partly out of respect fer tn" law and
partly i-rause they believe that violcnc. mast
defeat their ends Lot only sbstainesi from. viz
1ence. but everywhere counselle1 against it
The national commission. which has invest.
gat.-i this STRIKE. found that only very small
| PER ccni. 81 RAILROAD men Were guilty OF violat-
ing The law. but the eoiii hons we're Sti,-h
10 sitia"i crowds ii ids i-eopl-. and soon tho
isw!-s. eAsII-eEt. alH.S found i great csiitefs
oi population r--ritS1 10 TlOts-;g lid de5tfuc-
non II property. Again. arms We're sent at
one TO all SIgll Orflyers 10 asked TOR them,
and on the az! ~ alton 81 the respective sn-r-
Az si.t civil or-r-. troops 5eIt 10 almost
| every Iailfoad center outside OF Chicago. Tia
lie 1iSt-, snc order Wa eVefyHE here E-Aiu-
| taiI.Sd AID the alfosds were operated Wh-f-
sses they sSiid get nlen 10 man their II aii.5
| promptly aI.d thoroughly maintained Where
rAii'..d could not get iIirn to ni-.ii it, trains
| in>; a,"-r wh-rt rad had a-hrt military pro
| t.-'-iiun Tor IT, ln.n ana iru.Is~ promptly
furn,Sil,1 1t was found tha; III road h;;i u"
| men willing L. work. and We had "a nnd ~ol-
| di,rs who could ACT engineers and brs,ke;len
III order to transport the troops.
sheriff Applied for Arms.
IN Chicago nearly all of the large railroad
yards are out the prarit.s ad Joining the city.
some OF the most extensive of them being
| miles away from the city limits. The sheriff Of
| the county applied for arms and arms We're
| promptly sen: him He swore in a large mum
Der OF c..'uties and the mayor % the city great
| iy increased the police force. hut the sheriff
| never asked for any other assistance and tine
| mayor did not apply for assistance until the
9th o: July. Th.1.trike did not TO Ice any
| more serious than numerous others had been IN
| prior years. when the local officers found them
! selves amply able to control the situation. Thi,
| Tart together with the unexpected appearance
al f,:- federal truriS, hereafter explained. IL
| no doubt tn. reason why the democratic nlayor
dii not sp"n-r apply TOR and from the stat. ami
| why the republican sheriff NEvE. applied for
II. Finally the mob r.SorI.d To ri"iiug and the
| destruction 81 property. and. a. the railroad
| yards wel" scattered and covered many
| square niieS that IT would b- difficult FOR =
| Very large army To protect them ia such u
| manner a. t. prevent ia,n from st-ithily com
| Gus ears were burned Will the rioting Was
"a" LIT" :'-ri!u- than was v tn'-->.d at Buffalo,
y sv"is,l years :ti;n and ~ different points
~ 'fii!" ulri:iS last year liid was mol hdi rs
| h!"siS a. numerous iStur'GIErt that have &C
Cured ia the state of PrHusy iyani;i. still there
| Was Il :, Stematic effort made 10y Il portion ii
t!s. pres, for partisan and sensational p,,r-
| passes, 10 eN;.KS-ratr everything AMI make 1t
| appear that the city itself was in danger and
that there Was scarcely limit to the destruc-
commission. which investigated this strike
| others who knew any of the facts on the sub
| ject and reported as follows: According TO the
testimony the railroads lost in property de-
| stroyed. IL Tho hire Of the United States deputy
| mar,naiS and other incidental expenses, AT
least Sdoa.''ti 1t will Ire observed that
| shals and other incidental expenses. Cou>e-
| quently the actual destruction Of property was
| very much below this sum. The Chicago fire
department, which Officially investigated every
| ease where there WAS 4 car or any other
property burned, reports As follows: During
| tue FIRST three days ri The month of July ~
| efforts We're made 10 damage the property Of
| corporations. After that the destruction of
| property was A. follows:
| July !. s3.'G .iulyS $50: .;uly y 81 $50; july
70, $50; July II. $. IN" July L, s,.i; July IS,
| sil'; July Il, S2-5s'; intai, ssp,.bl.
| An Exaggerated sum.
| Subsequent examinations have. Shown that
| even this sum IL exaggerated. Il Wi! h. s"cu
by the above figures tnat nearly al of tins 49,
| CURED on the 9Th %: .,u!v AMI was due "a the
fact that fire had broken cut ia :, very E,,.
| railroad yard south nf the city. where tn lie
| WIS No water and whrre the Ire department
| WAS consequently Iow,-rleai. Ii that
| most %! she burning occurred III the evening
aft.r the victims, of that day in that l,.c,it y
had isen Suppressed and after roth the police
and the state troops had arrived the ground
| but owing to the ai,-crice Of water but little
engine put ont over half a mil. of hose. but
was unable then To reach the cars. a mere
glance i, the tarts shows that the reports that
were sent out As to the actual condition in Chi
| caso during the strike Were malicious ibels
upon the city. They have. created an unfavor-
alb. impression in the east and abroad and have
done our I.cUi'lc i great wrong. In some case,
4 this was due 10 partisan maignity. In other
| cases men who knew little nothing of the
facts and who had very little. II any. practical
knowledg" q; our institutions. slander-d the
city and our Institutions for no other apparent
reason thar. that II ss--n.ed 10 be popular for
while - do and That by doing 50 the smiles
| of 4 class could IL. won.
In order 10 understand the significance of
| some things that happened ~ Chicago the
|
| .uce. /: VII! h. noticed that according to the
report uf the department il was not until
the 9Th of July that thu. riotin- .--...nic
teu~iN-. A. Il las l-t-n claimed mat the inter
ventnn 81 he. f,-i.,:,t government nv ib.. an,
| IJinIm.nt ut II special puDs. fo represent the
| government 1t Chicago in th.s -tTik. and the
, suirs~quri, sending III troops largely Cor
| the purIrrs. oi moving and protecting the
mails. ! call attention 20 the following: Dn
-!Gnc ~ Che >uI'-rin ud, NJ I'll the railway mail
service At thi,,Ig" sent III. following dispat.l,
{" Washington: y" mails have acyunulat.si
at thi'ag" - FAR. All regular mail trains are
nH'ving nearly "u time. 18th few slight exacp
| tioas. Vet. Notwithstanding thi, ,ilspat,h on
had happened Mr. Walker distiu guiSf,d cor.
, poration lawyer. wa appointed special counsel
| u represent the [ niteu States government by
Mr.. olney. the attorney general of tn. United
. States. After this. when the troubl,, became
more serious. there was some delay IN getting
the mails Ia and out Of ChiCas" hut the official.
; III charSe displayed such ability and vigilance
: that the delay a; II" time great. The
, superintendent Of the railway mail service
| upon whom the duty of getting tn. mails in
and out "i Chicago rested. when lately inter,
rogat.-d upon tins point writes. that while
. ! there Were iuterf.rences and DELAYS during a
: number of days, yet Ihat with the exception
. nf some trains that were held AZ Hammond
Ind. Washington Heights. Danville. and Cairo
. HIS, the greatest delay To any Of the outgoing
and incoming mails probably did not exceed
from eight 10 nine hours at any ti,ne.-LoCI Is
l. TROY, Supt. Whatever NAV have been
the delays and iEterferenccs at Other points IL
Is appar-n. tta: there was nothing in Chicago
IN connie, ioa with the mail that called
for federal intervention. In fact. the striker.
mace " q point not TO interfere with i.,ail
. trains. but only 20 cut off Pullman sl,,.r,ers
ana IN a n5tinfvr OF Gases. outside. OF Chicago
where 4 Mail train Vas della we'd il WIS because
the strikers had cut Of u Pullman sleeper and
the railway officials then iistly refused TO move
the tram until they conid carry the Pullman
> sleeper On July :. the day after the appoint
, m-nt of a special counsel and wne,, Their. had
been little. If any. destruction OF rroperty the
: United States troops at Fort Sheridan ver,. A /
. ready under orders to be ready 10 march Il
. Chicago II moments notice. Some day.
, prior TO tins. the managers OF all the rail
!. way lines centering in Chicago. formed an
organization to hight the strike and they y.rr
! in daily conference. At d % clock D. IL. t,s Julv
, .. after the troops n Fort Sheridan had i--ey
ordered to te IN readiness the managers OF Nh.
r various roads gave out detailed report show
: ing the conditions on their lines: