The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-05-08
Police Forced to Use Their Clubs on
the Heads of n Mob of 1,6OO Steel
Works Strikers.
SEVERAL MEN BADLY HURT
LEADERS ARREST
ED AND LOCKED UP.
Strike That May Involve Many Work
men-SituatiOn i'm the Various Min
ing Regions-LabOr News.

100 men throwing down their tools and
walking out This evening a fight occurred
in the company's yards and it was found
necessary to call the police. The strikers
for a time stood their ground against the
officers, but were soon defeated and driven
from the premises. The men most seri-
ously hurt were:
JACK SHERWOOD, a machinist. struck
on head by a hammer in the hands of
striker; severe scalp wounds, rendered un-
conscious: will recover.
EDWARD SHAKES, striker, thrown out
of the machine shop by workmen, body
OFFICER V LIENDECKER. hit with a
coupling pin; bad cut over right eye.
OFFICER PATRICK MCAULEY, hit
in mouth with brick.
Twenty-eight more, who are said to have
been the leaders of the strikers at the riot
ing. were arrested and locked up at the
South Chicago police station. They are
charged with rioting. They are all ignorant
Huns. Poles and Bohemians.
According to Vice President Forsythe, of
the company. this spring the furnace men
signed scale of wages calling for the rate
of $40 per day. This scale has been OBJ
served up to the present time. but to-day
the men demanded that they be paid at the
rate of last year. which was somewhat
higher than the scale that they had signed
for this year. The company declared that
1t could not pay anything except the scale
which had been agreed to for this year and
the men walked out The strike closed two
blast furnaces, two others were undergoing
repairs and the remaining four were at once
shut down until the conclusion of the strike,
the company concluding that it was unwise
to attempt to until the matter was
settled. This action of the company threw
in all about $500 men out of work. none
remaining in the yards except the watchmen
and the machinists. The strikers were at
first opposed to be orderly and peaceable,
but later affairs took on an ugly aspect and
it was found necessary to call on the police
to drive them out.
Shortly before o clock tonight a crowd
numbering about sixteen hundred men
forced their way past the watchman at one
of the gates and proceeded 10 take possess
sion of the companys property. They
marched first TO where some of the labor
ing men were at work, and either COM
PEELED them TO join their ranks or quit
work. Not much trouble was experienced
with the laborers. but when the strikers
reached the machine shop, where about
four hundred machinsts were employed,
they met with a different reception. The
machinists have a scale of their own, and
the fight Of the other men made no par
ticular difference to them, and they re-
fused either to quit or to allow themselves
to be driven out of the yards. The strk-
ers, who. for the most part, were COM
posed of Huns and Poles. made several at
tempts TO persuade the machinists 20 leave
their work. but finding themselves unsuc-
cessful, they began an attack upon the ma
chine shop with stones and such things as
they could pick up. The machinists. for
the mosn part, stood their ground and gave
the strikers as good as they sent. The
fight was growing warm, and broken heads
and bloody noses were growing very COM
mon, when the police, who had been sum-
moned when the fight first began, arrived
They were under the command of Captain
Jenkins, who at once made a charge on the
mob with his handful of officers. The strik-
ers at first refused to give ground. and the
police used their clubs freely. This did not
have the desired effect, and Captain
jenkins ordered his men to draw their re-
volvers and fire over the heads of the strik-
ers. AS soon as this was done the mob
broke and fled wildly from the premises OF
the company. The fight only lasted a few
minutes. and there was no more rioting.
One of the minor officials of the company
did not exactly agree with the cause OF
the strike as given by Mr.. Forsythe. He
| said: 1.-The men who struck were hired
| three weeks ago 10 take the places of old
| employees who were being paid $40 day
| and who would not work for the schedule
of $160 which was put into effect at that
time. They were hired on the contract sys-
| TEN. and had agreements for year. With
the $1.60 men on the furnaces are a num-
ber of day laborers who are working fol
| $1.i5 a day. and whose wages We're volun.
| tarily raised from 81 short time ago
| They are satisfied. but If the furnace meT
quit they will have nothing to do and viii
| be out of work. although they should no.
be counted among the strikers. The mer
| who agreed 10 work for sl.60 asked the ole
scale which had been paid the men whom
| they replaced 1t was not granted anC
they struck.
| Later.-These police officers all receve
| bruises and contusions more Or less sever
| from pieces of Stag thrown by the rioters
| Fred Brown, Michael Lotus. Patrick Ma
| cauley, John Ryan, John Mcnamara, Johl
| OCalaghan. Anton Engle, William Kah
| Strike at the Joliet Works.
| JOLIET Ill Nav THE Illinois Stee