The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-02-13

MILL GIRLS MARTYR.
Bat Shea's Funeral at Troy
a Most Extraordinary
Demonstration.
WHOLE GARDENS OF FLOWERS
Streets Thrcnged With Wailling
Women-A Priests I'M
pressive Words.
WHOLE GARDENS OF FLOWERS

~ ASDDAt y " VAuos
TROY. N. T.. Feb 1s. 1Sss.-The funeral
Of Bartholomew Shea occurred this morn
ing from the family residence on River
street. and later from St.. Patrick's
Church. Vicar General Swift officiated
and at the close of the high mass spoke
briefly on Shea.
There was very large attendance OF
friends at the house and the church
L When the mass was finished Father
Swift said that Shea's early life did not
represent the sentiment of the Church's
teachings: that Shea was not faithful
to the, laws of God The remains were
brought to the church that Sheas soul
might have the benefit of prayers. The
priest declared that whatever may have
been mans transgressions if he repent
ed in sincerity those prayers should repose
the soul. that Shea had paid the debt of
human justice whether innocent or guilty
and that Shea himself did not know
whether or not ne was guilty of the crime
IF he was guilty. said Father Swift.
81 do not believe he was conscious of
it," He assured his hearers that the
dead man had forgiven all for the part
they took in the tragedy as he expected
himself to be forgiven and that Shea also
requested his relatives to forgive and for
get The priest declared that Shea's
ending was due to the latter having for
gotten the Instructions of the Roman
Catholic Church and was lesson to all
young men. In closing he said Troy was
a law abiding community, and requested
that all unite in prayers that eternal
Justice be done.
The remains were inferred in st. Peters
| Cemetery. The pall-bearers were Thos.
H. Halligan, John Wells. VIM. OTIS John
Bulman. Andrew Cleary. John Cain of
Troy, James Walsh, Terrence Meehan of
New York
traordinary this or any other toyn ever
saw. 1t was held day ahead of the
/ time originally arranged in order to pre-
| vent trouble.
The authorities of Troy, acting in con-
Junction with the ministers and leading
citizens. anticipated a riot as a result
| OF the intense partisan and religious
prejudices which found their way into
/ the case after the murder of Ross and
| which were revived by the execution of
/ Shea on Tuesday.
The authorities were agreeably disap-
pointed, for, while the funeral was at
tended by dramatic and unusual Incl
| dents, the regular police force were per
| fsetly able to hold the crowd in check.
| The most UNIQUE feature OF the fu-
neral was contributed by the girls em-
! plOyed i'm the collar and cuff factories.
| Shea's sister is an ironer in one OF the
! factories and for this reason almost
| every girl employed in the factories was
They raised money to buy flowers, and
in two places the girls refused to work
I today, compelling the managers to smut
| down.
Not content with this manifestation of
| their sympathy the girls trudged through
| the heavy snow storm that set in this
| say y1d p0T
| crowded about and into the humble
dwelling occupied by the Shea family in
There were 5000 people around the
house by o'clock, and another thou
sand of them jammed into it.
| The policemen around the house almost
| had to club the girls to keep them from
breaking in, and they stood in the snow
and gave free vent to their grief in tears.
The girls in one factory. sent probably
| the most novel floral tribute that ever
lgraced a death chamber
| 1t was a perfect reproduction of the
chair in which Shea was shocked and
| snged to death. Upon the back rest of
| it in red immortelles was the word In
| nocent''
The funeral of no hero was ever char
acterized by so varied a floral display.
| There were sixty-two set pieces ranging
| in size from a modest basket to horse
! shoes five feet high.
All Of the larger pieces bore some m nrd in
en- en- Columns We're labelled Not Guilty,
four innocent" two Murdered" and
| three others Rest.
The florists of the town reaped nearly
5000 from the collar and cuff girls.
| From the moment the coffin left the
house borne by eight, sturdy young mill
! Meehen, of New York, until it was carried
away in the hearse the women bundled in
\ the street walled and exhibited every evil
| along the route taken by the cortege and
at St Patric1s CHURCH where the ,.s;a girls ri,
| fought with one another for ADMISSION.
| and at ST. Peters Cemetery's. too. where
I Shea S remains We're interred. By a COM
| mon understanding men remained away
| from the funeral The ministers of the
-Four or five hundred men of the same
! stamp as was Shea hung about the house:
| many of them were drunk as a result Of
| their participation in the wake over Shea's
| remains last night and their ugly feeling
! was manifest by their brutal treatment
| A crowd Of toughs grouped in front of
| the house urged the driver Of one of
| the 8nnournerss carriages to cut down q
| to have been witness against Shea was
| seated and the driver tried to do it,
| too, but the police. checked him.
| Every man in the crowd was Shea
! sympathizer, or at least judiciously pre-
/ tended to be, for an unfriendly express
/ sion would have preciptated a riot in
/ short order.
I The district in which the funeral oc-
! Cured is remote from the centre of the
/ city 1t is peopled by peaceful laboring
| people, but is dominated by a gang of
/ toughs who foment political and religious
| differences to make trouble.
/ The interment of Shea was made in a
| binding snow storm, and the crowd dig
persed much to the relief of the au-
| thorities.
| A TYPICAL REPUBLICAN.
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