Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-05-27
BOYCOTT THE WEAPON
Status OF the Milwaukee Rail
way Strike.
Al Lines of Business Affected Mer-
chants Association Protests.

Milwaukee, Wis, May 25.-This date
marks the beginning of the fourth week
of the street railway strike in this city.
The employees of the Milwaukee Elec-
trio Railway and Light company, num-
bering nearly 1000 men, went out to en-
force their demand of an increase from
10 to 20 cents an hour in wages and
also recognition of their union. For
few days the traffic system of the COM
pany was practically tied up. Then the
company began to import new men.
This led to violence ON the part of SYM
pathizers with the strikers and resulted
in the stationing of policemen on every
car that was run, special officers beng
sworn in to fill, as far as possible. the
vacant beats. Eggs of doubtful, but I'M
deniably remote ancestry, were 1aNorlte
missiles with the crowds, and when these
failed to discourage the new men the
tracks were barricaded. For week or
more the service of the company was
badly crippled.
Then the labor unions came to the aid
of the strikers, and while violence ceased
as the novelty wore off, more potent
force-the boycott-waS inaugurated.
Omnibuses and vehicles of other descrlp-
tons had been called into service from
the first day of the strike, and the num-
Der of these was materially augmented
when the various labor unions passed
resolutions forbidding their members,
under penalty first of fine and secondly
of expulsion, to ride in the street cars.
This species of sympathy was not con-
fined to the labor unions, for societies
of various kinds, secret, benevolent, etc,
added their resolutions to the pile and
by the end of the second week the boy
colt against the street railway company
was in full force 1t had succeeded
in itS car
them on schedule time, or nearly so.
except on Sundays, when it was deemed
best to suspend service for fear of vlo-
lence. But while the cars were running,
they were almost empty.
The boycott spread. The strikers
themselves disclaimed responsibility for
any ban except that placed upon the
patronage of the street railway compa-
ny, but grOcerS who were asked to fur
nish supplies for the new employees of
the street railway company, who were
being fed and quartered in the stations
of the company. found themselves threat
ened with the loss of their general trade
if they filled these orders. Retail deal
erS WSO rode i'll the cars, or members
of Wise families did SO, also found
themselves under the ban.
Meanwhile various efforts had been
made to compromise or arbitrate the
difficulty. A committee from the COM
mon council made the effort without sue
cess. Committees of citizens and the
state board of arbitration met with 10
better luck. The later mediation COM
mittee found the strikers ready to re-
cede from the original demands pro-
vided all were taken back to work in Il
body. On the other hand the company
refused to do this, claiming it could not
break faith with the new men it had
brought here under promise of steady
employment If the service was salts
factory. All efforts at mediation failed.
The latter part of last week the whole
sale merchants arose and asserted that
they would recognize no boycott. This
was followed last Saturday by a like
action on the part of the Merchants as
ISOLATION, a body of representative buSi
ness men, and the mayor also issued Il
proclamation asking people to refrain
from acts which might tend to injure
the city as a whole.
Yesterday, for the first Sunday since
the strike began, street cars were run.
They were more literally patronized than
they had been on weekdays, but the bus
system of the strikers, paralleling the
lines of The railway and running nearly
OH schedule time were also filled. There
was little or no violence until nightfall.
Under cover Of darkness cars were
stoned, egged and pelted with bottles of
vitrol and muriatic acid. Police officers
were stabbed and struck with bricks and
clubs, and several motormen were in
jured SO badly that they had to be taken
to the hospital. The police TOOK every
precautiOn to suppress violence, but they
were unable to cover all the territory
over which the street cars operate, and
therefore were inadequate in suppressing
outbreaks along the lines During the
day there were no disturbances. but no
sooner had 1T grown dark than the hood
lumS took advantage of the cover of
nigt to assail the cars. From to
o clock all the patrol wagons in the city
were IN constant use, and seventeen priS-
OnerS were arrested.
The most serious disturbance was at
Lee and Bremen streets, where a large
crowd of mostly PolanderS assaulted a
car and later attacked the police when
they arrived. Several of the officers were
hurt and a number of the crowd were
carried away unconscious by their
friends as the result of coming in con-
tact with the police officers clubs. At
several other points on the west side
there were gatherings, but the crowds
were not as vicious as the one on Lee
street and did not offer resistance when
the officers tried to dispense them. On
the south side the disturbances were
along all the lines and though more fire.
quent than on other sides of the river
| they were less violent.
At q meeting of labor men at Union
park the assemblage adopted a series of
resolutions expressing its ''deeply-feIt
contempt for the Merchants and Manu-
facturers' association and its president.
John G. Spencer, for their false and
lying statement" and denouncing Mayor
William q. Rauschenberger because of
his proclamation deprecating the boycott.
The Milwaukee Electric Railway and
Light company was unsuccessful yester,
day in an attempt to steal march on
the residents living along Washington
| avenue between State and Wells streets.
The company tried to lay tracks on that
street much to the surprise of property
holders along the route, who objected to
the movement, but the company persist
ed and refused to stop work until it was
served with an injunction issued at noon
by Court Commissioner Hugh Ryan.
ran Enp ruE rn1I1nr