Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-06-17
Special to the Register.


Special to the Register.
CLEVELAND, Ohio, June 16.-The
situation in the street car strike in
this city has assumed a most serious
aspect, the events of to-day being of
far more critical nature than any that
have transpired heretofore.
There has been continuous rioting all
day long. Many persons have been
seriously injured, many arrests have
been made, and large amount of
property has been wantonfy destroyed.
The morning passed quietly and no
violence was resorted to on the part
of the strikers sympathizers until
about noon. At that hour the street
railway company sent car filled with
non-union employees and guarded by
force of policemen from the Lakeview
barns to try to operate the Holden ave-
nue. line on the South Side When
this car reached the corner of Pearl
street and Clark avenue it ran into
mob of about 1000 persons, who, in
furiated at the sight of the car, began
to pelt it with rotten eggs, bricks,
stones and any other missile that could
be found The windows were smash
ed and the inmates of the car were
driven out, the non-union passengers
joining the strikers in a body. One Of
their number was struck in the face
with brick and tainted away. The
mob then dispersed.
At about the same hour another riot
occurred on lower Superior street. A
car came along and stopped at the cor
ner of Bank and st. Clair streets for
the motorman to turn the switch. 1t
was Immediately surrounded by an
angry mob of factory girls, who clam
bered aboard the car and shook their
fists in the conductors face. soaring
him nearly to death. Then the girls
left the car and began to hurl missiles
at it until a couple of policemen hove
in sight and charged the mob, when
they scattered. BY this time large
crowd of men had arrived upon the
scene. One boy was arrested and as
the police were about to take him TO
the station the mob surrounded him,
hurting missiles at the officers. Things
began to look serious when a patrol
wagon filed with policemen came and
the mob quickly dispersed.
Soon after o'clock this afternoon
a Wilson avenue car struck and ex-
ploded torpedo, which had been laid
on the rail near the corner of Wilson
and Sixth avenues. So great was the
force of the explosion that the car was
nearly blown from the track. Imme-
diately after flames burst through the
floor of the car, but were soon extin-
guished Fortunately there were no
passengers aboard. Fragments of the
torpedo, consisting of two pieces of tin
with a wad of paper between them,
were found.
AS Wade park car was running
along Perkins avenue this afternoon
two large stones were hurled from the
roof of nearby building, crashing in
to the car, and narrowly missing the
motorman
A mob of nearly 1000 boys and men
gathered around the car and hooted
and jeered the non-union crew. A
squad of six policemen hurried to the
scene, and tried to disperse the mob,
but before they succeeded in quieting
the trouble, another car was held up
at the corner of Case and Perkins
avenues, short distance away.
A number of gas pipes and all kinds
of debris were thrown across the track
and the mob stoned the car, smash
ing the windows and woodwork
The police finally succeeded in dis
persing both mobs.
Numerous other small riots occur
red almost hourly throughout the day
A force of special guards at the Lake
View barns has been doubled and
armed with revolvers and loaded cart
ridges. The street car company is in
creasing its force of men and proposes
to run its cars tomorrow. Serious
trouble is looked for before morning
and the police have been notified to be
even more vigilant than usual The
strike is not ended by any means, nor
is the end in sight.
President Henry A. Everett, of the
Cleveland electric railway company,
this afternoon authorized the state
ment that the company has made a
contract with each man employed in
place of a striker, guaranteeing his
position as long as he proves COM
petent. The company. he asserts, will
not sacrifice the men hired since the
strike.