The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-07-21
Partial Service Maintained on
Several Lines a Portion
of the Time.
MUCH DISORDER PREVAILS
Wires Cut, Rails Torn Up and
Non-Union Men HOOted
and Stoned.
Hundreds of Police From Man.
haitian and Bronx Sent
to the Scene.

NEW YORK, July 17,-Nearly all the
conductors and motormen of the Brook
Ign Rapid Transit company struck at
5 a. m. Those who had cars out left
them on the track. The company en-
deavored to run cars with non-union
men on all the lines and there was
much disorder. Wires were cut, rails
were torn up, non-union men hooted
stables a crowd of 5000 men resisted
the police. Many arrests were made
during the day. On some lines the
company maintained a regular service
and on others they failed altogether.
Cars were unable to run on the ocean
beaches. The tieup has not been nearly
so complete as the labor leaders said it
would
Trouble Brewing for Some Time.
For some weeks past the employees
of the several lines controlled by the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit company have
been complaining that the manage
ment did not live up to the 10-hour
law. The men demand a revision of
the time tables at the different barns
and also claim that they should be paid
90 cents an hour for overtime, which is
equivalent to 50 day, the. price which
they set for working day of 10 hours.
Meetings have been held daily and
nightly for the last week and it was in
ferred from the rep orts given out by
the employees and their advisers since
Thursday last that while strike was
imminent it would not occur for som 3
days to come. General Master Work
man Parsons and District Master Work
man Pines had charge of the mems
affairs and strike was called at 4:30 a.
m. On nearly all roads transportation
was stopped for a while and a great
deal of congestion occurred in conse-
Quence.
Police Preparations Made.
Shortly before midnight hundreds OF
policemen from the precincts in Man.
haitian and the Bronx districts were
conveyed to the different barns and
many were placed along the several
routes comprising the territory covered
by the Brooklyn Traction company. Up
to 1880 a. m. there were very few cars
run over these lines and those that were
sent out from the different barns were
policed by several constables. By 10
o'clock about one-tenth of the regular
rolling stock was working. These cars
were manned by inspectors and linemen
and in fact oilers and helpers were
pressed into service so as to maintain a
partial running of the system. Many
of the old conductors and motormen re-
ported for duty on several lines and
President Rossiter said that shortly
after noon over 30 per cent of the old
hands were at work on these lines.
Presidents Car Attacked.
About noon President Rossiter's pri-
vate car, with several officials of the
Traction company and number of
policemen on board, made a tour of
several lines. Coming back from Coney
Island the presidents car travelled over
the Fifth avenue route and as it neared
Twenty third street and Fifth avenue
those on board found their progress i'm
peded by stalled car near the Fifth
avenue barn. Here crowd of 500
people, many of whom were women
children, had congregated and the
motorman of the Ampore, Howard
jackson, was attacked and received
some nasty bruises ON the head and
legs. The police rushed to the mans
assistance and he was finally rescued
from the mob. Throughout the after
noon boulders and large pieces of gran
lite were placed on the tracks in the
vicinity of Greenwood cemetery and as
cars came along their further progress
was considerably delayed until these
Instructions were removed.
Says 1t Could Not Be Avoided.
General Master Workman Parsons
spent the greater part of the day in
Brooklyn and considerable portion of
the afternoon in conference with
Messrs. Delehanty and Webster of the
state board of mediation and arbitra-
Hion. Mr.. Parsons said:
Everybody knows that do not like
strikes. They are not pleasant and
furthermore they are expensive. Bat
this strike was one that could not be
averted. The first few hours of a
strike neither wins nor loses it and we
are satisfied with the showing we have
made
Mr.. Parsons said the strike had the
sanction of the Knights of Labor and
that the men would receive the moral
and financial support of the organiza.