The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-05-11
RECORD OF Strikes
IN bYG0NE DAYS,
FIRST Demands 81 Employers Made
by Labor and Craftsmen in
Fourteenth Century.
GREAT RAILWAY TIE-uPS.
History If II. Louis Riots in Steam
Railroad Walk-Dut Of 1877 and
Street Gar Troubles
uf 1881.

The street car strike at present being
I conducted - s.. Louis recalls lie demon
! sssaa0us % organized and uE1re..u.zei la
! h"r o1 Lysolg days in JGis city and
/ throughout the country.
! The FIRST strike on record occurred about
/ th- UicIle ri ,be Fourteenth Co1,ury. II
/ mai = peculiar .i;gir. Tho sEeat pla.Je Of
/ lSi; which continued fer six years. de-
stroyed, d was estimated, about tNo-lH!ris
| " the human rs-c ;h.- existing. The re
! suit Uas that & became q question rs 10
/ the possibility OF providing Tor ;he lv.1~.
] There was scarcity Of Iah-r and craftsmen
made demands fcr grsatiy Increased wages
! These demands were met uy parliamentary
e-lactmcnts IN England Force vas resortei
! 10 before tie s.ifo-- vas settled Il was
1 ciainlsd that tho strikers had t8SsI an IN
! fair advantage of disaster ard Death.
Strikes continued through tho sl5seque2t
| centuries their cause nearly always being a
reduction In vage7.
! One oS the earliest forms assumed b.
! combination is shown ~ statutes passed
/ about 1860 a. D. which -Ecludc2 from ctty
| labor all who had been trained TO the pl.w
/ Up to the age CT = years. There vas much
| tE-.l.Vy between city labc- and country Ia
! hor- The Inhabitants OF the ciIies com
+, plaineG that the laws passed Tor thci. pro
! lection were ovaaed b. the country people.
! They formed , practical union against tho
/ agEiculturists.
! III America there Is record Of { strike cf
| New York baker,. IS early as 1-4l, and Of
+. Philadelphia boot and shoe makers between
1 l1ss and lso6. Al important trial for con-
= spiracv IN connection with one Of these
| strikes took place.
Tne strike Of the building trades in lSc5
| in the New Enclerd States IS cfJeu spoken
| q a. the first strike The prisons and ca.-
! psnJers Of Boston struck for shorter hours
| in ISSa. In 1855 there was a strike by the
| employers os The Provi5-uCe Railroad for
| higher wages. This g one Of tie E-st rail
J rosi etrf,r
is a rule, ell tnese early strikes were
SnsCC.essfLL
Great Railroad strike.
TIE great railroad strike ot ls.3 lasted
for weeks. It was "a gigantic loss TO the
| railroad companies and to the men. In July
| OF that year IepO-3 railroad men and 4e,(:h
| miners struck. The inIu.ediate caIss was
| reduction in wages. SIX thousand niles
ct railroad, were useless Two thousand ears
| In PittSSUrc were destroyed. Il was os
tirnated that the loss ot railroad property
! amounted to $4,000 90 The great strike be-
gan fl the East, but It soon extended To the
Pacific Ocean.
In ST Louis rfoting was .n progress until
a great organization for protection was er-
fectsd. The Mayor. naHed Gensrl;s a. J.
Smith. John = Na-maiuke. John
W. Noble John : CavenGsr. John u
Stevenson and Judge 7. T. CAN'T n Com
fnittee OF Safety. Sheriff John Finn sum-
Ironei tt posse corIi:atus OF $3.50 men TIE
Governor pledged the power OF the State
10 the faithful execution OF the laws. Il
fund Of SD 000 WAS raised by the merchants
10 be used In the org. nlzat.on Of armed
men for the projection OF the business dis
tTict.
In a short time the authorities had fye
f1,1f In rD.A field Including .Ifl
cavalry from the country. company of
marines and n company CT artillery, IN all
about 5.oo0 men. Leaders Of the rioters were
J arrested Troops arrived from Fort LeaNeh-
worth ard took possession OF the Relay
Depot at East s.. Louis. and the trouble In
| both cities came to an end Il was said
that the strik=rs themselves were not prom
ireut among the rioters ana destroyeTs Of
property.
car conductors and drivers IN ISL Riots
were Of frequent occurrence. The strike
/ was participated In By about 80 men. and
Was .or twelve hours :or day work,
with s. 2 day for conductors an.i Sl.ta Tor
drivers. ApriI 3 all the lines ceased run
/ ming EXCEPT the BeiiefonJa!ue and Franklin
| avenue roads. These roads made q bargain
with the men that IL the strike were sue
cassf.; the terms demanded should be es-
tablishet
st f.nu's street Car siriiteo.
The National l1ciG .ldN bSel Ge.i-'i 49,
and on Friday. Apr:i - the police were out
,r ro,,-. on Washington aNcupe and olive
| street and the cars m-ce their trips IN
| rnojegtee BY night all The other lines, eN-
! cept three were running. Nearly al the
| .rTlker5 went back 70 work at a cOnpr0-
| ,nise-l2;a cents aE hour Tor orlVefs anu
l. cents for conductors.
Having had q railroad strike and a street
| car strike 81. Louis was treated 10 a gas
| strike Il occurred in June, lh,L The men
| employed az the st Louis Gas COMPANY 5
works went on d strike. demanding s.
| a aay. Darkness prevailed over tn" city
for a n!zht The next morning the com
| pauy conceded the terms. and ;ne men went
back To work. The reserve stock OF gas
| vas 90 nearly exhausted that 1t WAS sew
| sraI nights before saslight could be de-
| pended upon In the section south OF Wash
| ington avenue.
Another street car strike began on
. Wednesday. October 7, 1855 the conductors
| and drivers demanding shorter hours ard
| higher wages. Pine street cars were
! smashed. Cass avenue cars were oJstructed
| and there was 4 crowd Of 1900 at Ninth
ard Pine streets Il was Fair week and the
day OF the great annual trades procession
| II IS estimated that 2O,t3 We're forced TO
| walk home after the procession. Tie au-
thorit!es were busy. Five hundred men
| were added 10 the police force. The South
St Louis lines agreed to tha strikers terms,
, & and Sl-15 E. day Tor twelve hours. and
/ traffic resumed IN tuat GiStflcC JLe
other lines refused TO agree To these terms
| and. after a display OF force by the au-
thorities the strikers abandoned their
| cause.
Concerning the strike on the Missouri
! Pacific and NJ X. & 7 systems in isS5, the
| Labor Commissioner Of Missouri said in
his report TO the Governor: This has bsen,
SO Ear as Is known. the first str.Se that has
ever been made where the strikers were
thoroughly and systeIna lically organized
/ and the control and management of 1t re-
| .nlains.; in the hands Of The organization.
Ey-ry movement WAS directed by the Exec
. | uttve Committee. and perfect police sys-
TEN maistsirGd ui.aeE waich the property
Of the railroad company ana private iHdi-
vIduais was fully protected
'As tits strike novel In It's features
and different from all strikes heretofore,
| So was also It's settlement, Il being the
first time IA the history o! strikes that a
, settlement was made by arbitration by the
official representatives Of two great States.'
. SEEkiNS MEN I'M MIL WhIIKEE